Bowery Artist Asks For Help To Make It Big
June 16, 2008

A Lower East Side artist is making a million-dollar offer to anyone who can help him make it to the big time. NY1’s Cheryl Wills filed the following report on artist Sir Shadow, which aired on NY1 News June 16th 2008.

He calls himself “Sir Shadow,” and if you watch carefully, you’ll see his trademark one line art: his silver pen never leaves the page as he draws a wiry x-piece jazz band on his lap. He calls it Flowetry.

“They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so I’m really writing my thoughts of staying strong and be about something and have a purpose in life,” said Sir Shadow.

A true New Yorker, Sir Shadow does things his way and after 30 years of perfecting his style, he says ready to take his game to the next level. And his fellow New Yorkers are suddenly taking notice. His work now hangs in various restaurants and office buildings around the city.

“It’s not about me, as much as it is about when I do bring the work to the world that it will be efficient, significant and someone will get something out of it,” he said.

His latest gimmick is attracting lots of attention. He’s offering one-million dollars to the person or group that helps him make his first couple of million bucks.

“Basically I want to be able to give a million dollars away to someone who took time out to see the dream and help bring it about,” said Sir Shadow.

A tiny storefront adjacent to the “White House”, in the Bowery, showcases his work. Some people buy; others are encouraged to leave a comment. And the artist, from the school of hard knocks, prizes every note, patiently waiting for the one that will be his ticket to the big time.

To learn more about the artist, check out www.sirshadow.com.

- Cheryl Wills

For full article with video, Click the link below;
New York 1 – Full Sir Shadow Article

The giant man speaks in a high pitched voice that makes you flinch for all it’s surprising raspiness, like the sounds a teenage boy might make. Why is his voice so sour and stunted? Has he eaten too many citrus fruits?

One girl tells Shadow she is studying education. No hesitation. Shadow is preaching, letting whatever words enter his mind exit through his mouth without any thought except rhythmic continuity.

“You don’t go to school for education. You’ve got to Be a teacher. You can’t go to school to learn that. You got to be that now and always. What do you teach? What are you teaching me right now?”

In unplanned, organic order, the Ottawans take turns at Shadow’s table. Sometimes he is asking them about his art – which drawings do they like, why, rank the art, 1st, 2nd, 3rd – and sometimes he is bending their heads around a corner they hadn’t imagined. He sits, a little slumped, encouraging his more reticent guests with a nodding head and an occasional, “Um hmm,” or, “Oh yeah? Really?” And he sounds surprised when he says these things.

Read the rest of this blog entry of a Sir Shadow experience and perspective here;
Moosecrossing at Blogspot ~ Serenity

In the days that I’ve spent hanging around the White House Hotel, talking to the residents, one name invariably surfaced in every conversation. Sir Shadow. People spoke of his unbelievable skill as an artist, his ability to sit down, move his pen almost unconsciously across the page and create images of people that capture the raw emotion of the human spirit. Intrigued, I had always looked forward to meeting Shadow.

Friday night, December 10th, I met him for the first time.

About 6′ 4″ and well dressed, Sir Shadow carries himself with a large degree of confidence. He commands attention. He sat in the lobby of the White House, in the northeast corner by the radiator and ate his dinner, steaming Chinese food in a styrofoam container. After a short time, Shadow was approached by a Japanese tourist who he had previously befriended. ( I get the feel Shadow is bit of a Ladies Man). I sat about 15 ft away, watching, not wanting to intrude on Shadow. After a time, he pulled out pen and paper from a black leather portfolio. He looked at me and said, “I am about to start, you can get this if you want.” Camera ready, I darted over and hit record. For the next twenty minutes he drew, without stopping. Shadow’s art is called “one line art” because the drawing consists of one stroke of the pen. The pen goes to the paper and when it is removed the drawing is finished. Shadow spoke to himself as he drew, entering a peaceful world. He drew people dancing, jazz musicians playing music, lovers embracing, all the while saying to himself “dum dee dumm ahhh dumm dee deee dum” and rocking back and forth. After a while, he stopped drawing and I asked him a question: “What is your philosophy on life?” He paused. What he said was unlike anything I have seen.
For the next twenty five minutes Shadow shared his philosophy in a stream of consciousness, never stopping. At times, what he said made little sense and then he would enter a phase in which he said the most profound truths and then enter into a story about being in the womb and then enter back into nonsense, never stopping. I kept the camera close, I was shooting with a shotgun and prayed the audio would turn out in the noisy lobby of the White House. It did. I have never met someone who seemed so removed from reality and yet who so wholly understood it. He spoke with wisdom on many things, and like Mike, talked of the importance of enjoying one’s solitude. The first person you need to know is your self. He talked of being in the womb, of being sperm racing toward the egg, of building one’s boat and sending it to sea. Prayers are answered through action he said.

After finishing his thoughts, Shadow drew a one line painting for me, signed it and went back to his discussion with the japanese tourist.

posted by Graham Meriwether 
Moosecrossing at Blogspot ~ Shadow’s Spell