10 Favorite Sketches of 2012

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Larry Marshall

2012 represents most of my sketching experience to date. I started trying to draw cubes back in September of 2011 but I didn’t start doing any location sketching until spring of 2012 as the Quebec snow melted. It’s been a fantastic journey as I’ve climbed the early stages of the sketching learning curve. I thought it might be fun to do a ‘ 10 favorites’ post, where I present what I think are some of my best sketches of the year. I’m often accused of being ‘down’ on my sketches. Here’s my chance to show people that I’m actually happy with some of them (grin).

Because 90% or more of my sketches have been done on the street and most have been buildings, I thought I should vary my choices by selecting one sketch from ten different categories, just to increase the variety. So, here they are. I hope you like them.

Building

This is, by far, the hardest selection. I’ve done a LOT of building sketches and none of them really stand out as extraordinary, though many are personal ‘favorites’. I’ve chosen this one because it, in the extreme, is the brightest (grin).

Vehicle

I’ve drawn a number of cars, trucks and even heavy equipment. I chose this one, however, because the subject was so darn cute when it found it lounging in the old port area of Quebec.

Fire hydrant

Pete Scully, by example, caused me to notice and sketch fire hydrants. I don’t know what it is about them but once you start looking at them you realize they vary considerably and that fire hydrants have oodles of personality. I chose this one because I like the composition.

Samurai helmet

I’ve tried drawing from photos and it’s ‘ok’ but sketching, for me, is about going places and seeing things. But winter in Quebec City is just too cold to be outdoors so we’re all driven indoors. At first I found that depressing but once I saw the Samurai exhibit at our museum of civilization, I was hooked on indoor sketching. I started sketching Samurai helmets, which are amazing, serving to protect heads as well as indicate status, identity, and even to serve in ceremonial roles. It’s hard to choose a single helmet sketch as I love these amazing pieces of hardware. I chose this one as it nearly drove me nuts drawing all those flame thingies.

Human

This was hard as I haven’t drawn many people. It’s on my ‘to do’ list for 2013. But I chose this one, a very simple sketch, because I liked the way I was lucky enough to capture the movement of this guy’s coat as he walked along.

Ship

Quebec City has an active port so I’ve sketched several ships. I chose this one because I remember struggling with all the decks and railings. I also have memories of how much fun I had that day as I sketched with my buddy Pierre.

Steeple/Dome

Quebec City is heavily populated by domes and steeples projecting upward from their supporting structures. I love sketching them and have done a bunch of them. I chose this particular sketch because it features both domes and steeples in a single sketch.

Telephone pole

Maybe you have to be an urban sketcher to appreciate them, but I like telephone poles and all the wires, transformers and connectors that hang from them. I did this sketch on blue paper and liked the way it turned out.

Tree

I’ve drawn a bunch of trees but mostly they’ve been ‘studies’ where it was just the tree and nothing for supporting material. This one, however, was done one day when Pierre and I headed out one Sunday morning looking for things to sketch. It was a crisp autumn day and the maples had started to change colors. I decided to make the tree the main attraction, putting the building in the background.

Vignette

To fulfill my promise of ten sketches, I’ve added this vignette to complete the set. I was sketching with my friend Nicolas and we were sitting in a church yard, a church that has become a library. I looked over my shoulder and could see part of this restaurant, liked the red umbrellas and so I drew it. Again, it brings back memories of a good day.

I’m looking forward to 2013 sketching. For a while I’m going to have to work indoors but sometime around April we’ll start having a day or three where it’s tolerable to sketch outside and you’ll find me on the streets all summer. Happy New Year, everyone.

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.

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.