Meet the 'Sneaky Artist' sketching commuters on Metro Vancouver transit

He calls himself the Sneaky Artist, but if you keep your eyes peeled on Vancouver public transit this month, you might just catchNishant Jain in action.

A sketch artist who has spent years drawing people in urban landscapes, Jain is the December artist in residence for TransLink's Art Moves program, which features a different creator every month providing performances and experiences for riders.

Jain has beensketching commuters on the Expo Line since Dec. 2 and has a couple ofpop-up performancesplanned before New Year's Eve.

"A train is a beautiful thing because people who don't know anything about each other still get together to do this thing together ...I just love observing that kind of human activity," said Jain, speaking Monday on CBC's The Early Edition.

Jain found art after being entrenched in academia.He was halfway through completing a PhD in neuroscience in the Netherlands a few years ago when he said it dawned on him he would be happier doing something creative.

So he started taking a notebook with him everywhere and sketching what and who he saw, feeding both his curiosity about the world around him and his confidence about being an immigrant in the various cities where he has lived and worked.

"My art is a way to feel comfortable in foreign places, to try to better understand strangers and the way communities live, even looking at it from a distance, even when you feel like you are an outsider," he said.

Jain has been sharing his arton social media, which is how TransLink discovered his work. During his residency, he is not just sketching but sharing his work with his subjects as well.

The minimalist sketches are done quickly, as Jainnever knowswhen his subject's stop is approaching, and he said he likes to capture people in very human moments, such as simultaneously listening to headphones and dozing off.

"The idea is not really to capture a portrait but to capture a representation of the person in that moment," he said.

Your next opportunity to appear in one of Jain's piecesis this Friday, Dec. 16, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Waterfront Station.

According to an email from TransLink, the Art Moves program was launched in May 2022 and has featured a total of 33 musicians, performers, and artists.