24 x 7
NEW
Day by day, hour by hour, he never stops. Worried. Exhausted. Still fighting. This portrait is not about like or dislike. It is about a human being.
James Chronicle
James’ Art Studio — ink portraits of the news as it happens
I Draw What The News Feels Like.
A surgeon-artist’s ink portraits of the people shaping history — drawn within 24 hours of the story, read through a surgeon’s eye.
Latest
From The Studio
Hayley Williams, the Paramore frontwoman, paused during her song ‘Ice In My OJ’ at her October 3rd show in Chula Vista, California, to shout an expletive directed at ICE and voice support for a free Palestine. The Department of Homeland Security answered through a spokesperson — and on October 5th she fired back on Instagram, refusing to back down.
Portrait #359 — James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Texas, drawn October 11, 2026 on his return to the campaign trail at Austin City Limits after being sidelined by the flu. He faces Republican Ken Paxton in the November 3rd general election, with polls showing a tight race.
Portrait #358 marks the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, announced in Oslo on October 9 for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
Portrait #357 records Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot’s The Orange Plague, unveiled at the European Parliament on October 7 — a gold-leaf figure carried on another man’s shoulders.
Drawn after ICE agents fired multiple rounds at a car in Marble Hill, the Bronx, on October 8. A five-year-old girl was inside and was physically unharmed. The officer’s face is covered; the POLICE ICE patch is the only identity.
Abdul El-Sayed in black ink on toned paper — the microphone says public speech; the eyes carry an epidemiologist’s private weight.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in black ink — his face holds the frame, while the hand says the rest.
President Trump at the center, flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles — drawn the day after Trump told a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska to let Iran 'take out' Los Angeles or San Diego, and the week Senator Chris Murphy said the Pentagon denied him access to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Lettered beneath: 'Confrontation all day long. Win a battle, lose a war.'
The Texas attorney general is running for the U.S. Senate — and his race against Democrat James Talarico is a dead heat, in a state that is supposed to be safely red. Lose Texas, and the Republicans could lose the Senate. Drawn as the campaign heated up, one month before the midterms.
Secretary of the Department of War's 'State of the Force' address at Quantico — 'the warrior ethos has been revived.'
Trump performed his signature dance at the midterm rally in Vandalia, Ohio.
New York Attorney General named special prosecutor for the Cornell case.
The lens
“My training as a surgeon taught me to read micro-expressions — the flicker that betrays what the face is trying to hide.”
Every portrait is that reading, in ink. Not just what a leader looks like on the day — what the day did to them. A sharp diagnosis and operation you can hang on a wall.
The Twelve
Twelve pieces chosen from 361 — James’s picks, and the viewer numbers back him up. Tap any piece to read it the way it was drawn.
From The Drawer
Beyond the twelve: two pieces from the drawer that were never posted on TikTok, plus add-on portraits shown alongside them — pairings and historic moments in the same family as the Oslo flagship. Tap any piece to read it.
Want the whole story?
These are a look inside, not the whole drawer. James keeps a large archive of portraits never posted on TikTok — leaders, hearings, and historic moments drawn over years. If you’d like to review the comprehensive collection, ask on TikTok — @smokewillow — and he’ll open the archive.
Collect
Works & Editions
Starting prices for original ink portraits, signed editions, commissions, and editorial use.
Originals
One-of-a-kind black ink portraits, JC seal
A4 standard portrait (210 × 297 mm, toned paper)$900
A4 landmark portrait (major subjects)$1,500
Large format standard (3× A4 and up, rice paper)$1,800
Large format landmark$2,500
Limited Edition Prints
Signed & numbered, edition of 50
Prints 1–15$150
Prints 16–35$180
Prints 36–50$220
Open Edition Prints
Open edition$45
Commissions
Custom ink portrait
50% deposit upfront$1,200
Editorial Licensing
Per image, per story
One image · one story$300
Prices are the same everywhere — studio-direct, gallery, and online.
For purchase inquiries, visit Contact or email jianqzhang@gmail.com.
Commissions
How It Works
one
Same-Day Or Next-Day
Drawn from the day’s photographs while the story is still warm — faster than a photo desk, more revealing than stock.
two
Ink On Toned Paper
Black ink on toned paper, hand-dated and signed, delivered as a high-resolution scan ready for print or screen.
three
Simple Licensing
One-time editorial license, exclusive available. You keep it simple — the artist keeps the copyright.
About
The Chronicler
I’m James — a former surgeon turned chronicler in ink. I record history as it happens, and I reach back for the moments that made it: leaders drawn as the news breaks, and the historic encounters — Oslo, 9/11, Andrews — drawn back into the present tense.
Each piece starts as a reading before it becomes a likeness: the set of a jaw, a glance held a second too long, the weight in a pair of eyes. First in ink, then on TikTok as @smokewillow, where the process plays out daily.
Photos fade, people pass, art endures.
Follow
Keep Up With The Studio
See new portraits, the drawing process, and James’s latest readings as each story unfolds.
TikTok@smokewillow
Follow on TikTok
Tap the bell 🔔 after following — that’s how you get alerted to new portraits.
Instagram@smokewillows
Contact
Start A Conversation
Have a person, moment, or commission in mind? Send James a note directly from the studio.
Email James
Opens your email app so you can review and send your note.