Joannie's 2012 valentine. She wanted Tomer Hanuka's Valentine's Day print, but he was all sold out. She asked me to redraw it, and I said, "No way! but I will do something similar." The final will be an 18” x 24” color, archival giclee print that will hang in our kitchen. Apologies to fellow Meathauser Tomer for biting the concept. To see Tomer's prints (including the one I ripped off), please CLICK HERE.
It has been well over a year since I have created or published an issue of "Sketches of Fishtown". After the second book release, I just needed a little bit of a break. I also worked on some art shows and other projects. I will be publishing these drawings and anecdotes as often as I possibly can. I started the project back up because this one is very special to me. John Bosak was my gal Joannie’s uncle. I initially drew this portrait for Joannie’s mom for Christmas. But before I even knew Joannie, Johnny was always good to me. A few years back, when I would be sitting alone bartending on an empty Wednesday night, Johnny would see me through the window, come in, and keep me company. He also asked me to draw a congratulatory picture of his son for this paper a few years back, when his son came home from the military. John Bosak had character and a great sense of humor. He was unique. Drawing John’s portrait reminded me of why I started this project eight years ago - because Fishtown, with all of its unique facets, history, and people, is a place worth remembering. It’s a place worth celebrating. If you have a memory, an event, or a person worth remembering and celebrating, please share your words and photos: sketchesoffishtown@gmail.com.
I did this portrait for Joannie’s Mom. It is her brother Johnny – Big John Bosak. John passed away last year. He was one of those big, strong, fun-loving Fishtown characters that everyone knew. If you ever met John, you did not forget him. He used to come visit me when I bartended at Moe’s a few years back. Wednesday nights were pretty slow after the pool team left, so John would come in and keep me company.Joan asked me to draw this portrait and make prints so she could give them as Christmas gifts to all of her brothers and sisters. She also gave prints to John’s kids. We had the archival giclee prints made by Chris Wofford over at Giclee Today. Chris did an amazing job, and I plan on using him to do my giclee prints in the future. I gave Joan the original framed ink drawing for Christmas.
This will also be the drawing I use for the return of the “Sketches of Fishtown” project. I’ve had over a year off, but I plan on picking the project back up in the coming weeks.
I just wanted to take a minute to say Happy Thanksgiving. I wrote the following article for the Spirit Newspapers with the help of several great Fishtowners who help me appreciate the neighborhood and life in general.
