Q&A // Artist Kate Neckel Conquers The Walls of NYC's Ace Hotel

Photo by Charlie Gross

Admittedly, we were a tad jealous when we learned of artist Kate Neckel and her being commissioned by NYC's Ace Hotel to literally draw all over one of the famed hotel's rooms. Flashbacks of parental scoldings shooting through our minds--the inevitable consequences of running through the house, taking creative license with our crayons and the living room wall. Our envy of Neckel only deepened when she was invited back to do it all over again, her drawings now becoming a permanent feature of the hotel.

We recently caught up with Neckel to talk inspiration (both musical and culinary) and the simple pleasures of taking a marker to a wall.

3W's Perrin Drumm: This is your second time drawing on the walls of the Ace Hotel. Did you have different goals this time around? 

Kate Neckel: When I worked on the first room I had notebooks filled with all things Ace: Stumptown coffee, Liberty Hall, every detail of the lobby, the Breslin--and I filled the wall from top to bottom. This time around, I wanted the piece to just flow like a conversation. I started in the middle of the wall because it felt right, and then I just hung out and moved from place to place on the wall.

PD: Do you have the wall worked out ahead of time? As in sketches you bring with you? Or is everything drawn spur of the moment?

KN: I checked into the hotel with some pretty vague sketches and ideas; mostly about music and patterns. I wanted this wall to just grow based on what happened during the weekend or things I found in the room. 

PD: From the photos it looks like it was mighty fun. Did anyone else get to partake with you?

KN: Patrick Phillips from the band Honduras dropped by with his girlfriend Emilie Laperriere. We ordered food from the Breslin, Pat played his guitar and I drew on the walls. Jác stopped on Sunday night and played a few songs (accordion, horn, guitar--oh yeah) while I put the finishing touches on the wall. Other friends included Jenna Menard, Michelle Buswell, Frederique Carme, and of course Tom, Brec and Maeve, my husband and kids, the most inspiring folks I know.

Hit the jump for photos of the process and more of our dialogue with Neckel.

PD: Your bio says "music makes my pen move around." What music soundtracked the drawing?

KN: We were taking requests. The Strokes, Tom Petty, Ben Kweller, Pavement, St. Vincent, The Rolling Stones Pandora station. Patrick Phillips played acoustic guitar, and, of course, Jác--quite a variety pack.

PD: What's going on in the pictures on your site of you drawing on people? (Photo below) Did you just run out of wall space?

KN: I've been drawing on people longer than walls. [Though] I would be a mess with a tattoo gun.

PD: You have a Master's in Drawing and Painting. Did you have to "prove" you could draw realistically before you honed in on your own style?

KN: When I applied to MICA for grad school, my portfolio was filled with photography, paintings and a few drawings. Nothing realistic. The program was multidisciplinary and I spent a lot of time chopping up skateboard decks and making mistakes. I loved it. In undergrad, the foundation classes drove me crazy. Draw a sailboat, draw a bottle, draw your hand, shade a cone with the light coming in from the right. I wasn't a big fan but they were good for me. 

PD: What have you got going on for upcoming projects--professional or personal?

KN: I'm finishing up a mural at Hudson Studios and I've just started taking photos of Patrick and his bandmates. I'm not sure what the piece will be but I think there will be drawings based on the photos and perhaps a video. I'm getting my drawings off the wall and onto sheets, fabrics and other cozy stuff. It's for an editorial spread in an Italian magazine...details to follow.

Meanwhile, check out a few shots of the Ace Hotel process, courtesy of Neckel:

Photo by Charlie Gross

Photo by Charlie Gross

Photo by Mark Andrew

-- Perrin Drumm