Sketching At The Stewart Gallery

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Larry Marshall

What do you get when you combine a fantastic urban sketcher group with a great city cultural center, who happens to exist in a beautiful mansion and grounds along the shore of Lake Louise? The stuff that dreams are made of, at least for this sketcher.

I was determined to get to Montreal for at least one of the USK-Montreal group’s sketchcrawls this year and it was only by “guess and by golly,” as my dad used to say, that I chose the one scheduled for July 5th. It was to be held on the grounds of Stewart Gallery on the opening of a exhibition of art by Jane Hannah, Shari Blaukopf, and Marc Taro Holmes.

Sunday morning I headed off with my buddy Yvan. There’s nothing better than traveling with another sketcher as time flies as art discussions, discussions of the cool house with the red roof that we just passed, how the distant barns and tree line would make a nice sketch, and all the rest of the stuff that sketchers talk about took place. In no time we were there…and my jaw dropped.

The Stewart Galleries is an amazing place but what was more amazing were all the sketchers dotting the landscape. There were dozens of them. No, there were more. One count suggested there were 80 of them…all in one place, all of them sketching, chatting and having a great time.

My eyes were in information overload. This was a wonderful place to sketch but whose got time to sketch when there are so many sketchers to meet, so much art to see. All I could do was walk around talking to people. I finally got to meet Shari Blaukopf and Jane Hannah. Both are as wonderful as I supposed them to be from internet interactions. I found Jane by walking up to every red-headed woman, asking if they knew Jane Hannah. It was the one time I wished there were fewer people there, but I finally found her and met all the red-heads. That’s gotta be good, isn’t it?

The Stewart Gallery was amazing. The event coordinator, Amanda Johnston did an incredible job, as did her staff. I’ve never been treated so well as a sketcher. They provided coffee, snacks and free ice cream. If you wanted, they even had pencils, paper, and clip boards available for those who came without their sketchbooks. What was particularly great was that these offerings were used quite a lot by those attracted to the event by the USK-Montreal group.

Finally, guilt got the better of me and I decided that I really needed to draw something so I sat down at the edge of the lake and drew this view, looking away from Stewart Gallery towards the Pointe Claire marina. It’s not my best work as it was rushed and my head was spinning with excitement. Nevertheless, it is evidence that I sketched at the event. Then it was back to talking, viewing the new gallery exhibit and enjoying the day. Thanks to all who made the day so fantastic.

Stillman & Birn Beta (9x12), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Beta (9×12), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

The View From The Car

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Larry Marshall

I rarely sketch from a vehicle as others do. Truth is, I rarely have a vehicle available to me. But a few days ago, with rain stifling my ability to walk and sketch outdoors, I went to Ile d’Orleans with my daughter. We parked in front of the Boulange and after consuming one of their great pastries we got in the car and started to sketch.

The cadence of our activity was interesting. Scribble, scribble, turn-the-windshield-wiper-on/off, scribble, scribble. We had a great time, though I suspect most would think us nuts. This is what I drew.

Stillman & Birn Beta (6x9), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black

I was asked several times this weekend what watercolors I use and I have to admit that I rarely mention them on this blog. I’m more of a line guy than a color guy and so it never crosses my mind to mention it. But, it is the case that I use Daniel Smith watercolors almost exclusively. I switched from Winsor & Newton about six months ago.

Outdoor Car Show Sketching

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Last weekend I went to a large, outdoor car show in the park at Montmorency Falls, just east of Quebec City. This is a show of hundreds of cars with thousands of people paying their eight bucks to look at them.

I mention this because people who haven’t done much location sketching often express how they’d be afraid to sketch in public. I always respond with “people interaction is one of the best things about location sketching because only nice people ever talk to you and the interactions are always fun.”

I have to revise that view just a little bit. Am I a bad person for getting annoyed at LOTS of people being really nice? I started sketching and because there were so many people telling me how talented I was, asking if I was an artist, and telling me that they couldn’t draw, that I had a hard time actually getting any sketching accomplished. Still, it was a great day and the people were wonderful.

I’m old, so ‘cool car’ means cars that existed when I was a kid. In 1956 I was eight years old and Ford Fairlanes were everywhere. And so, with every car imaginable on display, it was nature for me to find a ’56 Fairlane to draw. I sort of messed up the wheels but otherwise I was happy with this result.

Stillman & Birn Gamma, Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black

After attracting more than my share of observers while doing that long sketch, I decided a better tactic might be to wander around, drawing pieces of cars. That was fun too and I did this page. I didn’t complete the ’30s Ford front end as, well, I was getting really hungry and I would have had to stand in line for an hour to get something to eat. I didn’t have the patience for that so I decided to go home.

Stillman & Birn Gamma (10x7), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Gamma (10×7), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black

Tina Koyama Limited Edition Sketchbook

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Larry Marshall

I’m a lucky guy. Tina Koyama sent me one of her small sketchbooks. She makes these from light watercolor paper and endows them with creative covers. Now that I’ve used one, I know why all photos of her exhibit a big smile.

I’ve only done half a dozen sketches in this 4×6 book but it’s really fun to use and the paper holds up nicely to my pointy devices. It’s a single 5-sheet signature, providing 20, 4×6 sketch surfaces in a very small, light footprint.

My first use was to quickly sketch this odd metal sculpture. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to represent but I guess it represents it. No matter, it gave me a chance to scribble in the book and slop on a bit of watercolor.

And then it rained. It’s still acting like spring here and I was cloistered behind windows, limiting both my spirits and sketching subjects.

Across the street was this digger, so I drew it. I should have turned the book and drawn across the long dimension but I didn’t so this image is pretty small. Still, it was fun to let the Namiki Falcon wander around for a while.

This last sketch was done while I was out for a long walk. For some reason I was in the mood for a large scene when I walked through the park at Pointe de Lievre, so I plunked my butt on a picnic bench and quickly sketched this and used a waterbrush filled with dilute ink to shade it a bit. I deemed it a good use of 15 minutes.

I’m really enjoying Tina’s tiny sketchbook. I’m not sure she has convinced me to spend a lot of time making my own as I’d need to make a lot of them given the way I use small sketchbooks, but she’s nudged me a bit closer to the edge.

Parc Des Braves – Quebec City

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Larry Marshall

A few days ago I talked about Parc des braves and showed you a sketch I’d done of the toilet building. I was back in that neighborhood and decided to draw the large monument in front of the parc. This monument is in tribute to soldiers who died in one of the final battles (1760) of the French-English war. It’s hard to capture a monument this tall but I hope I’ve done it justice.

Stillman & BIrn Beta (9×12), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black