Ferry Dock Sketching

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Larry Marshall

I use any excuse to take the ferry from Quebec City to Levis, which is on the other side of the St. Lawrence River from us. I do it because 1) I like boats, 2) my bus pass makes it free, and 3) did I mention that I like boats?

On this day, I did it because Yvan wanted to sketch the ferry station, which is an old train station that’s been sort of messed up by neglect and its conversion into a ferry dock. But they’re planning on tearing it down and he wanted a sketch of it. Seemed like a plan to me.

But when I got there, something about sketching the station just didn’t turn my crank that morning so I found an alternative, this building that was probably a hotel at some point and may still be. I like the way the cliff jutted up above, dwarfing what is actually a very large building.

It was done in a Stillman & Birn Zeta (5×8) sketchbook with Pilot Preras and Platinum Carbon Black and Noodler’s Lexington gray inks. Hope you like it. It was sure fun.

Do You Sketch Small?

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Larry Marshall

I’ve always carried a small sketchbook with me for doing quick-sketches of things. But more and more I’ve been sketching in 5×8 or 10×7 sketchbooks. Working larger is fun and lets me ‘stretch’ my gaze a bit more. The result is that my small sketchbook became a cheap dollar store sketchbook that wouldn’t tolerate watercolors while my larger sketchbooks are all Stillman & Birn, first-class sketchbooks. The ‘gap’ between small and large had become greater in my sketching.

So I tried one of Stillman & Birn’s 4×6 sketchbooks. In fact, I’ve nearly filled two of them. The paper is fantastic, as always, but a 4×6, thick sketchbook is too ‘big’ to be called a ‘small’ sketchbook, at least for this street sketcher. I need something I can stuff in a pocket.

And so I bought a Moleskine watercolor book. I don’t much like its landscape layout but it’s tolerable in this small size. The larger one is almost painful to manage if you try to balance it on your knee while sitting on a stool, which is my typical approach. I do wish they’d produce a portrait format sketchbook with their watercolor paper. Heck, what I really wish is that Stillman & Birn would produce a thin (30pages?) 3×5 sketchbook with their Epsilon paper. Then I’d be a very happy sketcher.

This is a Celtic Cross in Artillery Park. 3x5 and done with a Pilot Prera.

This is a Celtic Cross in Artillery Park. Done with a Pilot Prera.

Anyways, I’ve started doing small pen & ink watercolors again and I’m really enjoying it. I thought I’d share some with you. All of these were done in the tiny Moleskine. I’ll mention the pen used in captions.

Factory building along the Riviere St. Charles. Sakura Micron 01.

Lamp on Plains of Abraham. Uniball Signo UM-151 “brown-black” .28

Cast metal fountain on Plains of Abraham. Pilot Prera, Platinum Carbon Black.

Large light inside the Kent Gate. Pilot Prera.

Cartier-Brebeuf Park. Pilot Prera

Pilot Prera w/Platinum Carbon Black

A Red Flag Will Stop A Sketcher Every Time

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Larry Marshall

As an urban sketcher, with a penchant for the mundane, I couldn’t pass up this scene. The railroad track in the background feeds into the train station here in Quebec City. A passenger train was headed inbound. The track in the foreground is a seldom-used track that allows a connection between a huge cargo facility on one side of a river and another one on the other side. Not much traffic but they’re not interested in any at all when the passenger trains come and go (only a few times a day).

And so, they clip this flag to the track, to let anyone thinking of taking their train engine for a spin, not to do it. The bright red flag created an interesting scene, at least to me. Done in my Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7) with a Pilot Prera, PCB ink, W&N artist watercolors and limited skill.

Urban Sketcher Communes With Nature

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Larry Marshall

I had a wonderful time last Saturday. I was invited to the house of long-time friend, Pierre Therrien, along with two other sketching buddies, one of them being Pierre’s constant companion and main squeeze, Celine.

I picked Yvan up and we headed to Pierre’s house, which is just south of the North Pole, I think. We drove and drove and drove. Pierre lives in a forest. His home looks out on gorgeous forested landscape areas and is near Jacques Cartier River, a very sketch-ogenic river. It is a sketcher’s dream.

We spent the first hour chatting about everything and anything and spent some time drooling over his art library. Then we decided that maybe sketching time was wasting away so we headed outside and broke out the pointy devices. Yvan, Celine and Pierre set up in front of the house to draw the ‘paysage’ that splays out in front of it and ends with a backdrop of the Laurentian mountains which, to a Rocky Mountain guy like myself, have always more resembled hills than mountains. Everything’s relative, I guess, and so are mountains.

But I’m an urban sketcher so I started wandering around. I found myself in a far corner of a field, looking back at Pierre’s house. Photo is courtesy of Yvan. You can see that I was very comfy as I had a full chair rather than my stool.

All alone was I, except for the curious ants, too many biting flies and a Theridid spider. I tried to strike up a conversation with the spider but she didn’t say much. She just glared at me for plunking my chair down so close to her web.

Here’s the view I had and the partially completed sketch:

I had decided to try out my new Uniball UM-151 (.28mm) pen on Stillman & Birn Alpha paper and I’ve concluded that it’s a wonderful combination. I’m going to be ordering some more of them ‘real soon.’

After lunch I returned to my perch, with the addition of a portable umbrella that shaded me from what was now a very hot sun. I completed the ink sketch and added color, using a waterbrush and W&N artist colors. I’m a hack watercolorists but I’ve got to get back to using real brushes. Here’s the finished sketch:

Sketching On A Summer Morning

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Larry Marshall

It’s fun to be out sketching early in the morning. Quebec City wakes up slowly and if you are out walking at 7AM, you’re mostly alone. Of course this morning I met up with my buddy Yvan and we found ourselves on Rue des Remparts, a great sketching street that skirts the upper portion of the old city. We chose a scene, that was really the backyard and garage areas of several houses. The location also provided a nice shade tree under which I could sit.

The sketch was done in a Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7) sketchbooks using a Pilot Prera and Platinum Carbon Black. W&N artist watercolors and a a waterbrush were used to add color. Before it was done I was wishing I’d brought my real brushes along.