54: More Travels, New Drawings

Painting in Mexico & My Illustrations for the Criterion Release of Crossing Delancey

A couple crossing the road in front of me—her colorful clothes and bag caught my eye, and I couldn’t resist sketching his great hat too. The leaves are from our first café stop.

I just returned from an art-filled week in Mexico with seven incredible female artists (Mokshini,

Gayle Kabaker

, Michelle Allen,

Charlotte Hamilton

,

Jennifer Orkin Lewis

, Lori Siebert, and Maru Godas). This was our second year gathering there to inspire each other, share experiences as working artists and teachers, and simply connect. There’s something so powerful about expanding and growing through mutual support—no competition, just excitement in seeing how each of us interprets the world on the pages of a sketchbook. Our styles are so different, yet the shared experience brought us together in the moment.

Here are the visual memories I chose to capture—I created more than I usually do!

This spread tells a more elaborate story through pictures—Alfonso played guitar and sang for us, the green taxis popped beautifully against the city's orange, red, and ochre walls, and a wrong turn led us on a long, steep walk in the hot sun.

A mariachi band taking a break or finding a new location to play.

I loved the way this gentleman looked arranging flowers at the San Miguel markets.

A page full of movement, just like the day itself. A full day in Mexico, my son’s birthday, and my home team, the Eagles, playing in the Super Bowl. Yay, Birds!

The local art supply shop that we visited numerous times!

A sunset walk through the city, and some souvenirs purchased.

Peeking into doorways, catching quiet glimpses of daily life—a tailor at work, a woman letting a cat inside. Small, intimate moments shared discreetly with me.

My travel mates! Mokshini, Gayle Kabaker, Michelle Allen, Charlotte Hamilton, Jennifer Orkin Lewis, Lori Siebert, and Maru Godas

Wandering around San Miguel with friends

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Crossing Delancey

The Criterion Collection’s re-release of Joan Micklin Silver’s 1988 film, Crossing Delancey, is now available. I loved working on this project with Criterion’s creative director, Erik Skillman. The DVD booklet features artwork by me and an essay by New Yorker writer and author, Rachel Syme.

The new cover illustration I created for The Criterion Collection

A brief description of the film from the Criterion website:

Joan Micklin Silver’s wonderfully affectionate spin on the romantic comedy infuses the genre with a fresh, personal perspective, following an unmarried Jewish woman’s search for fulfillment in New York City. Happily independent bookstore manager Izzy (a luminous Amy Irving) isn’t looking for love, but she’s forced to reevaluate her desires when she catches the eye of two very different men: a self-centered novelist (Jeroen Krabbé) and the mild-mannered Lower East Side pickle seller (Peter Riegert) with whom her old-fashioned bubbie (scene-stealing Yiddish-theater star Reizl Bozyk) sets her up. A love letter to 1980s Manhattan shot in beautifully burnished, autumnal tones, Crossing Delancey gracefully captures the magic of a city where disparate cultures, generations, and traditions both clash and connect.

I also illustrated the small booklet that is enclosed the DVD BlueRay box.

A selection of the spot illustrations I made that appear inside of the booklet.

Gabriel Barreto, Amy Irving’s son, reached out to me after the the cover artwork was revealed, and asked if I would make a print for his mom. What a fun bonus to see Amy with my artwork!

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Workshops and Events:

• The next Draw Your World meetup is on February 25th. We’re lucky to have my friend

Haley Weaver

join us. Paid tier subscribers, invite link with more info will be shared in the chat!

• I am joining my friend

Helen C Stark

tomorrow to draw and paint “Paris in Winter” in honor of Valentine’s Day. The link to join was sent in the subscriber chat to our paid tier subscribers.

• Draw & Paint Brooklyn with Samantha Dion Baker and Ohn Mar Win
Thursday, May 8th spots left! I am so excited to share that my friend and super talented artist Ohn Mar Win is coming back to Brooklyn to join me in teaching two full-day workshops this coming May! Ohn Mar came to the US in 2022 and we hosted similar events, and they were a huge success.
You can choose from either Thursday, May 8th, 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM or Friday…
(Friday is currently sold out, but if that’s the only day you can do, please message us and we can add your name to the wait list).
Creatively Wild Art Studios 98 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Click here to learn more!

• Draw Your Adventures - A two-day workshop in Apex, NC. May 30th-31, 2025 Click here to learn more!

• One spot (a single or double/couple can book the room) opened up in my workshop in Sicily at Anna Tasca Lanza. This is my fourth year teaching alongside Fabrizia Lanza at Case Vecchie. It is a magical week. October 6-11, 2025 Click here to learn more!

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Ambassador and Affiliate Codes

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Most of my Skillshare classes feature my favorite Caran d’Ache art supplies. My relationship with the US distributor, Creative Art Materials, started back when I wrote Draw Your Day in 2018, and they saw how heavily I featured their art tools—many that I have been using since I was in grade school. Click here to find some my favorites on the Orange Art website.

All Canvas lights and accessories are 10% off with my discount code: SDB10.

All of my books can be found here.

All of my Skillshare classes can be found here.