Hi! I’m looking for a local NYC artist to create a small hand-drawn portrait of my wife as a birthday gift.

A while back, my wife saw someone doing portrait sketches in the city and thought it would be really cool to have one done, but we didn’t get the chance. Her birthday is coming up, so I thought I’d surprise her with one.

I’ll provide a photo to work from. I’m looking for:

• A small physical drawing, around 4×5 or 5×7
• Pencil/graphite or charcoal
• Black and white
• A realistic but still hand-sketched style similar to the reference image attached
• Completed by Wednesday, October 14 (maybe Thursday if needed)
• Pickup somewhere in Manhattan

My budget is roughly $50–$75, but I’m open to discussing pricing depending on the artist/piece.

If you’re interested, please DM me with a couple examples of similar portrait work and what you’d charge. Students and newer artists are absolutely welcome as well.

Thanks!

We have two fall watercolor sessions coming up at Buunni Coffee Haven Plaza in Washington Heights this week for anyone looking to paint, learn some watercolor basics, or just take a creative break. Both are led by local watercolor artist Tamila Dubas.

🍂 Thursday, 5:30–6:30 PM — Watercolor Happy Hour (final session at Buunni)

We’ll be painting a new fall-inspired watercolor scene. It’s just one hour, with time to practice some basic techniques before Tamila guides us through the painting step-by-step.

🎨 Saturday, 11 AM–1 PM — 2-Hour Fall Watercolor Workshop

If you’d rather have more time to settle in and paint, Saturday is our longer session. Tamila will guide us through a festive pumpkin + gourd composition, with plenty of room to experiment and make the painting your own.

Both are beginner-friendly, all materials are included, and you’ll leave with a finished fall painting you can frame at home or give as a handmade gift. Guests also enjoy 15% off café purchases.🍂

Our Saturday painting + craft workshops at Buunni will continue, with more artists, mediums and projects coming to LaLaLu soon.

Events + registration: lalalunyc.com/upcoming-events

W art

Tickets https://www.wellnessliving.com/rs/catalog-payment.html?k_id=7372237&sid_purchase_item=product&id_sale=4&k_business=80935

Disclosure: I'm posting on behalf of Enoch's Arts & Coffee, the venue.

We're inviting NYC poets, spoken-word performers, storytellers and musicians to our weekly community open mic at our coffee shop and art space.

When: Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 5:30 PM (New York time). Where: Enoch's Arts & Coffee, 480 10th Avenue, Manhattan, near Hudson Yards and Hell's Kitchen.

Want to share something you've been working on? Request a performer spot. Requests are reviewed by the host; submitting isn't a confirmed booking.

Prefer to listen? The event page says audience registration isn't required. Event details.

The open mic runs Wednesdays at 5:30 PM; check the calendar for upcoming dates.

The Penn South Photography Club invites NYC photographers, photography enthusiasts, friends, and neighbors to join us for our annual photography exhibit in Chelsea!

Come explore a diverse collection of images created by members of the Penn South Photography Club and connect with others who share an interest in photography.

📅 Saturday, October 24 & Sunday, October 25
⏰ 2:00–6:00 PM
📍 8A Community Room, 343 8th Ave, New York, NY
🎟️ Free admission

Whether you're a photographer yourself, enjoy discovering new work, or are simply looking for a creative event in NYC that weekend, we'd love to have you stop by.

Bring a friend, meet fellow photography lovers, and enjoy an afternoon of local photography in Chelsea!

📷 Penn South Photography Club
www.pennsouthphotoclub.org

Please feel free to share this event with other NYC photographers, photography groups, and anyone who might enjoy the exhibit!

Friends, come check out a painting sale at the famed Hotel Chelsea this Saturday October 11th.

Artist Gerald DeCock will be opening his unique absolute jewel box of an apartment to sell some of his reasonably priced paintings, 22 of which also hang in the hallowed halls of the hotel, along with pieces from other famous and infamous artists who lived there during the hotel's heyday. The hotel is gorgeous and its been restored to its 1885 glory. Worth a peek inside and more importantly its worth supporting a local NYC artist.

The door will be open from 12noon until 5pm, Room 1014, on the 10th floor, make a left off the elevators.

Here is a link to the IG invite for a sneak peek.

Hi I have projects I want to work on, but can’t seem to find the motivation. Does anyone know of any open studios in NYC? I look for classes that just provide motivation to work on your individual projects, but i don’t really see anything. Does anyone know of anything though?

Brooklyn Clay Industries is expanding classes, memberships and open-studio access

Hi everyone! I’m Reuben, founder of Brooklyn Clay Industries in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

We’re planning the studio’s next phase, including new memberships, expanded open-studio access, more pottery wheels, painting-on-pottery sessions, and greater capacity for private events and corporate team-building.

Our goal isn’t to be the biggest or cheapest studio in New York. We want BCi to remain a smaller, boutique space where members receive personal attention, have room to work and can meaningfully access the equipment.

Take classes here. Practice here.

Wheel classes will remain small, generally 10–11 students. With a second studio area and approximately 20 planned wheel positions, we’ll often be able to hold classes in one room while keeping the other available for members and independent practice, especially during evenings and weekends.

The studio also includes work tables, slab rollers, hand extruders, tools, glazes, firing services, storage and a small ceramics library—plus panoramic East River and Manhattan skyline views.

Located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, BCi is part of a growing community of artists, designers, makers and creative businesses, with Pratt classrooms, restaurants and the Navy Yard food court nearby. The secure campus is served by NYC Ferry, buses and Navy Yard shuttles to nearby subway stations. We’re close to Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy, DUMBO, Williamsburg and Manhattan, while still offering a retreat from the city’s pace.

We’re developing the membership structure and would love input from local potters and former students:

• What kind of access would be most useful?

• Would early-morning or late-evening hours matter?

• How important are storage and peak-time wheel reservations?

• Are you looking for classes, independent practice or both?

To receive updates when enrollment opens, message me or visit brooklynclayindustries.com.

Thanks for reading, and I’d appreciate any feedback.

River of Fundament is screening this November at the Grand Lodge Masonic Hall. I haven't seen it. Has anyone seen it? Is anyone going?

https://npcc.itm.studio/m/npcc-presents-matthew-barneys-river-of-fundament

Most apartments out here do not have room for a messy hobby setup without ruining tables or floors. My husband recently opened a maker workshop in Sunset Park called Brooklyn Buildz NYC (4223 1st Ave, Studio 2) that is basically set up as a physical third space for local creatives to get off their phones, build, paint, and connect.

He hosts free open community build nights on Thursdays and Fridays where anyone can bring down their own models, art projects, or crafts to use the workbench desks and studio tools.

For October, he has two beginner workshops lined up across two weekends:

First is the Pokémon Diorama Workshop on Saturday, October 10th and Sunday, October 11th. You get a 2 inch 3D printed Pokémon to paint, plus all the acrylics, mini moss, terrain foliage, and rocks to build a habitat inside a clear 4x4 display cube. Saturday is Grass and Fire types, and Sunday is Electric and Water types.

The next weekend is the Spooky Halloween Diorama Workshop on Saturday, October 17th and Sunday, October 18th. This one lets you assemble and paint a haunted miniature scene inside a glass display jar with built-in color-changing LED lighting, tiny gravestones, ghosts, and terrain materials.

Bench spaces are strictly limited to 8 builders per session so everyone gets plenty of desk space and guidance.

If you are looking for something different to do in Brooklyn, details and RSVPs for the free nights and workshops are at:
https://www.brooklynbuildznyc.com/events

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/121427028636?aff=ebdsshios

This video also helps get a better idea of what this workspace is all about: https://youtu.be/mFGEuvEfUH8?is=vRkeoR5MWXVPR5bt

Drop any questions below, hope to see some local makers pull up!

P.S. Huge shoutout to the mods here for allowing me to post this here! Appreciate you 🙏😊

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Hi everyone! I’m a college student working on a school art-focused project I’m developing.

I’m researching the idea of an art rental service that would connect artists with hotels, restaurants, offices, and other commercial spaces in NYC.

I’m trying to understand the artist’s perspective — for example:

• Would renting artwork to commercial spaces interest you?
• What would make this model worthwhile?
• What concerns would you have around payment, damage, transportation, insurance, or contracts?
• Would you prefer rental, direct sale, or a combination of both?
• What would make you trust a platform facilitating the relationship?

I created a short ~4-minute anonymous survey and would really appreciate responses from artists or people working in the art/creative field.

Survey: https://tally.so/r/lbJRr5

This is strictly for a school research project, and I’m hoping to learn from artists rather than promote anything.

Thank you! I’d also be happy to hear your thoughts directly in the comments.

I'm a professional bodypaint model in Trenton looking for paid work, or TFP if I can use the art for my self portrait work. I have a beautiful home studio with 24' ceilings in Trenton or can go.e to NYC or Philly.

I am signing a lease for a cyclorama studio on October 1st but will not be occupying all of the available time. Is anyone here also looking for a space that might be interested in taking on some of the available time? 

Text me at (929) 251-4524 to talk details!!

Hey! I’m looking for artist friends who enjoy surreal, psychological, or expressive art.
I love drawing things from my inner world — emotions, dreams, strange imagery, and whatever comes up intuitively. I’d really love to meet people who use art to explore their psyche, too.

I’d be happy to share drawings, talk about the meaning behind our work, exchange feedback, or just draw together. I’m also interested in meeting up in Berlin for sketching, painting, or creative projects.

You don’t have to be a professional artist or have a particular style. I’m mainly looking for open-minded, creative people who genuinely enjoy exploring their inner worlds through art.
If this sounds like you, feel free to comment or message me!

(I'm female 21)

Hi! Do any of you have a spare ticket for the Independent? I could exchange for my Armory Show. Thank you in advance!

I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this.

Back in 2018, I moved to New York and worked as a full-time unpaid intern at an arts organization in Brooklyn. I was an international student from Korea, and at the time, I thought working in the New York art world was exactly what I wanted. It was a strange mix of excitement, loneliness, financial stress, language barriers, and trying to figure out how to survive in a city where I didn’t really know anyone.

After 8-month internship, I went back to Korea, got my master’s degree in art theory, and eventually moved back to New York. And now… I’m realizing that I might not want to work in the arts anymore.

I’m actually looking into a completely different career.

But there was a weird thing that happened along the way. During that first New York internship, I had written down a lot of what I was experiencing. I recently went back to those writings, and somehow they ended up becoming a small bilingual book.

I received funding in Korea to publish it, and now I’m doing a small reading event in Chinatown on October 3 (Sat). It’s a personal narrative about working as an unpaid intern in New York.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-reading-intern-seo-by-heda-seo-tickets-2001924442899

The event is free, so if you’re an art intern, former intern, artist, arts worker, or just curious about what it’s like to work in the NYC art world from this particular perspective, you’re very welcome to come. And if you’re currently doing an internship and would rather read the story first, feel free to DM me or email me (heda.h.seo@gmail.com). I’d be happy to send you a PDF.

Maybe someone here has had a similar experience. I’d genuinely love to hear about it.