Drawings from Memory II
And Getting Yelled at by the Legendary Cartoonist Sam Gross.
Hey hey,
It’s February break for me, so I’m out and about on vacation. This means that when I draw, I’m working from memory. I did something similar in one of my first newsletters (hard to believe I’ve been at this for a while!) which you can find right here:
Dogs I Saw Over the Weekend, Drawn From Memory
The city was hustling and bustling with canine companions, and I wanted to draw them all! I didn’t have my notebook on me, but not to worry! I have a great memory for detail.
Drawing from memory is fun, because you can give yourself permission to draw how you feel something looks.
When I first started showing up at The New Yorker offices for the cartoonist weekly in-person pitches, I met some legendary cartoonists, such as Bob Mankoff, (the Cartoon Editor at the time), Sidney Harris, Paul Noth, Liza Donnelly, Mort Gerberg, Roz Chast, Bob Eckstein, and of course, Sam Gross.1
I was a nervous puppy with shaky legs, but everyone was kind and welcoming. It was a strange experience, caught between being starstruck by these veteran cartoonists but also wanting so much to be included as one of them. It was almost too much. But week after week, I showed up, because no one told me to stop. I was even invited to the cartoonist lunch afterwards at the now-shuttered Pergola des Artistes. It was there that I got a stern talking to from Sam Gross.
We were, as cartoonists are oft to do, talking shop. I forget why I brought this up, but I remember mentioning to him that I would Google-Image photos so I could accurately draw animals, in this case an anteater, I think. Sam Gross scoffed.
“Just draw it,” he said.
At the time, I was confused. Just draw it? Maybe Sam Gross could scribble things out, but I was no Sam Gross. Nevertheless, this was Sam Gross talking, so I stashed his advice in my back pocket.
In time, even a few pants later, I began to understand Sam a bit better. As a cartoonist, I want to draw funny, not just be funny. I get to choose how to depict an object, an animal, a person. Details are important, and choosing which ones to include and which ones to leave out matters.
Sam continued to be supportive, in his own gruff way. He even paid for my Coke my first time at lunch. Rest in Peace Sam Gross. I’m doing my best to just draw.
Without further ado, here are some drawings from memory.
Thanks for sticking around for story time and some doodles. Go forth and draw from memory :)
-Avi
Plus some amazing cartoonists just starting out who are now legends in their own right.
That’s great advice. Thanks for sharing!
Avi, will be Sam Gross to someone. Keep drawing. Keep sharing. You inspire me!