Do Nigerians Have Thick Necks?

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Larry Marshall

Goofy question, right? Well, I’m convinced there is evidence to support the notion that Nigerians have thick necks. It comes in the form of the Nigeria exhibit at our Musée de la Civilisation.

That evidence comes in the form of large, and I mean large ‘crests’ worn by Nigerian dancers. Some of these are huge and, supposedly, they wear them while doing ceremonial dances. I wouldn’t want to balance one on my head while watching TV, let alone while dancing.

Here’s just one example. This ‘little’ guy is roughly half a meter tall. The straw band at its base is where your head goes. I assume there’s a strap that goes through the lower hole and runs around under the chin. Thick necks… gotta be.

This next one isn’t quite as large and I’m not exactly sure how it’s even worn. It’s obviously an elephant who likes to play frisbee but other than that I know nothing about it other than that it too is labelled as a ‘crest’ and is part of a long line of them along one wall of the exhibit.

Both sketches were done in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon (5.5×8.5) sketchbook. The first was drawn with a Pilot Prera, Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink and Faber-Castell watercolor pencils. The elephant sketch was done with a mechanical pencil. Thank goodness for museums when it’s cold outside.

More Museum Sketching…Still…Again

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Larry Marshall

Yet another Samurai helmet. This is the eleventh one I’ve done and I think it’s time to move on, though there are still a bunch of cool ones to sketch. This one, like the others, was done in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon (5.5×8.5) sketchbook, using a Pilot Prera loaded with Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink. Faber-Castell watercolor pencils made it pretty. I couldn’t help but think about propeller beanies while doing this one.

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’ve Become A Samurai Sketcher

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Larry Marshall

Winter has turned me into a Samurai sketcher. By that I mean I’m spending more time sketching the Samurai exhibit at our Musee de la Civilisation than anything else. I need to spend time in the Nigeria exhibit too as it has a lot of great masks and statues worthy of a sketcher’s eye, but the Samurai display is only here until Feb 17 so I’m trying to get as much done there as possible, which isn’t a lot as slow as I sketch (grin).

Yesterday I went with Celine, Pierre and Yvan to the museum. We had a great time. I sketched a couple more Samurai helmets, bringing my total to five. There’s only another 40 or so to go 🙂

Both were done in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon (5.5×8.5) with a Pilot Prera, Lex Gray ink, and my Faber-Castell watercolor pencils. The more I use these watercolor pencils the more I like them.

Samurai – The Continuing Saga Of The Urban Sketcher

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Larry Marshall

The last few days have been stormy here. High winds, snow, and general ugliness. No big deal except that I haven’t been able to follow my normal walking regime. With mild desperation to right that wrong, I trudged off today, or rather I was slipping and sliding down the sidewalks. I was jumping mounds of snow, walking on water…well, really just in it. After an hour of this joyous adventure I found myself at the Musee de la Civilisations, my winter haunt.

I sketched only one Samurai helmet today, though. This one was a bit more challenging, with all its fire ornamentation and besides, I had another hour of slipping and sliding to get home. It was fun anyways and while I’m beat from the walk, it was a very satisfying day. I think, though, that I’m going to sit and sketch for a while.

The sketch was done in a Stillman & Birn Alpha (5.5×8.5), which is becoming my museum sketchbook. I used a Pilot Prera and Lex Gray. The color comes from Faber-Castell “Albrecht Durer” watercolor pencils, mushed around with a waterbrush. This is an approach that fits the museum world and works for me, though I’m still learning how and what to do with them.