#384: The Reluctant Host City, OLED Screens Everywhere & New York Wall-Scrawlers.

+ A 14 year Louvre Story & Morris solicits scratches from strangers

…or ‘Joyeux Mercredi’. I hope you’re having a bon week so far!

I’m writing this morning from Paris, the host city for the 2024 Olympic Games. The last time this city hosted was exactly 100 years ago, in 1924. Is it ready? Sure, why not. It feels like it’s been ready for a while. The vibe is: “Let’s just get this thing done before the world implodes.”

I haven’t noticed anything all that different from when I was here in December. There are a few more police, and a couple more blocked-off streets, but nothing too major.

Almost 50% of Parisians have a negative view of the event, mainly with worries about transportation and security. Some residents plan to use their vacation time to leave the city during the Games to avoid the once-in-a-century inconvenience. No wonder New Yorkers and Parisians get along so well.¹

Goofy-faced Child amid Crowd of Adults (2010)

14 Years Between Louvre Visits

The first time I visited the Musée du Louvré I was about 26. I hadn’t been to a big gallery before. It blew my tiny mind to pieces; I spent days wandering around and breathing in the masterpieces I’d had to write essays about in Art History. 14 years on, I popped my head back into the pyramid to see if anything had changed. (Spoiler alert: It hasn’t.)

Goofy-faced Child amid Crowd of Adults (2024)

Photo by Mike Bryk (@MikeBrykNYC)

Another Sold-Out Picture This in the Books!

Thank you to everyone who came to Picture This! —the only show that combines live drawing + animation with live stand-up comedy. We had a really fun birthday show. Mark July 14th on your calendar so you don’t miss the next show! I always love putting together different artists with different styles for each show.

Mike Bryk miraculously catches me grinning instead of gurning.

A week of OLED Drawing Screens

Speaking of drawing on Digital Tablets: this week we’ve had an avalanche of announcements of OLED screens…

I’ve always used a hybrid combination of hand-drawn and digital tools depending on what the work requires.

I’ve always been a staunch proponent of learning to draw by hand before you go digital and maintaining that skill after you’ve made the jump to a screen. I strongly encourage all artists —from students to career cartoonists— to continue deliberately building time for creating hand-drawn analog art without an Undo key. I do, however, also think it’s important to know what tools are available on the market that might ease your professional process.

1. Last week, Wacom released a 13" OLED pen display called the Movink.

2. Then yesterday, Apple released a bunch of new iPads, including a super-thin 13" Tandem OLED iPad Pro. (with a new spec-bumped Pencil Pro.)

3. Last but not least, today Xencelabs released a really nice, super-light 16" OLED pen display. I've been running it through its paces for a few months, and I’m working on it in the hotel right now. Here are my thoughts on it...

This week’s Sketchbook is a quick snapshot of a larger Paris sketchbook I’ll be sharing with Paid subscribers later this week. If you’re a free subscriber, you can upgrade now to access it.

(I’ll also talk about my portable sketching gear/setup) 👇

Like I said above, while I do love the convenience of a digital tablet… I can’t ever replicate the joy of using analog tools. I’m launching a new Substack called “Process Junkie” to explore all of the joys of the Process of making art. If you’re interested in that kind of thing, you can sign up here.

Meanwhile, back in New York…

Morris will always find a way to get free scratches from New Yorkers. Always.

1. Unconfirmed