Noisy Day At The Museum

Spring break was still going on when I headed to the museum.  Because of this I expected lots of kids, with parents trailing after them, but since it wasn’t ‘free Tuesday’ I didn’t expect quite the people density we experienced on Tuesday.  That turned out to be true but there were a lot of events going on for the kids, which generated a lot of noise.  The kids were having a great time but it wasn’t an ideal sketching day.

2016-03-03spigot

I love this small spigot from the 17th Century. Shove it into a keg and pour yourself a beer.

I decided to set my sights low and did only a couple small sketches.  I can’t wait for spring.  I miss sketching on the street.

What 1950s kid didn't have a Tonka truck?   It was good to see this one.

What 1950s kid didn’t have a Tonka truck? It was good to see this one.

Kids, Kids, Kids…Kids And Me In Egypt

Yvan and I agreed to go to the museum Tuesday morning.  Both of us knew that it was spring break for the kids of Quebec but neither of us knew that this particular Tuesday was also “free” day.  When I arrived there were hundreds of people in the lobby.  So many, in fact, that I didn’t even wait to check my coat because the line was too long.  I just headed upstairs to the Egypt exhibit.

Realizing that the place would be crowded, I found a place where I had the side of a glass case at my back and a clear view of a statue and set up to sketch.  I spent the next hour or so in that one place, sketching one statue.

But the sketching was the least important activity; I talked to kids.  I love kids when I’m sketching.  It’s hard to concentrate on drawing and my sketches sometimes suffer, but I still love them.  They’re so inquisitive and I never have to listen to them tell me that they wish they had the talent to draw or that they’d love to draw but they just don’t have the time.  Kids are the opposite of adults.  For them, drawing is KOOL.  They do it too.  They’ll tell you what they like to draw.  They’ll tell you that they like your drawing.  They ask about my pen.  A couple asked how long I’d been working on the sketch.   But mostly they just stood around watching, at least until their parents came land hauled them away.  Many of them dragged their parents over to see my drawing.

And on this day there were kids everywhere.  I’ve never seen so many people at the museum.  There were at least half a dozen kids around me at all times and I spent more time chatting than drawing.  It was a lot of fun.  As I packed up to leave I got to see what was really going on behind me.  The exhibit room looked like a rock concert.  People everywhere and as Yvan and I left we found there were lines of people waiting to enter the exhibit.  It was extraordinary, but I had to wonder if I could have found a place to sit if I’d wanted to draw something else.  I’ll never know as we left with smiles on our faces.  Here’s the sketch I did during “free” day.

Stillman & Birn Beta (9x12), Platinum Carbon Black, Platinum 3776

Stillman & Birn Beta (9×12), Platinum Carbon Black, Platinum 3776, watercolor pencils

Clowning Around With Thursday Sketchers

We were back at it on Thursday, as we met at the museum to sketch.  Winter may drive us indoors but it doesn’t slow us down much.

clown toy

Canson XL watercolor, Pilot Prera, DeAtramentis Document Brown

I found this little, three-inch high clown sitting in the bottom of a small display of early children’s toys.  His right foot was missing but I made one up.  He was lots of fun to draw.

2016-02-10lantern

Canson XL watercolor, Platinum 3776, Platinum Carbon Black

This lantern was nearly invisible and I have to wonder if it’s a forgotten exhibit.  It was hanging on a dark wall, in the dark and it was black.  Hard to see but it whispered ‘sketch me’ as I walked past.  And so I did, or tried.

When I finished Claudette and Lisette were chatting, making plans to have tea and while they were packing up I did this quick sketch of a top hat in the case where we were standing.  Then we headed for tea and had a great discussion about the value of sketching whenever we have a few idle minutes.

top hat

Canson XL multi-media, Platinum 3776, Platinum Carbon Black

 

Sketching Too Quickly – Follow Up

In my post of yesterday I mentioned that I could “improve them by adding some shading” but that I was posting the quick sketches ‘raw.’  I’ve had a couple requests, asking me what I meant and/or what I did.  Truth is, there are a lot of things one can do but in this case I kept it very simple.  Here are three of them with some color added.  Doesn’t change things much but it adds a bit of spice I think.

2016-02-07dancers3_c 2016-02-07dancers4_c 2016-02-07dancers7_c

Thursday Sketchers At The Museum

18th Century Armor

18th Century armor – Canson XL watercolor, Pilot Metropolitan, DeAtramentis Document Black

Our small group of “Thursday sketchers,” met at the Musee de La Civilisation.  I put the name in quotes because there’s nothing formal about us except that we meet at the museum on Thursdays.  Not surprisingly, we were there on Thursday (grin).

We scattered around the Quebec exhibition, which is part of the permanent collection, they’re planning on shutting it down for reorganision ‘real soon.’ Nothing motivates sketchers more than being told they weren’t going to lose access to something and so it went that day.

I’d made a short list of things I wanted to sketch before this happened so I set to work, not wanting to spend too much time on any one subject.  It was a great day and we had a lot of fun together.

2016-02-04rooster

This goofy-looking, sheetmetal rooster came from a Church Steeple.   Pilot Metropolitan, DeAtramentis Document Black

cannonball mold

Half of a cannonball mold. Pilot Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black