I’m Back Drawing Soapstone

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Larry Marshall

[note: this was done last week but I forgot to press the publish button]

We returned to the museum of civilisation on Thursday and I continued sketching Inuit soapstone carvings. These are not precise carvings but they have a smoothness about their surfaces that is impressive when you realize they’re generally done by hand. More importantly, traditional Inuit carving is a form of story-telling, a reflection of Inuit life.

I started a two-page spread in my Stillman & Birn 8×10 Beta softcover book but only got the central sculpture done. It depicts a family’s successful hunt.

Sorry about the poor photo. I found it impossible to scan a two-page spread and didn’t have lights set up to photograph it properly.

Off To Sketcher Museum Land

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Larry Marshall

While our Museum of Civilization doesn’t have much to offer a sketcher this winter, it is pretty much the only game in town so a group of us were there, trying to take stock of sketching subjects for winter.

I’ve decided that I will sketch a bunch of the Inuit soapstone carvings because 1) they are available and 2) they offer lots of compound curves and soft edges to challenge my drawing skill. Hopefully I’ll get better at them but until then, here are a couple that I did on Thursday. Stillman & Birn Alpha (5.5×8.5) softcover.

This is an Inuit hunter, hiding behind a hide-covered shield, trying to sneak up on a seal.

This one speaks volumes of the rigors of living in the extreme north. This woman, wearing parka and gloves is shown giving birth. That's tough work if ever I've seen it.

This one speaks volumes about the rigors of living in the extreme north. This woman, wearing a parka and gloves is shown giving birth. That’s tough work if ever I’ve seen it.

Rainy Tuesday Sketching

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Larry Marshall

We can’t catch a break with the weather it seems but Yvan and I sat under an awning in open-air atrium at the museum and sketched very large potted plants. This area becomes a restaurant when weather permits and these huge pots will be moved around to decorate the area. I was struck by the fact that while these huge planters were very similar to one another, none of them were exactly alike.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (8×5), Platinum 3776, Platinum Carbon Black

Sketching A Native American Exhibit

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Larry Marshall

A pair of snowshoes provided some symmetry practice.

I went to our Thursday museum sketching session in spite of being more than a little bored with sketching at the museum. The walk was cold and snowy and when I arrived I wasn’t much in the mood to sketch but I found myself in the Native American exhibit, which is part of the permanent collection at the museum.

This large cup was made from seal skin and sewn with reindeer sinew.

I approached the morning with my little, red Field Notes book instead of my normal sketchbook. I spent a lot of time wandering but when I stopped I did these small sketches. It wasn’t the most productive morning but, as always, it was fun chatting with friends.

This is a small stone carving of an Inuit fisherman who is laying on the ice, looking into his fishing hole.

New Tuesday Museum Sketchers Group???

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Larry Marshall

This winter it has become a habit for five or six of us to meet at the museum for a sketching session on Thursday mornings. I really look forward to it. I go on other days as well but it’s fun to meet and talk with some fellow sketchers.

Field Notes (3x5), Pilot Prera F, Noodlers Polar Brown

Field Notes (3×5), Pilot Prera F, Noodlers Polar Brown

Claudette suggested that we meet on Tuesday this week as well, and while some of the ‘regulars’ couldn’t come on Tuesday, she managed to get a couple sketchers I don’t see often to show up so there were seven of us sketching this morning. Why is it so exciting for sketchers to gather together only to ignore one another for extended periods of time? Don’t know myself but it sure is fun.

I started the day with a little five-minute (maybe?) sketch to try out the yellow Field Notes book that comes with the blue and red books I’ve reported on recently. It’s a small wooden statue and I guess the yellow notebook passes the suitability test. I’ll probably do more in this book, though I prefer the red and blue books.

After wandering around a bit I headed to the new nanotechnology exhibit to draw a Mayan 3-tube flute. It’s made of clay and I haven’t a clue why it’s part of the nanotechnology exhibit. Maybe I should have read the plaque.

I’d filled my Falcon with Noodler’s Lexington Gray which I haven’t used in quite a while. I’d forgotten how much its “water-resistant” nature doesn’t work on papers with lots of sizing. I applied some color with watercolor pencils and a waterbrush and everything acquired a gray overcast from the ink. Back to DeAtramentis Document Black for me.

Stillman & Birn Beta (9x12), Pilot Falcon, Noodler's Lexington Gray

Stillman & Birn Beta (9×12), Pilot Falcon, Noodler’s Lexington Gray