“There he is, folks: Anthony Weiner getting ready to be mayor.”

Despite the comments of one onlooker, the naked, orange and pink man in question was not, in fact, the mayoral candidate, but rather a model being painted by artist Andy Golub in Times Square.

In 2011, Mr. Golub was arrested twice for outdoor body painting stunts in the popular tourist trap – as were his models. In one case, the artist and his human canvas at the time, Zoe West, were arrested and charged with public lewdness and exposure. She was awarded $15,000 in compensation after her arrest was deemed unlawful. The charges against Mr. Golub were dropped when he agreed that he would only paint naked models in public at night.

However, Mr. Golub’s manager, Barry Kostrinsky, told The Observer that this restriction no longer applies, and the artist is free to paint his nude brood as long as he gives advance notice to city officials.

Mr. Golub told us that his art is all about freedom – something he believes has taken a serious hit since Edward Snowden revealed certain NSA activity.

Mr. Kostrinsky said that his client’s performance was “natural” and took “the sex out of nudity.” He noted that most passersby responded with “amazement”.

“Kids get it,” he said. “Old people get it.”

Mr. Golub attracted a crowd of all ages today as he painted two nude models with abstract designs.

One skeptical onlooker asked, “What’s the reason for this?”

“This stuff is art nowadays. They have the naked cowboy, so something else was bound to happen,” his friend replied.

We asked Mr. Golub about his artistic inspiration. “I’m inspired by the models’ energy,” he said.

Also, Bob Dylan. “I like Bob Dylan’s mantra …” he smiled. “I don’t know what mantra means.”