Those are great.

They really are. Does it say how long he spends on a sketch?

those are lovely Nucleo, thanks so much for the link!

Thanks guys. In one of his comments, he said around 5 minutes.

Oh, and as for ballpoint pen as a medium, there's also Valdman

I thought that on one of the later images, he said he can spend anywhere between 20 and 25 min. on a sketch, longer if he's going to the airport or whatever. Sometimes he takes notes on clothing and details to add later and sometimes he'll touch up shading and whatnot later, but for the most part, all of the sketches are done on the train, in the moment.

I used to draw people on the bus all the time, heh. Man, I've got to get back into sketching...

This is amazing, and you should really share it with the "vitriolic" types over at MeFi :P.
So yeah, post this to MeFi if you have not done so already.

This makes me want to be able to/learn how to draw even more...

I thought about clicking on "view as slideshow" but then figured it would be too depressing. A more downtrodden, vacant stared bunch of portraits, I've rarely seen. Good drawings of sad people, for the most part. Only 1 kid and one old woman with anything like a clearly defined smile. And a couple of couples. Are the subways in NYC that grim these days? Didn't seem so bleak when I rode 'em frequently, 20 years ago.

They just look bored to me, and tired. Maybe the sadness comes from the artist.

to live where death
Has his loud picture in the subway ride

Being amid six million souls, their breath
An empty song suppressed on every side

*smiles at matteo*

paulsc - they're riding the subway, why would they be smiling? Who smiles when commuting? It's a pretty impassive state for the most part.

When I first saw this, I got really excited because I thought I'd be in there, as someone sketched me a couple of weeks back. He rushed off the train before I could ask to see it. But it was on the L train anyway.
I wonder if he picked people that look like they might be on the train for awhile, in order to have more time sketching them. Anyway, yeah, these are nice.

matteo -
death on the subway.

I caught a guy sketching me on the DC Metro once. I figured he was going to try to sell me the piece, but he kept furiously working as I got off the train. I wonder if that picture is out on flickr somewhere?