When I was a “yout”, living back in NY, my friend and I would jump on the Metro North and ride the train to Fordham. There, with our large sketchbooks in hand, we would draw from life the animals of the Bronx Zoo.

I was so into drawing animals in high school that my dream was to become a wildlife artist like the type I would see in the pages of National Wildlife magazine.

This weekend, with kids in tow, I attempted to recreate those days once again. First thing I remembered was that animals, even the sluggish ones, move constantly. I found myself begging, oh please hold that pose one more second. They never listened.



Even the grizzly bear that looked so very content to just sit in the water, would lift his head every few minutes to look around.



The Australia exhibit was new to me. Kangaroos are very cool but they hop about a bit so I had to think gesture drawing.



The bison didn’t move as much but they were way over thar, on the other side of the field. Come over here, I said. The grass is greener! Silly buffalo didn’t listen.



I probably sketched more zebras than any other animal. They didn’t move much, mostly just chewed grass so I was able to get a few nifty angles. Like this head on view.