Every morning in the subway, Peter Sis greeted the whale. Unlike the millions of subway commuters that took the numbers 2, 5 and 6 lines, he had an affinity with this whale. It was his creation.

"The best feeling was when, as in Union Square, three different trains pass in the dark and all of them had whale posters you can see through the windows. It was an awesome 3-D feeling. However, it was one thing to be stuck in the subway looking at your artwork. It was yet another thing to be on the train, realizing nobody was looking at your artwork," Sis lamented.

Subway commuters did take notice of the whale. In the spring of 2001, the new batch of 2 Brooklyn-bound trains rolled down the tracks. I thought, Praise God. The timeworn Redbirds finally get replaced by... What? An antiseptic-looking and bland batch of trains? Gone were the colorful orange plastic seats. In its place sat boring gray seats. The sterile interior of white and silver was reminiscent of a sci-fi movie space transporter.

It was the afternoon rush-hour. I huddled with the masses and barely held on to the overhead railing. My backpack was jammed somewhere in the nether regions, cushioning me from the next person. My body was twisted awkwardly and my neck was craned the other way as I got a whiff of the mans distinct smell of tobacco, beef jerky and liniment. I held my breath and craned my neck some more. My eyes fell on the poster of the whale. Sis's whale. It was the one saving grace in that jam-packed subway ride

The whales cross-section revealed an intricate gray labyrinth of Manhattans buildings and blocks. A path traversing the whales belly showed railway cars chugging along.

This uncanny pen and ink depiction was done using cross-hatching, a technique for which Sis is well-known. It employs the crossing of a series of lines of various lengths, widths and angles, requiring hundreds, even thousands of stripes. This particular whale took Sis two weeks to draw and was done in pen and ink, water color, gold acrylic and rubber stamps.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority commissioned the whale for the Arts for Transit series in the spring of 2001. Arts for Transit encourages the use of public transit by presenting visual and performing arts projects in subway and commuter rail stations.

The whale was a familiar and comforting presence in the train. Many a commuters ride was at least made interesting by its presence. I was held captive by Siss whale drawing again and again. I welcomed scrutinizing each minute detail the whole subway ride home when I was caught without a book to read, CD music to listen to or when I got sick and tired of the Dr. Zizmor derma ads.

This artwork was the most apt depiction of Manhattan in the same way that E.B. Whites classic essay, Here is New York best captures the quintessential Manhattan.

The man from Brno, Czechoslovakia, came to America initially as an animator in Los Angeles. But after a few years, all signs were pointing toward Manhattan. He bought an old car and drove across the country until he found the tunnel to Manhattan. He has made Manhattan his home for twenty years now. The whale is my poem about my twenty years in New York, the most exciting and proudest place in the world. New York is where my children were born, said Sis.

Sis is a man of many talents. Aside from being an internationally-known childrens book illustrator and author, he is also a filmmaker, editorial illustrator, book jacket and poster artist, mural artist, stage set artist, among others. He has more than twenty books to his credit and is a five-time winner of The New York Times Book Reviews Best Illustrated Book of the Year for Rainbow Rhino, Beach Ball, Follow the Dream, Komodo!, and The Three Golden Keys.

He wrote a book about a whale in 1992 called The Ocean World. While he was working on it, he immersed himself on the subject by going whale-watching in Hawaii, Florida and Massachusetts. "For a person born in a landlocked country, the whales always fascinated me," he said. Since then, Sis did many drawings of whales, but thought he drew the subway whale the best.

"The whale was absolutely one of my favorite works. It was created out of my love for Manhattan and was the most patriotic and heartfelt project I ever did. And the reaction of the public was amazing. I got phone calls and letters from all over the country," Sis said.

Presently, Sis is working on more books, animation, murals and internet projects. For the later part of last year, Sis was busy promoting his latest offering, a book which came out in the fall titled The Tree of Life.

Sis gave us a depiction of New York that is truly apt, that of a leviathan, a place of enormous size and power. Similarly, New Yorks other characteristics are resilience and stability. No harpoon will ever bring this whale down. This whale will float in a sea of uncertainty.

And so the mythical leviathan lives on, not just in the Bibles Jonah and the whale or Melvilles Moby Dick but in Peter Siss subway whale. "Is the poster going to stay in the No. 2, 5 and 6 trains? I wish I knew. Even if not, it was a good ride," Sis concluded.

Note: The subway whale poster has been replaced by artist John Blackfords work. The whale poster stayed on the train for at least two years. Peter Sis lives in New York City with his wife Terry Lajtha and their daughter, Madeleine and their son, Matej.