Eric Drooker

So, being a mailman, I get to see a lot of magazine covers, whether I want to or not. See way too much of People and other celeb-worship trash like that. One of the ones I look forward to seeing, and actually stop to take a minute to enjoy the cover art, is The New Yorker. In addition to being a native, and appreciating it on that level (born in Queens, one of New York City's 5 boroughs, and didn't come out here to Vegas until I was 28), they just have excellent artwork by excellent artists gracing their covers on a consistent basis.

The newest issue has a wonderful painting by Eric Drooker, entitled "Autumn In Central Park". It's a shot looking up Poet's Alley, a wonderful tree-lined wide walkway in the heart of the park, just south of Bethesda Fountain. The colors are stunningly vibrant, trees aflame and aglow in amazing reds and oranges that leapt off of the cover. Absolutely beautiful.

I went to show it to my "adopted Mom" in the office, a fellow carrier. I played tour guide to her and her husband when we 3 went to NYC for their first ever trip there about 6 years ago. Her and I had some time to kill on the first day, as he was flying in from somewhere in the midwest to meet us there, so one of the things we did was walk thru Central Park. We still have a NYC-bond, and this cover in particular brought back vivid memories of 2 weary travelers enjoying their first day in New York.

In further poking thru Eric Drooker's website, it turns out I've been familiar with his work for about 15 years now, without knowing it. I found a piece he did (he does many NY themed paintings and drawings) that had been used by a favorite band of mine, Faith No More, for their album "King For A Day...Fool For A Lifetime". The album was released in 1995, and some of the European import singles also had Drooker drawn covers. Very different style to The New Yorker cover paintings, but still recognizible as his terrific work.

Do yourself a favor and check out his website, you're sure to find something of interest.

http://www.drooker.com/index.html


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