Sketching On The Run

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Larry Marshall

Yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment so I couldn’t go to the museum to sketch. This, however, didn’t prevent me from sketching, but it did force me to mentally shift gears a bit.

I’m a sketcher who enjoys sketching precisely, or I try to achieve some precision in my sketches. I like my sketches to reflect what I’m sketching, without a lot of loose and/or restated lines, casual approach to outline, etc. Depending on your view this is a good or bad thing and I’m not here to defend my approach; it’s just how my brain works. In point of fact, I’d like to do both loose and precise sketching but as a relatively new sketcher, sketching slowly fits my limited ability to truly ‘see’ and depict what I see.

Anyways, yesterday I got to the doctor’s office (he works out of a clinic) and I had to wait. Those of us waiting sit, while others stand in a short line, waiting to tell the receptionist about their own appointments. There’s not much to sketch, at least that sits still for any period of time.

There is, however, a 20-30 second period of time where each of the patients is standing in front of the receptionist and I had a clear view of them. So, I took out my S&B 4×6 sketchbook, my Pilot Prera, and I started quick sketching the people as they took their turn at the receptionist’s window. I did several of them before the doctor, all too soon, called my name. It was fun.

This is what those 30 second sketches look like. Not much to speak of but satisfying in some strange way. The second sketch is one in which I spent an extra 30 seconds, after the patient had left, adding some rough shading and darkening some outlines. More fun.

I should add that I’ve been critical of the many books and drawing courses that advocate students begin sketching by doing ‘gesture sketches’, which these most certainly are. A year ago, as a new sketcher, there is no way I could have done even these crude sketches in this short time frame. If you’re a newbie sketcher you know what I mean. Thus, while this was/is fun, I remain skeptical that it’s where you want to start as a sketcher.

I’m reminded of something my buddy Yvan has said to me several times. “You must draw slowly before you can draw quickly.” I think he’s right and the how-to-draw books could learn much from Yvan. I still can’t draw people well, whether I draw slowly or quickly. But because I’ve drawn a bunch of them slowly, and because I’ve studied (watched a lot) people, I’ve got a better idea of what I’ve got to capture when I’ve only got a few seconds to do so.

I have to say that I had a lot of fun in those few minutes in the doctor’s office and I hope I can improve my abilities to capture people quickly. I still like my slow, and I do mean REALLY slow, sketching approach, but sketching quickly is fun too. I feel there’s room for both in my life. What do you think about quick sketching?

Cheers — Larry

Why Am I Such A Loyal Goulet Pens Customer?

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Larry Marshall

I tell everyone who will listen how great Goulet Pens is as a company. They’re great people. They have a fantastic website with more info about pens than any other site. They stock a huge array of inks, pens and papers. And they ship everything at reasonable prices, wrapped as though they were sending it into a war zone. What more could you ask for in a company.

But there’s another reason and you can see it here:

This video hit my inbox as part of the Goulet Pens newsletter and five minutes later I was in my shop, my Prera disassembled, and the ink cleaned out of the cap. I love my Preras but the one problem was with ink in the cap of my demonstrator. Problem gone. Thanks Brian… again.

Cheers — Larry

Am I Spending Too Much Time At The Museum?

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Larry Marshall

It’s been bitter cold in Quebec City so my sketching itch has me haunting the Musee de la Civilisation on a regular basis. Maybe it’s too regular. I have evidence.

First evidence came from a guard. I was sitting with my buddy Yvan, who was drawing a horse statue as I recall. A guard came by and offered him a chair (we normally sit on our sketching stools). When he returned with the chair they started chatting about Yvan’s sketch. Then the guard mentioned the ‘other’ guy who draws a lot in the museum. “He stands in the Samurai exhibit and makes very nice helmet drawings.” At least he thought they were nice.

The second bit of evidence is even more clear that I’m going there too often. When you are a museum member like I am you have to go to the info counter and show them your membership card. They write your name down and give you the sticker you’ve got to wear to have the run of the museum just like those paying for a single visit. Two days ago I walked towards that counter and before showing him my card the guy said, “You’re Larry Marshall. What do you do here every day?” Yep…coming too often. But we had a quick chat about sketching and I showed him my sketchbook, and my Samurai sketches.

It seems time to share some more of them with you as well. While those who follow this blog have seen some of them here, here and here, I’m including five more in this post. Click on them to get larger images. Lots of fun to sketch and some are significant challenges but I need a building sketch fix.

All of these were done in a 5.5×8.5 Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook, using a Pilot Prera pen with Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink. Color comes from Faber-Castell watercolor pencils and a waterbrush which is idea for use in a museum. Hope you like them.

Cheers — Larry

I Wish There Were Good Subjects To Sketch Where I Live

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Larry Marshall

Raise your hand if you haven’t heard this, or something similar said/written by someone in a sketching/art forum. In the writing world the questions that authors joke about is “Where do you get your ideas?” and the answers run from horribly snarky to absolutely hilarious – often it’s hard to tell which is which. But in the end, what authors explain is “Ideas are easy; it’s execution that is the hard part.”

And similarly, this “Where do you find good stuff to draw?” question should get a similar treatment in my view. I don’t mean the snarky part but the truth is, the best way to find good stuff to draw is to stop looking for good stuff to draw.

Just like a writer’s ideas, finding good stuff is the easy part; it’s the execution that is important. I think people spend so much time looking for the perfect scene because they believe that a ‘perfect scene’ does great art make. I say that’s not true, though I confess, I’m not much of an artist so maybe I’m wrong.

But I do know one thing for sure. Trying to do a drawing of the Taj Mahal or the Grand Canyon that doesn’t look like yet another picture of the Taj Mahal or Grand Canyon is MUCH harder than creating a meaningful drawing of something that the viewer hasn’t seen in a gazillion photos before they see your sketch. Don’tcha want to show people what they’re missing, not what they’ve already seen?

Think about the famous painters and what they found worthy of their time. Monet painted in Paris but instead of a steady stream of Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe paintings, he painted gardens, smoky railroad stations, fishing boats, and water lilies. Van Gogh painted peasants sitting around a table eating potatoes. He also painted sunflowers. Lots of sunflowers. What made Monet and Van Gogh memorable wasn’t their subject matter; it is what they did with it.

And so it goes with sketching. Everywhere, anywhere, and at any time, there are things to sketch available to anyone with a set of functioning eyes and a pencil. Personally, I’m drawn to the mundane, mostly because I never noticed any of this stuff before I became a sketcher. Once I became one I was amazed at how much personality fire hydrants, telephone poles, and lamp posts have and how, if one looks one can see ‘art’ in everything.

I’ve scattered several sketches of mundane, readily available subjects from my town. I never would have seen or sketched any of them if I’d been looking for the proverbial ‘great scene.’ So again I suggest, stop looking and instead sketch what is before you. If nothing else you’ll be sketching and it’s that process that is the key to the smiles you see on sketcher’s faces.

10 Favorite Sketches of 2012

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Larry Marshall

2012 represents most of my sketching experience to date. I started trying to draw cubes back in September of 2011 but I didn’t start doing any location sketching until spring of 2012 as the Quebec snow melted. It’s been a fantastic journey as I’ve climbed the early stages of the sketching learning curve. I thought it might be fun to do a ‘ 10 favorites’ post, where I present what I think are some of my best sketches of the year. I’m often accused of being ‘down’ on my sketches. Here’s my chance to show people that I’m actually happy with some of them (grin).

Because 90% or more of my sketches have been done on the street and most have been buildings, I thought I should vary my choices by selecting one sketch from ten different categories, just to increase the variety. So, here they are. I hope you like them.

Building

This is, by far, the hardest selection. I’ve done a LOT of building sketches and none of them really stand out as extraordinary, though many are personal ‘favorites’. I’ve chosen this one because it, in the extreme, is the brightest (grin).

Vehicle

I’ve drawn a number of cars, trucks and even heavy equipment. I chose this one, however, because the subject was so darn cute when it found it lounging in the old port area of Quebec.

Fire hydrant

Pete Scully, by example, caused me to notice and sketch fire hydrants. I don’t know what it is about them but once you start looking at them you realize they vary considerably and that fire hydrants have oodles of personality. I chose this one because I like the composition.

Samurai helmet

I’ve tried drawing from photos and it’s ‘ok’ but sketching, for me, is about going places and seeing things. But winter in Quebec City is just too cold to be outdoors so we’re all driven indoors. At first I found that depressing but once I saw the Samurai exhibit at our museum of civilization, I was hooked on indoor sketching. I started sketching Samurai helmets, which are amazing, serving to protect heads as well as indicate status, identity, and even to serve in ceremonial roles. It’s hard to choose a single helmet sketch as I love these amazing pieces of hardware. I chose this one as it nearly drove me nuts drawing all those flame thingies.

Human

This was hard as I haven’t drawn many people. It’s on my ‘to do’ list for 2013. But I chose this one, a very simple sketch, because I liked the way I was lucky enough to capture the movement of this guy’s coat as he walked along.

Ship

Quebec City has an active port so I’ve sketched several ships. I chose this one because I remember struggling with all the decks and railings. I also have memories of how much fun I had that day as I sketched with my buddy Pierre.

Steeple/Dome

Quebec City is heavily populated by domes and steeples projecting upward from their supporting structures. I love sketching them and have done a bunch of them. I chose this particular sketch because it features both domes and steeples in a single sketch.

Telephone pole

Maybe you have to be an urban sketcher to appreciate them, but I like telephone poles and all the wires, transformers and connectors that hang from them. I did this sketch on blue paper and liked the way it turned out.

Tree

I’ve drawn a bunch of trees but mostly they’ve been ‘studies’ where it was just the tree and nothing for supporting material. This one, however, was done one day when Pierre and I headed out one Sunday morning looking for things to sketch. It was a crisp autumn day and the maples had started to change colors. I decided to make the tree the main attraction, putting the building in the background.

Vignette

To fulfill my promise of ten sketches, I’ve added this vignette to complete the set. I was sketching with my friend Nicolas and we were sitting in a church yard, a church that has become a library. I looked over my shoulder and could see part of this restaurant, liked the red umbrellas and so I drew it. Again, it brings back memories of a good day.

I’m looking forward to 2013 sketching. For a while I’m going to have to work indoors but sometime around April we’ll start having a day or three where it’s tolerable to sketch outside and you’ll find me on the streets all summer. Happy New Year, everyone.