Sketching On The Run

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Larry Marshall

Yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment so I couldn’t go to the museum to sketch. This, however, didn’t prevent me from sketching, but it did force me to mentally shift gears a bit.

I’m a sketcher who enjoys sketching precisely, or I try to achieve some precision in my sketches. I like my sketches to reflect what I’m sketching, without a lot of loose and/or restated lines, casual approach to outline, etc. Depending on your view this is a good or bad thing and I’m not here to defend my approach; it’s just how my brain works. In point of fact, I’d like to do both loose and precise sketching but as a relatively new sketcher, sketching slowly fits my limited ability to truly ‘see’ and depict what I see.

Anyways, yesterday I got to the doctor’s office (he works out of a clinic) and I had to wait. Those of us waiting sit, while others stand in a short line, waiting to tell the receptionist about their own appointments. There’s not much to sketch, at least that sits still for any period of time.

There is, however, a 20-30 second period of time where each of the patients is standing in front of the receptionist and I had a clear view of them. So, I took out my S&B 4×6 sketchbook, my Pilot Prera, and I started quick sketching the people as they took their turn at the receptionist’s window. I did several of them before the doctor, all too soon, called my name. It was fun.

This is what those 30 second sketches look like. Not much to speak of but satisfying in some strange way. The second sketch is one in which I spent an extra 30 seconds, after the patient had left, adding some rough shading and darkening some outlines. More fun.

I should add that I’ve been critical of the many books and drawing courses that advocate students begin sketching by doing ‘gesture sketches’, which these most certainly are. A year ago, as a new sketcher, there is no way I could have done even these crude sketches in this short time frame. If you’re a newbie sketcher you know what I mean. Thus, while this was/is fun, I remain skeptical that it’s where you want to start as a sketcher.

I’m reminded of something my buddy Yvan has said to me several times. “You must draw slowly before you can draw quickly.” I think he’s right and the how-to-draw books could learn much from Yvan. I still can’t draw people well, whether I draw slowly or quickly. But because I’ve drawn a bunch of them slowly, and because I’ve studied (watched a lot) people, I’ve got a better idea of what I’ve got to capture when I’ve only got a few seconds to do so.

I have to say that I had a lot of fun in those few minutes in the doctor’s office and I hope I can improve my abilities to capture people quickly. I still like my slow, and I do mean REALLY slow, sketching approach, but sketching quickly is fun too. I feel there’s room for both in my life. What do you think about quick sketching?

Cheers — Larry

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

Indoor Sketching At Its Best

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Larry Marshall

Today was a new sketching experience for me. Most of my sketching has been directed at buildings; mostly on the streets of Quebec City. But as I’ve reported, winter has driven me into museums and so I’ve been boring you with sketches of Samurai helmets and Nigerian masks.

My sketching buddies, who are all better sketchers than I am, are similarly afflicted with the ‘It’s Too Cold To Be Outdoors Sketching Blues’ and Celine decided to do something about it. She invited Pierre, Yvan, and myself to her house for a sketching session in her studio.

Her studio is a wonderful place, with lots of spot lights, tables and shelves full of “stuff” to sketch. It was hard for me to turn my back on her great art library, but we were there to sketch so we did.

Pierre pointed at a bowl of artificial fruit and said, “I want to sketch that” and just as though following orders from Capt. Picard on Star Trek, we followed his orders and ‘made it so.’

Celine set up a spot light over the fruit and we sat in a circle around the fruit bowl, and sketched…and sketched. It took me forever as I’d never done a still life of any kind. Does a building count as a still life?

I’m still getting used to using watercolor pencils and this sketch taught me a few things, including some “gonna have to figure out how to…” sorts of things. One thing I found interesting is that they didn’t seem to work as well in my S&B Beta sketchbook as they do in my S&B Epsilon sketchbook. I guess the smoother paper of the Epsilon keeps the pigment higher on the paper, making it easier to wash them out evenly. With regular watercolors I really prefer the Beta paper as it’s so much thicker.

Here’s my completed sketch, done in a Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook (6×8), using a Pilot Prera and Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink. Don’t tell the urban sketchers I did this one. They might drum me out of the corps, though it was done ‘on location’ so I guess it qualifies. I’m still reading the fine print on such things.

Sketching fruit works up an appetite and Celine and Pierre had prepared a feast for us. My usual sketching lunch is a granola bar and an apple so I was completely unprepared for a heavenly soup, fine cheeses, crackers, and fruit. This was followed by dessert and a yummy oolong tea. Let it be written that Larry ate too much.

And then it was back to sketching. Well, I indicated some reluctance as I was once again buried up to my nose in Celine’s art library. So many books…so little time. Eventually I found myself sketching a small ceramic statue of a blue jay. It’s the first bird I’ve ever sketched. It’s also the first bird that’s ever stood still long enough for my slow sketching pace to capture it. Thanks, bird. Here it is, done in the same sketchbook, same pen, same ink, same limited abilities.

We finished up with discussions of sketching and Yvan, as usual, provided some great insights. His skill is enormous, and exceeded only by his patience for my silly questions. I write this as the end to a perfect day. Thanks again, Celine.

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.

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?