My name is Enrico Miguel Thomas and I have been drawing and painting for most of my life. After finishing at Pratt Institute, (class of 2006) in New York City I just wasn’t sure what direction I was going to take with my art career. As a Pratt student there were classes that I simply had to take. If I wanted a deg…ree, there was just no getting around the traditonal classical art training that t…he first year of a Pratt education is all about. Even after foundation year though, I found myself sticking with traditonal drawing surfaces such as canvas and “good”drawing paper.
With my bank account balance sinking lower and lower, I began to feel pretty overwhelmed about my future as an artist in a big city like New York! How would I countinue to draw and paint? Where would my art supplies come from, especially if I had to choose between tubes of artist paint, and putting food on the table? Luckily I still had some leftover Sharpies and since I really liked drawing trains, I headed underground, to the subways! That’s when the idea came to me! Subway maps! I could use subway maps instead of buying drawing paper! I wasn’t sure if the drawing surface was going to work but still gave it a go anyway and to my surprise it was durable enough. It wasn’t always easy at first to get used to this unusual surface and the new background of colors that I had to somehow incorporate into the drawing, but where there is a will there is a way so I made it work! I took my black sharpie and drew as many black lines that I could in many different directions, forming, those gigantic trains, and crowds of new york city commuters! To finish off the trains and people , I would blend in the silver metallic sharpie ink into the drawing. I could not believe the result, and all I used was sharpies and free subway maps! It wasn’t long before New York 1 news caught on , and the next thing I knew, I became a local celebrity! I know first hand that there are enough art professors, critics, etc. who wouldn’t agree with my methods, but to me, its not about what’s “right”, its about what works! If you can create work that makes you and your viewers feel something good inside, then that is ultimately all that really matters! View more work and contact information at: EnricoMiguelThomas.net
With my bank account balance sinking lower and lower, I began to feel pretty overwhelmed about my future as an artist in a big city like New York! How would I countinue to draw and paint? Where would my art supplies come from, especially if I had to choose between tubes of artist paint, and putting food on the table? Luckily I still had some leftover Sharpies and since I really liked drawing trains, I headed underground, to the subways! That’s when the idea came to me! Subway maps! I could use subway maps instead of buying drawing paper! I wasn’t sure if the drawing surface was going to work but still gave it a go anyway and to my surprise it was durable enough. It wasn’t always easy at first to get used to this unusual surface and the new background of colors that I had to somehow incorporate into the drawing, but where there is a will there is a way so I made it work! I took my black sharpie and drew as many black lines that I could in many different directions, forming, those gigantic trains, and crowds of new york city commuters! To finish off the trains and people , I would blend in the silver metallic sharpie ink into the drawing. I could not believe the result, and all I used was sharpies and free subway maps! It wasn’t long before New York 1 news caught on , and the next thing I knew, I became a local celebrity! I know first hand that there are enough art professors, critics, etc. who wouldn’t agree with my methods, but to me, its not about what’s “right”, its about what works! If you can create work that makes you and your viewers feel something good inside, then that is ultimately all that really matters! View more work and contact information at: EnricoMiguelThomas.net
Enrico Miguel Thomas 