Boro man seeks record for longest drawing
Guinness World Records reviewing evidence
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer
A24-year-old Sayreville resident recently endeavored to set a new world record for the longest color pencil drawing.

Osvaldo Bianchi of Sayreville drags a tape measure along what is believed to be the world's longest stretch of color pencil drawings.

Jainthan Francis, of Winding Wood Apartments, unrolled his 20-inch-wide and 500-yard-long drawing, which weighs 360 pounds, at Kennedy Park off Washington Road, where the Sayreville Police Department measured the project for evidence purposes on May 31.

"This is the second time it was on display," Francis said. "The first time I did it, it was very windy."

The evidence, which includes official police documentation, a video recording of the unveiling and witness accounts, will be sent to Guinness World Records for certification.

Francis expects Guinness World Records to approve the record by next month and subsequently send him a certificate. For three months, he drew a walkway adorned with multicolored tiles and footprints using 200 colors, and he finished the drawing in time for his father's birthday on March 14.

Francis said that a Mexican man holds the record for the world's longest black and white pencil drawing at 450 yards in length, so he wanted to do something different. For Francis, this is the fulfillment of one of his longtime dreams.

"I love drawing and I always wanted to do something with drawing," Francis said. "It was always my dream to be famous and be in the Guinness Book of World Records."

Francis used a cardboard outline of his feet to make the footprints that appear in the drawing, which he said represents his own journey in life. Francis drew inspiration from seeing a local homeless man.

"This one homeless guy … he always walks here and there," Francis said. "I always wonder where he is going, what he sees when he walks."

Francis' family immigrated to the United States from Hyderabad, India, in 2001. They initially lived in uptown Manhattan before moving to Sayreville two years ago, Francis said. His mother, Maria, manages a Dunkin' Donuts in Laurence Harbor, while his father, Clement, manages a Dunkin' Donuts in Jackson.

CHRIS KELLY staff Jainthan Francis of Sayreville measures what wound up being a 20-inch-wide and 500-yard-long color pencil drawing at Kennedy Park on a recent Sunday.

"My dad always would tell me from childhood, 'You know, one day you are going to be famous,'" Francis said. "My dad always reminded me. I want to make him proud. I want to use my own ideas, use my own creativity."

Francis said that he is frequently inspired by his surroundings, as well as current events, when approaching his craft. Francis drew different colored birds with the names of the shooting victims at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., in 2007. He said that the idea for the piece is that while the victims are no longer with us in physical form, their spirits live on.

Francis also drew a piece in honor of the victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York and at the Pentagon. He also decorated a Christmas tree with 4,500 names of soldiers who were killed in Iraq at the Dunkin' Donuts on Route 9 in Old Bridge, where he works.

"I wanted to give the message for Christmas," Francis said. "During Christmas, everybody is happy, but some are sad because their loved ones are in the war. I wanted to let them know that we are sad too. Let's make this Christmas more special by thinking of our loved ones."

Francis said that he also crafted one heart-shaped sheet of paper with a different country's flag in each one for 240 specialneeds students and 38 teachers at New Road School of Parlin on Bordentown Avenue for Valentine's Day. Each student and teacher wrote a message expressing their love to people around the world and then placed the hearts on the walls of the school, he said.

Francis said that he wants to set more world records and pursue goals that benefit other people.

"My dream is to sacrifice my life," Francis said. "I want to help others. Making other people happy makes me happy. I always wanted to do something different in my life."