If you have ever been to New York City, you have probably taken the subway. One of New York's coolest artists has taken this Big Apple staple to the next level and turned it into a canvas.
Day in and day out, Ben Rubin the man behind the Subway Doodle Instagram account, would take the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan and back for work. It was on long commutes where Subway Doodle was born.
"I started sketching on my iPad during my commute just to pass the time. One day I took a picture with my iPad on the train and drew over the picture." said Ben, "It was fun so I did another. And another. Then it just kind of continued from there."
Since then, @Subwaydoodle has garnered close to 17,000 followers, all just waiting for the next creature to appear on their feeds.
Most of his pieces are centered around what is happening in that moment, whether that be the heat wave that is hitting New York right now, poking fun at the political circus happening out in the world, or just playing to the actions happening on the subway.
Ben said, "While most of the doodles are based in the subway, inspiration can strike at anytime. I take a lot of pictures. Only a few become doodles."
And some of the most liked ones are ones that take place outside of the subway, but still show that little bit of New York spirit.
Ben has been creating art since he was 6-years-old and received a BFA from SUNY Albany where his concentration was oil painting. You can really see that training in his attention to detail and layers in each of his drawings.
When I asked Ben if anyone had ever reached out to him saying that they were the person featured in one of his pieces, he said when they have it's been positive. "One of the doodles had a silly creature emerging from the window of an NYPD police car. I received a message from a woman who said,'That’s my husband’s patrol car!'"
Do you want to try your hand at iPad drawing? Check out Procreate, the app that Ben is currently using for his drawings and the stylus that he swears by, here.
If you're looking for some other cool art Instagram accounts, Ben shared his favorites with me. Feel free to check them out below:
