It’s Hard to be Soft

Last Friday night was the opening reception of It’s Hard to be Soft, an exhibition of 35 artists presented by Soft Eyes Social and Rebel Base. Soft Eyes is a figure drawing group organized by Jean-Pierre Roy in his Greenpoint studio. For the last two years JP has opened the doors to multiple artists in the NYC area who come together to draw from life and to chat a bit. Taking place on Friday nights, Soft Eyes is a community of welcoming individuals who are smart, talented, and focused on their craft. This exhibition took place to celebrate the two year anniversary of the group and was aligned with Greenpoint Open Studios to allow more visibility for the participating artists and their work.

Seeing the work of all the artists on the studio walls was exciting and the vast differences of styles and techniques was a treat for the eyes. The energy in the room was palpable as artists and colleagues discussed about the work and life over beers.

Artists included in the exhibition are: Aidan Baker-Hill, Todd Bradway, Paul Brainard, Kiki Carillo, Claudio Cecchetti, Luis Colan, Zara Dickinson, Michelle Doll, Brooks Frederick, Caroline Harrison, Suzanne Head, Ivy Hickam, John Jacobsmeyer, Josh Jordan, Kurt Kauper, Eddie Kimm, Maggie Macgregor, Tun Myaing, Anna Ortiz, Madeline Owen, Guno Park, Kyle Andrew Phillips, Pablo Ramella, Luke Rockwell, Nicolas Romano, Jean-Pierre Roy, Liz Squillace, Noelle Timmons, Noah Trapolino, Gabrielle Vitolio, Melanie Vot, Alice Want, Patricia Watwood, Zane York, Mary Younkin.

My recent drawing of model Britney being framed in my studio

Britney, 2025, sanguine powder, oil pencil, pen on Stonehenge paper, 11 × 13.5 inches

Left: artist Kyle Andre Phillips working on a drawing of model Britnee, Right: my drawing in progress at the midway stage

After the opening reception the studio was set up so that Soft Eyes 75 could take place for a late night session. The night was one to remember, there was a sense of camaraderie in the air and the mood was giddy as the model held her pose…or at least tried to because she was also sharing her excitement with the group. I have been attending Soft Eyes almost religiously since October 2024, and it is the one thing I look forward to the most every week. I will share more about my time at Soft Eyes, and the drawings produced during the sessions in a coming blog post.

The Soft Eyes crew, aka “The Softies”, after the completion of session 75. Photo credit: @softeyesartsocial