Going to New York! :D

[sanya]

Hey guys!

As you may have guessed by the title of this thread-- I'm going to New York for a week!



I've already crawled through the back-threads on what to do in New York and am hoping to hit up the MET, Society of Illustrators, the exhibit on Syd Mead timpaatkins so kindly posted about, Pearl Paint for some an art supply restock (not a great selection up here in Montreal sadly), the Cloisters if I can fit it in, and general neighbourhood exploration and maybe way too many dessert places.

So I guess I was just wondering if anyone had any last minute 'must-see' sort of places I could visit? I've done the touristic stuff like Empire State, Times Square and Statue of Liberty on a previous quick trip with my parents, but am otherwise open to anything!

Thank you guys!

(PS. Is Brooklyn cool? Should I put aside a day for it?)

[QueenGwenevere]

Well the Met is a must, of course. The Frick and the Neue Galerie are also exceptionally cool... Check to see if the Morgan Library is having any exhibits of interest, too, sometimes they have some good ones involving illustration.

Also, if you want to load up on way too many art books... Strand Bookstore. Main branch. Upstairs. Your head will explode. So will your wallet. (The children's book section is also upstairs. Double-whammy.)

Brooklyn... Well, it depends where in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is huge. Although the Brooklyn Museum is pretty neat, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Prospect Park are right next door, both nice places to ramble if you need a break for flowers and greenery... Or you could do the hipsters-and-galleries scene in Williamsburg... Or you could get a dose of tacky freakiness at Coney Island... Or eat at a posh restaurant and get awesome views of the Manhattan skyline in Brooklyn Heights... That's all probably a bit much for one week, though.

EDIT: I forgot, Animazing Gallery might be worth a stop, too...

[jpacer]

What kind of art supplies are you into, because there may be some better places than Pearl, like NY Central Art Supply, Soho Art Materials, and I hear there are some new Utrechts that are huge. Also, I was gonna mention this in the other NYC thread about the Syd Mead show, but I might as well say it here. If you're at all interested in historical painting supplies you must must must visit Kremer Pigments. I swear, walking in there felt like I'd stepped into a 17th Century colorshop. It's a small shop but probably the only store that'll give you that "old-world" experience. Just rows and rows of pigments and other assorted stuff like Isinglass and genuine Rabbit Skin Glue and Gum Elemi and Copals and Ambers and handmade watercolors, etc. etc.

Also, if you're into art books, see if you can find Hacker Art Books. I tried looking online, but I get the sense they're no longer around. I used to get good deals at the Strand too, though.

Do some searches for galleries and see what's showing. Odd Nerdrum was just at Forum Gallery, but I'm not sure what's there now. J. Cacciola, I think, is the gallery that shows artists like Alex Kanevsky and Bruce Samuelson. Also, Arcadia Gallery may be having a Robert Liberace show at the time you're there. I popped into Arcadia the other week when I was in NYC to see the Odd Nerdrum show and they had a few Francis Livingston's which were bad-ass!

Obviously, there's plenty of others, but I can't remember the names and I sure some native New Yorkers will have much better ideas.

Hope you have a good time!

[QueenGwenevere]

Ooh, reminds me I haven't checked out the new Utrecht yet... And hey, I have client meetings in Manhattan next week... EXCUSE TO GO SHOPPING!

[dpaint]

Go see Illustration House and the gallery and the NC Wyeth Murals at the Met Life building

[sanya]

@QueenGwenevere -- Thanks for the recommendations! I heard the same thing about Strand Bookstore-- needless to say I am stoked to go there! Also, is Utrech really worth stopping in? I've been to all of one American art supplies stores-- well, ever-- so I have no idea. O_O

Is the Brookly Botanical Garden really a good visit? I absolutely love botanical gardens!

@jpacer -- honestly, just india ink and copic refills-- but I like to puruse! I feel like this Kremer place might be a cool place to visit regardless though-- thank you! As for Hacker Art Books, I can't seem to pull up anything current either, but if I'm passing through that area I'll check and report back here.

@dpaint -- cool, thank you!!

[timpaatkins]

I can recommend going to Blick art supplies on Bond street, because its nice, big, clean and I used to work there. I THINK Pearl Paint went out of business in Chinatown, but Im not 100% sure.

[sanya]

@timpaatkins -- do you know if they sell copic refills? I really, really need copic refills. O_O

[dpaint]

I forgot there is also the Brangwyn Murals at Rockefeller center. The Diego Rivera'a are so so but the brangwyn's are very powerful.

[QueenGwenevere]

Utrecht is where I usually shop, they have good prices. And Blick sometimes has things that are out of stock at Utrecht, with comparable prices... Either one of those places probably has ink and Copic refills (Blick has a lot of that sort of thing.) New York Central is small, but last time I was there they did have a good range of inks... They're all within walking distance of each other, so heck, you could do 'em ALL.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is pretty cool, although the coolness factor varies depending on the season and what's in bloom... (Spring cherry blossom season is amazing, but that's over already.) You might be there in time for rose season, though, and their rose garden is lovely. Their Japanese garden is always cool, too, it's supposed to be one of the best. (Being in walking distance, I hang out there a lot.)

I'm not entirely sure if Hacker Art Books is still around, come to think of it...

[timpaatkins]

Sanya, I think so, but I cant remember exactly.

If you have the time, go to the Hispanic society, they should have the massive Sorolla paintings up, if not a few other ones by him that are well worth the visit.

http://www.hispanicsociety.org/hispanic/collections.htm

[jpacer]

@jpacer -- honestly, just india ink and copic refills-- but I like to puruse! I feel like this Kremer place might be a cool place to visit regardless though-- thank you! As for Hacker Art Books, I can't seem to pull up anything current either, but if I'm passing through that area I'll check and report back here.

If you're into inks and get to stop by Kremer, they do carry genuine Bister and Sepia inks. As in, the Bister is made from birchwood-soot and the Sepia is made from the ink bladder of Adriatic cuttlefish. Real old world stuff (that place is like an old apothecary). It's way pricier than the regular Speedball or FW or Higgins or whatever, but it might be neat to try out for the novelty.

Also, it's a real shame if Hacker is gone as that place was awesome!

[bcarman]

If you do happen to hit Arcadia in Soho, which is well worth it, then drop by Animazing Gallery right around the corner. See some Frouds, Merriams, me, they may stillmhave a few of Tim Burton's things left. Soho has gotten pretty hip again so it is worth getting down there anyway. The NY ink shop is right there by both galleries too. I think it's called the Wooster Street Social Club or something. If you're going to gallery hop look up shows first or them gallery scene can steal your soul.

[sanya]

@ dpaint -- Thank you again! Amazing.

@ QueenGwenevere -- I visited a Blick's in Philly and they had awesome selection, but I saw no refills which troubled me-- still, you make a really good point, why not seriously just hit up all of them if they're in walking distance of each other? I think I'm going to do just that, thank you!
Also, is the BG all outdoors or indoors? For a rose garden I might have to suck it up and wear my raincoat and go anyway. Thank you so much!

@ timpaatkins -- Looks like it's worth a visit-- thank you!

@ jpacer-- I have to concede, now I must go to Kremer just for the novelty factor. I'll bring my husband too-- he'll find it neat. Thank you!

@ bcarman-- I'm in Tribeca so that isn't too far off right? Also, this is going to sound silly but I'm assuming the Ink shop is like a tattoo gallery?

[QueenGwenevere]

Also, is the BG all outdoors or indoors? For a rose garden I might have to suck it up and wear my raincoat and go anyway. Thank you so much!

It's about 50 acres of outdoor garden plus a collection of greenhouses and a bonsai room (and a new visitor's center that I haven't been in yet...) The rose garden is outdoors.

[Pixie Trick]

Not really and art thing to go see, but my personal favourite physical part of NY is the highline. Its pretty fantastic any time of the year.

[Greg Lambrakis]

Not really and art thing to go see, but my personal favourite physical part of NY is the highline. Its pretty fantastic any time of the year.

Yup, if you're gonna check out Syd Mead, the highline happens to be right outside the gallery. After the opening on Friday, on the way to dinner and drinks, my friends and I walked down the highline at sunset. Not a bad way to spend an evening in NY.

[Elwell]

If you are going to go up to the Hispanic Society, and you like rose gardens, stop by the Conservatory Garden in Central Park (5th Ave at 105th).