John Donohue
Artist/Food Writer Founder, All the Restaurants in New York New York, New York alltherestaurants.com Instagram: @eat.draw.repeat powerhouseon8th.com
Photo by Aurora Donohue
SPECIAL GUEST SERIES
John Donohue is an artist and the founder of All the Restaurants in New York, a visual exploration of New York City’s culinary offerings. Just about every other day, since January 1, 2017, he has posted his sketches of the facades of such New York mainstays as Babbo, Balthazar, Bistro Vendome, The Odeon, Tribeca Grill, Grand Central Oyster Bar, Scarpetta, Craft, Prune, Gramercy Tavern, Katz’s Delicatessan, Esca, and Buttermilk Channel. To date, John has drawn nearly 100 restaurants, with the simplicity of nothing more than archival inks on paper. He is also the editor of Man with a Pan: Culinary Adventures of Fathers Who Cook for Their Families, a 2011 best-selling anthology featuring contributions from Mario Batali, Mark Bittman, Mark Kurlansky, Stephen King, and Jim Harrison. Prior to starting this project, John was an editor at The New Yorker magazine, where he also published cartoons. John draws every day, and also writes, only occasionally now, about cooking at home on his blog, Stay at Stove Dad. He resides in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and children.
FAVORITES
Book: Moby Dick
Destination: Anywhere I have my pen and drawing pad.
Motto: Just draw.
Film: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
THE QUERY
Where were you born?
I was born in the suburbs north of New York City.
What were some of the passions and pastimes of your earlier years?
I learned all of my pop-culture references backwards, through the warped lens of Mad Magazine. My parents never let me see movies, and the only way I could stay current with my friends was to follow the parodies in its pages. I also spent hours in my parents’ den looking through old volumes of New Yorker cartoons.
What is your first memory of art as an experience?
I liked drawing boats as child. I was proud of the way I figured out how to draw the waves under the hull. My first-grade teacher thought I was talented and wanted to give me lessons. Unfortunately, I didn’t trust her as she had a reputation for disciplining kids by pulling them out of their chair by their hair, and I missed out.
How did you begin to realize your intrigue with drawing/illustration?
I took up drawing in earnest after I got married. I started with Betty Edward’s Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I took classes at the Art Students League. I practiced on the subway while commuting to work. But I didn’t really get serious about drawing until a few years ago when I came to recognize its unbelievably powerful effect on my state of mind.
Why does this form of artistic expression suit you?
I do it for the result it has on my state of mind and not the result it leaves on the page. Twenty minutes of it is powerful medication. Whenever I draw I am calmer and much more alive.
What led to your work as an editor with The New Yorker magazine?
I wanted to be a writer and I got lucky when a friend from college connected me with people there. I started as a messenger, back when the magazine still had them.
What types of projects did you enjoy working on most while in this post?
I most enjoyed the company of my colleagues at The New Yorker. I learned more than I could have imagined from working alongside them.
How and when did the concept for Every Restaurant in New York come to you?
I thought of it about two years ago. I had developed a daily drawing practice, which I continue to this day, of rendering my dish rack. I wanted to draw something that might have more universal appeal. I have a great interest in food and cooking (I created and edited the anthology Man with a Pan: Culinary Adventures of Fathers Who Cook for their Families, in 2011) and lit upon restaurants as a possible subject.
What are your hopes and dreams for this project as it evolves?
I really want to draw forever. I hope people continue to support the project so I can continue to do so. I discovered that the finished drawings bring great joy to people, just as the process of making them brings me joy, so it’s a virtuous cycle. I’m donating a portion of the proceeds to hunger-relief organizations, so I hope to be able to continue to do that. I like fostering virtuous cycles that are expanding.
What led to your decision to follow the 20-minute drawing session rule for each illustration?
It’s less of a rule than a fact. I just find that when I’m done about twenty minutes have passed.
How would you describe your creative process?
My drawing is all about being in the moment. Drawing places me emotionally in the present in a way that Buddhist texts and self-help books often suggest is possible. It is experiential. I reflect that aspect of my practice by offering my prints in lots of 365. Each one then becomes a beautiful reminder of how our days are numbered.
Where do you do most of your work?
I draw first thing every morning at my dining room table. I draw every evening sitting on my kitchen counter. When the weather and my other professional and personal responsibilities permit, I go out and draw restaurants. I finish my drawings at a temporary workspace in my dining room or at a studio I share with a more accomplished artist, though I find it hard to get there often.
What three tools of the trade can’t you live without?
My pens, my drawing pad, and my eyeglasses.
Why is the dish rack illustration, and archive, key to your daily regimen?
It’s like practicing scales for a professional musician or like running laps for a professional athlete, but on a more basic and essential level it very simply keeps me sane.
What have you found most gratifying about selling your prints in part to raise money for hunger relief organizations?
I absolutely love that I can literally create something out of thin air that feeds people. It’s like being a magician. And it’s a concrete way to express my gratitude for the opportunity to practice my gift.
Will other shows follow your debut exhibit of nine signed, limited-edition prints at the PowerHouse bookstore in Park Slope, Brooklyn earlier this year?
Absolutely, and that show in Park Slope has been extended through September 12, due to popular demand.
What led to the creation of your online store Eat Draw Repeat?
I mentioned virtuous cycles, and creating a way for people to pay for my work is the most virtuous of virtuous cycles I can imagine.
Is there a book in the works based on your current illustration project?
Yes, as of the middle of July I have a proposal circulating among editors at various publishing houses and I am engaged in a series of conversations.
How has your aesthetic/style evolved over the years?
There’s that line about 10,000 hours of practice. I think I passed that at some point and the confidence in the line shows. Just as sustaining a reader’s state of disbelief in a novel is important, so it is with an artist. It doesn’t matter so much where the line is so long as the line belongs there.
Do you have a favorite artistic resource that you turn to?
Life itself.
From where do you draw inspiration?
Everywhere around me.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Just show up.
Is there a book or film that has changed you?
Mostly books. On the Road changed me as a college student. The Red and the Black changed me as a young adult. So did Moby Dick. It’s really a function of age. Right now, I’m trying (for the second time) to read Don Quixote. It somehow seems appropriate, and I could use a good laugh.
What drives you these days?
It’s nice to finally know what I’m supposed to do with my life, which is spread the word about how drawing can change one’s life through my restaurant drawings and daily practices. With the positive feedback loop of interest in my work coupled with the inherent joy that comes from doing it, I feel like I’ve discovered a perpetual-motion machine.