I then decided to walk to Chelsea to visit the gallery district. It surprisingly wasn't that bad of a walk. I stoped at Starbucks on my way and I pretended that I wasn't just a tourist. I was just a girl on her way to someplace important. I thought about how awesome it might be to actually live in NYC, but I also tought about how tough it would be. I mean even being a mailman or UPS guy looked rough. You had to carry loads of packages and boxes on a cart and hussle. Some mailmen even had horns that they beeped constantly so people got out of the way. Even getting groceries looked like it would be a hassle. So maybe NYC is just a good place to visit for now.
When I finally got into Chelsea I couldn't believe how many galleries there are. Just one after another.Working in a gallery myself, I couldn't even imagine what this would be like. I mean they just had buildings full of galleries and art spaces. It would be so inspiring.It was kind of overwhelming at the same time.
I first went to Joshua Liner gallery and saw Chloe Early's Feathers and Wax and Ryan McLennan's Abominations. Chloe's work was nice but didn't excite or touch me as much as Ryans. His paintings on paper of animals were haunting. The feeling of distress that came across really bothered me. I stared at them for awhile. They were really beautiful and well done.
I then made my way to Lyons Weir gallery for Martin Wittfooths The Passions. His work is amazing. Once again it touched me. Maybe because the subject again was animals in distress and I work with that in my own work. I noticed that a lot of artists I saw are playing a little with this theme. I wanted to go to BOLD HYPE gallery but my timing was off and I got there a half an hour too early.So they were closed. On my way to Jonathan Levine Gallery I happen to stumble upon Marc Dennis's Honey Bunny at Hasted Kraeutler Gallery. WOW! This guy can paint.He wasplaying with the Juxtaposition of guns, fluffy animals, and meat. There was also some frilly lingerie and women's jewelry in there. I was so happy to find this place on accident.
Finally I made my way to Jonathan Levine Gallery. As expected I was amazed. AJ Fosik and Josh Keys were on Exhibition. I could believe the detail that was put into these works. Josh's paintings were amazing. They were so crisp and precise but also playful. Fosik's wooden sculptures blew me away. The way each and every single tiny piece of wood fit and was sculpted...I just stared with my mouth open and maybe drool even came out. He had this one piece where this human, dragon, lion monster thing was chasing this group of rabbits. I could just feel the fear radiating off of the rabbits. Even though they were just made of wood and screws and paint. The way he chose to sculpt them and group them was just perfect.
After my gallery visits I decided it was time for lunch. I had all intentions of just getting a hot dog or piece of pizza but then I saw this restaurant, Cookshop on the corner and I decided to go in. I was not disappointed. i ended up ordering their griddled cheese and their Apple Saused cocktail. Delish! The fries were fresh cut and I think they even made their own ketchup.
After lunch I went down to LULU Cake Bakery. I saw this place on the cooking channel and have been dreaming of it ever since.
I settled on there chocolate covered "twinkie" in yellow cake and red velvet. There was a sign proclaiming that you should wait an hour to eat them right out of the refridgerated case but I ate the yellow cake one right away. It was delish. So at lulu's I found myself standing at 15th and 8th ave. I neede to make it alllll the way to 77th. I thought that'd I'd just walk, I had all day. Oh man. I got hot, then cold while waling. My feet were going to fall off at 55th. but I kept going and finally saw the light at the tunnel when I came to Central Park. I thought what the heck I'll just cut in through there and be fine. Well I wasn't fine. I got turned around twice, I asked a worker for help and he just got mad at me and walked away. I thought I was going to never make it to the History Museum. So when I finally escaped the park, I just caved in and got a cab. It took him like 2 mins. When I finally arrived at the museum it was already 4:30 (I started walking there at 1:30) and it was almost closing. So sadly I was felt rushed but I still got to see the amazing dinosaurs and some awesome animal displays. After the museum I ate at Ocean Grill. It was was great and I even got to sit inside a window and look out over Central Park. After dinner I was about to fall asleep at the table. So I hailed a taxi back to my hotel, What took me 3 hours took him 15 mins. Oh well...I got to see the city!
When I felt like all hope was lost, my feet hurt, my bag was too heavy and I just couldn't get to the museum I stumbled upon this cute old couple that was sleeping on a bench. It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen.
