The Chad Frye – Illustration Guy Blog

Here’s part two of some of my real life sketches drawn in the airports where I spent some quality time over the holidays. These specimens were captured in Baltimore and Atlanta one week ago where I spent a combined twelve hours sitting around. I people watched, sent some e-mails, played on Facebook, watched a movie on my iPod, ate a few meals and sketched. What else can you do when at the mercy of the airlines?

This woman was struggling her way through the halls of Baltimore's airport with a giant carry-on bag and shoes that did NOT look comfortable. Not to mention I feel sorry for whomever had to sit next to that hair.

While sitting in Atlanta's airport, this woman walked up and took command of a seat near the gate entrance. She was dressed very elegantly, but her face and body language looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. And by "weight of the world" I meant "shoulder pads".

This Indian kid was a walking cartoon with his long frizzy hair, slouch, ginormous eyebrows, and overall demeanor. This is not so much a cartoon drawing as it is a portrait.

So there you have it – a few sketches from my travels. I don’t know how I’d pass the time without pencil and pen in hand. Sure glad the TSAs haven’t outlawed those.  Yet.

Welcome to the New Year! What occupied YOUR time on New Year’s Eve? Was it spent traversing this expansive nation of ours over twenty-two of those last twenty-four hours of 2012? No? Mine was.

Yes, twenty-two hours. I left my parents’ home on the east coast of the United States to travel an hour and a half to the Baltimore airport just to wait about seven hours before my flight took off for Atlanta where I spent another five hours before flying to Los Angeles where I waited for a bus to take me to my car which I used to travel the last thirty minutes home. It was on said bus where I rang in the new year with about thirty other weary travelers, one of whom somehow managed to already be drunk. Good times.

With all that time spent in airports, the trusty ol’ sketchbook was utilized. There’s nothing like a good airport to bring out the most interesting of humanity. Thought I’d share with you a few highlights…

This woman was actually drawn prior to Christmas during my journey east when I got stuck in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport for seven hours.

This gentleman was in the food court with his family in Delta's terminal of the Baltimore airport. Sounded like they were speaking French to each other next to the McDonald's, and yet none were eating French fries.

Also in Baltimore, this woman cracked me up. She sat down in her pink track suit with a double row of rhinestones on the sleeve, and proceeded to eat her lunch and physically groove to the R&B music she was clearly listening to (I could hear it from several tables away) on her iPod.

Just to spread the love, next week I’ll post a few more gems from my time served in the Baltimore and Atlanta airports on New Year’s Eve.