Painting the Delancey Skyline

This busy Delancey Street median is certainly an unlikely perch for a makeshift art studio. But that’s essentially what it became earlier this week, when we first spotted this older gentleman painting a Lower East Side streetscape. A rather poetic sight contrasted against the heated hubbub and horn-honking of the early-morning rush.

The man sets up shop on the triangular concrete island between Norfolk and Suffolk Streets, facing the Williamsburg Bridge and all points east. He props the easel and unfolds the portable palette of paints, his subject – the nearby high rises – locked in indefinite pose.

We approached and asked his name, but were quickly brushed away (pun intended).