Its the Lockdown in March 2020 and there's practically infinite free time! What do I do? LEARN HOW TO ACTUALLY DRAW!! I compiled many YouTube art tutorials and ordered instructional books to learn how to draw the world around me from a naturalistic perspective. Hence, I learned plein-air painting - direct on-location observation of New York's landscapes! This started my journey across the world, where I would bring my custom easel, crappy paintbrushes, and a 5.5" x 8.5" watercolor journal to learn how to depict my perspective of reality. Visit my painting section to see these works of art!
There was a girl in my 9th-grade art club who was drawing her pet dog. Literally her pet dog. Not on hind legs, not wearing clothes, not even the slightest anthropomorphic facial expression. LITERALLY JUST A NORMAL DOG. However, a kid yells, "FURRY!!" "What's a furry?" I ask myself. I go home, look up furry, and watch "EXCLUSIVE FURRY INTERVIEW with TELEPHONE," uploaded by a red fox with a green nose: "Majira Strawberry." This began a long rabbit hole of watching furry YouTubers- Majira, Unimaginatively Imaginitive, Pocari Roo- you name it! I made my first sona soon after: "Joey Tesseracts." Since then, I've experimented with blending furry art with my impressionist studies and my experiences in furmeets and conventions, creating the furry works you can see in my painting section! I've also made my own suit, along with a few other suit parts, which you can see in my fursuit section!
Until 2025, I was a firm believer that New York City's Metropolitan Area was a furry desert. I would Google "New York Furries" and find nothing. And after years of searching, I was led to believe that New York- despite its massive population- was an asymptotic anomaly devoid of furries. Other than the pride parades or Furpocalypse 2024, I have not seen any furries! That is, until I met one at a regular comic convention on Long Island. I was astonished when he said there literally was a whole Discord for furries in New York - NYFurs! I went to my first Furmeet the next weekend - Furwalk 4 Central Park! Soon enough, I joined the New York City FurMeets Staff as FurFeast Lead, where I coordinate and plan the group's dining meetups to explore New York's diverse cuisine! I also assist in their other operations, such as their signature FurWalks and convention panels!
Photo credit: EuphieEuphoria on FurTrack