Winter Building Sketching

I’m desperate.  I really am a building sketcher and winter sends me indoors, to museums, concerts, etc.  Not many buildings to be found inside buildings.

This is a view if you sit on the second floor of the McDonalds on St. Jean St. in old Quebec, McCafe in hand.  Stillman & Birn Alpha 4x6), Platinum Carbon pen, Platinum Carbon ink

This is a view if you sit on the second floor of the McDonalds on St. Jean St. in old Quebec, McCafe in hand. Stillman & Birn Alpha 4×6), Platinum Carbon pen, Platinum Carbon ink

But when there’s a will, there’s a way, at least in a limited fashion.  If one is lucky, one can sit by the window in a coffee shop and sketch the outdoors.  I searched a bit and got lucky.  Here’s a couple small sketches I did while looking out of windows.  I’m ready for spring.  How about you?

This one was hard to do as I had to lean over a bench and a heater so I could look out a small window in the old jail that's now associated with the art museum in Quebec City.  It was to see and balance sketchbook at the same time.  Stillman & Birn Alpha (4x6), Platinum Carbon pen.

This one was hard to do as I had to lean over a bench and a heater so I could look out a small window in the old jail that’s now associated with the art museum in Quebec City. It was to see and balance sketchbook at the same time. Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6), Platinum Carbon pen.

Sketching Hotel St-Antoine In Quebec City

Next to my winter sketching grounds, the Musée de la Civilisation, is one of the finest hotels in Quebec City.  I doubt I could afford to rent a broom closet for the night.  But one very cold day, when we’d arrived at the museum too early and were standing around, waiting for it to open, Claudette suggested we visit the Hotel St-Antoine, a ploy to get inside some place…any place.

Once we were there, however, we saw great potential as a sketching opportunity.  Not only is the hotel gorgeous, throughout its corridors and lobby area are shadow boxes built into the wall that are filled with artifacts from the 1600-1800s, mostly dug up from what is now called Place Royal, where the hotel is situated.  We vowed to return.

And we did and found the staff very accommodating.  They gave us permission to sketch and I concentrated on an area near the entrance, which is something of a posh sitting/lunch/reading room.  We had so much fun there.   It was also fun that the staff were telling their buddies about our activities and one after the other they came by to see our sketches.  It was great fun and their kind comments good for our egos (grin).  They even offered us a cup of coffee.

2014-02-24HotelSt-Antoine_72Here are two sketches done in that lobby area.  Both were done in a Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7) using a Pilot Prera and diluted Lexington Gray.  I’ll be returning to sketch some of the items in their shadowboxes ‘real soon.’

2014-02-27HotelStAntoine_72

 

Clowns In Paris

The Paris 1900 exhibit at our Musée de la Civilisation has come to an end.  The real significance of this is felt most by we sketchers, who use the museum as our winter gathering spot and this winter that exhibit has been the center of our activity.  It departure leaves us with a large display of video game history (how many boxes and monitors can you sketch?) and a display of Haiti junk art titled “Haiti Extremis” and it lives up to its name.  Weird stuff.

Before the exhibit was shut down, though, I decided that I needed to draw “the clown.”  He’s part of a very large mural painted by Fernand Pelez, who depicts tired and sad circus performers.  I’ve reported previously on my attempt to sketch the musicians in this painting.  The clown seems a fitting end to this exhibit for me.  Done in a Stillman & Birn Zeta (6×9) with a Pilot Prera, Lexington Gray ink.  I wonder where we’re going to sketch now 🙁

2014-02-22Clown_72

1898 Renault-Tilbury Car Sketch

A couple days ago I posted a sketch of the back end of a Renault car that putted its way through Paris in 1900.  When I look at it I see Mr. McGoo driving.

I got back to the museum yesterday and sketched the front end of that same car.  I regret that I did it too fast and drew the wheels too thin but, caveats aside, I think it’s cute as a bug.  Maybe I was channelling Mr. McGoo cartoons as I sketched.

Stillman & Birn Zeta (6x9), Pilot Prera, Lexington Gray

Stillman & Birn Zeta (6×9), Pilot Prera, Lexington Gray

Sketchers Are Never Bored…Mostly

I’ve made the comment several times, here and elsewhere, that sketchers are never bored.  When I’m sitting in a doctor’s office there are people to sketch.  When I’m waiting for the car to be serviced there’s all sorts of stuff to sketch.  I drew a billboard the other night while waiting to pick up my daughter.  And when there’s nothing on TV I can always sketch scenes in the commercials.  I’ve been known to draw pages full of lines, ellipses, and circles, too.

But I’ve been bored…REALLY bored.  The flu has a way of eliminating all notion of sketching, thinking, looking, seeing, and about the best I could do over the past few days has been to sit and become over-dosed on Olympics coverage.

Today the residual ‘tuckered out’ feeling was all that remained of my bout with a gaggle of viruses and I wasn’t going to let that stop me.  I headed to the museum to meet up with Yvan for a sketching session.  I’m afraid I’m still a bit less than optimal but I managed this sketch.  There is an 1898 Renault Mini-Car on display and while I have to get around to the front of it for a sketch, I just love this view from the rear as it shows off its red running gear.

Stillman & Birn Zeta (6x9), Pilot Prera, Lexington Gray

Stillman & Birn Zeta (6×9), Pilot Prera, Lexington Gray