Samourai Sketching in Quebec – Urban Sketching?

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Larry Marshall

The Urban Sketcher’s ‘manifesto’ is quite clear: “We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.” I’m a diehard location sketcher. I do sometimes sketch from photos or just doodle from things my two functional neurons cough up. But I can’t really get into that sort of thing very much.

I like to draw buildings, fire hydrants, telephone poles, trashcans and vehicles, but this time of year, outdoors is inhospitable in Quebec City, at least for an Arizona cowboy like myself. For example, it’s currently 24F (-5C) with 35kmh winds just for good measure. So, the things I have available to sketch for the next few months are going to be indoors.

One of my favorite places is the Musee de la Civilisation here in Quebec. Nice ambiance, lots of things to sketch, and it’s warm. The people are also very friendly towards sketchers, which puts one at ease. So, you’ll see lots of museum sketches from me this winter.

And here are a couple more. I went to the museum last Sunday with three of my sketching buddies and we had a great time. As we were there in the morning I decided to give the Samourai exhibit my attention. Often it’s just too busy to sketch there as it’s the current ‘feature’ display, but on Sunday mornings there aren’t a lot of visitors.

Koshozan sujibachi kabuto (1588) – This is a very rare piece, constructed with 120, riveted plates. It bears the crest of the Inabi family, a very influential family of the 16th Century.

It is a dark room, with most of the Samourai armor in lighted glass cases. Sketching in the dark is an interesting challenge and more than once I had to walk to a light to see if I was doing ok with the sketch. I’ve got to get a little clip-on light I guess. These little excursions became more frequent when I was trying to figure out whether the watercolor pencil was red, orange or brown (grin).

Nagaeboshinari kabuto (Edo 17th Century) – This appears to be hammered bronze. It features the Big Dipper constellation inset into the metalwork.

These helmets were done in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon series sketchbook (5.5×8.5) using a Pilot Prera and Noodler’s Lex Gray ink. I have a handful of Faber-Castell watercolor pencils that I used to color them. I’m guessing but I think I only have 30 or so more helmets to sketch. Then I can move on to the rest of the armor, the weapons, the guys on horses. It’s going to be a fun, long winter. Where do you find your sketching inspiration during winter?

Sketching on 12/12/12

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Larry Marshall

Yesterday I had a lunch appointment and as I walked home from it I passed a bright yellow pizza place. Have you ever done anything goofy for a goofy reason? Maybe I’m alone in that combination. It occurred to me that it was 12/12/12, a rather unique date and that I should sketch something. But, this was one of the odd times when I didn’t have my sketching stuff with me. Besides it was cold. Still, as I continued walking I couldn’t get the pizza parlor out of my mind.

By the time I got home, all sense of rationality had left me. “It’s only 10 minutes back to that place,” I said to myself. “I’ll work fast and it’s not really that cold.” I grabbed my sketching bag, threw half a dozen Tombow markers that I thought would I’d need into the bag along with a waterbrush. Off I went.

It was nuts and I’ve never sketched a building so fast. It’s certainly not my best sketch and somewhat wonky. I used the Tombow pens to color it at lightning speed. and then got out the waterbrush to add some sky color by wicking color from a Tombow pen onto the waterbrush. I made a mistake and swiped some red from the sign into my sky. I liked this little “happy mistake” so I did it some more. This adds to the wonkiness of my 12/12/12 sketch but I liked it.

I liked it better, though, when I got home and got a cup of hot tea in my hands. It’s definitely too cold for me to sketch outdoors anymore this year. Have you done anything this crazy in the name of sketching?

The sketch was done in a Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7) sketchbooks, using a Kaweco Classic Sport (fine) and Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink. As mentioned, Tombow pens were used for color.

Where The Dogs Run In Quebec City

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Larry Marshall

The keepers of Quebec City have a sense of humor, or so it seems. On every tourist map there is a pointer to Passage du Chiens, or Dog Passage and people flock to see it. Well, maybe not flock as it’s down the street from lots of other stuff and they simply see it as they pass by.

But there it is, complete with official street sign – Passage du Chiens. It is a passageway to a road/parking area for residents who live in the area and whose house fronts on a ‘street’ that is no longer a street but rather a walkway for pedestrians. And the Passage du Cheins does sit between two art galleries that are quite photogenic and so many photos are taken of the spot. I suspect dog lovers get a kick out of showing it to their friends.

Towards the end of our outdoor sketching season I was wandering around, trying to get in some last minute plein air sketching, and I decided to sketch this famous landmark. The sun was bright, which was great because the temps were just above freezing. Before I finished, though, the sun had moved behind the buildings, shading the entire area. This, and the fact that I’d been sitting for an hour caused me to be quite cold so I quickly snapped this photo and moved on to find more sunny ground.

And then I completely forgot about the sketch, until today. I decided it was time to add some color and this was the result. Hope you like it. It was done in a Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook (10×7) and a Pilot Prera pen filled with Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink.

Halloween – Urban Sketching Style

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Larry Marshall

This is the time of year that sketchers post beautiful sketches of pumpkins. I love them all. I figure this to be my first Halloween as a sketcher. Last October I’d just started try to move pointy objects across paper and I wasn’t up to the task of sketching pumpkins. So, a year later, here’s my first set, done with a black ballpoint pen that blobbed on me more than a few times, adding “character” to my sketch.

Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook (6×8), Pentel RSVP ballpoint, W&N watercolors

But I’m an urban sketcher. I sketch buildings, lamposts and fire hydrants. I guess a group of pumpkins sitting on my kitchen table is ‘urban’ but you have to mentally squint to see it. So I thought I should do something else and I found the ideal subject as I walked the main street that runs through our port area. What could be better than an orange building with some black Halloween decorations on it.

Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook (10×7), Pilot Prera w/Noodler’s Lexington Gray, W&N watercolors

When I sat across the street to sketch it, though, I had an immediate problem. There is considerable vehicle traffic on this street and when sitting low on my tripod stool, it was hard to see the lower front of the building. I’m not good enough to sketch moving vehicles so I sat, looked and pondered. Then I sat, looked and pondered some more. What to do.

I got out a 3H pencil and started laying out where the building and stairwell would sit on the paper and marked out the door location. Then I picked up my stool and walked down the street and found a place where I could sit the ‘right’ distance from a car. I sketched it as though it was moving in front of my, as yet to be drawn, building. Then I moved back to the building and sketched it. I’m not sure I got car and building sized properly relative to one another but it’s close enough for me. Hope you like it. Happy Halloween.

Cheers — Larry

Sketching A Car

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Larry Marshall

A couple weeks ago I was down at the Quebec City port and parked near the Louis Jolliet excursion boat dock sat a great little car, painted up as a race car. I don’t know if it was really a race car or why it was parked there. But I plucked my camera from my sketching bag and took a photo of it.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (5.5×8.5), Pilot Prera, Noodler’s Lexington Gray

Yesterday I couldn’t go out sketching and I remembered that car. I brought the photo of it up on my computer and I sketched it. Though I’m not an accomplished sketcher, I have to say that I like the sketch better than the photo. Just a bit more personal I suppose, and now I know this car better than my own. Ain’t she cute? Are cars the ultimate ‘urban sketch’?

larry@larrydmarshall.com