Curlie: The Funk Man of Loisaida, New York (2020)

3rd Street & Avenue C, New York Size: 11 × 17 inInk: India Ink & Burnt Sienna Dr. Martens dye with red watercolorPaper: 240gsm cold-pressed watercolor paper1 of 1: Signed on rear, stamped & numbered Curlie is my canary in the coal mine for Alphabet City; If he vanishes you know something is seriously wrong.  Curlie holds court more often than not at Hartman Square, a narrow strip between Houston and e2nd on Avenue C. Some mornings he’s on the NorthEast corner of C/e3rd, some days it’s somewhere else. Depends on the sun. The wind. The vibe. He sits in his walker, dressed immaculately in a different-colored suit each day. He wears two gold watches, three bracelets, and a fedora. Sometimes in the colder months, he rocks a giant fur shawl. He has a ring on every finger: everything from a giant opal to a yin-yang symbol, to the head of a Native American. His longtime girlfriend, Poo, sports a similar fistful of bling whenever she leaves the house to sit with him. On his lap s