It’s been so cold here lately that I’ve been reluctant to go walking. The other problem, of course, is that ‘walking’ is more like slipping and sliding here right now. So I’ve been doing some writing, trying to make some progress on that front.
But I can only stay at home so long before I start going nuts so I went to a nearby coffee shop to work. I grabbed a table in the back corner of the place and a café allongé and went to work. After a couple hours I took a break from editing and decided to give my new Sailor calligraphy pen a test run. I quickly sketched (3×5) the view I had, which wasn’t great because I purposefully had hid myself from most of the clientele. This pen is quite different from my Hero calligraphy pens and Tina Royama claims it’s easier to control. I think she’s right but it will take a bit of getting used to, as this sketch illustrates.
I got another coffee and moved to a place by the window and worked for another hour. I saw this woman working as a crossing guard in the bitter cold. The sad look on her face got my attention and I devoted a bit of ink to capturing her plight. I shared those feelings as I’m an Arizona boy and Quebec winters are not something I take to with great fondness.
I looked around and there was a guy sitting with his back to me. He was wearing a backwards baseball cap. He’d taken his coat off and was wearing a t-shirt. For some crazy reason this stuck me as odd, given that everyone else was wearing long sleeves, sweaters or coats. Internally I chuckled and I drew him as though it weren’t -30 outside. I drew him in his t-shirt, backwards baseball cap and shorts. I guess I was hoping it would make me feel warmer.
This sketching adventure involved about three hours of writing/editing and less than ten minutes sketching but it was better than nothing (grin).
Glad to see you’re checking out the Sailor — my all-time favorite nib!
Tina
Hee..hee. Yes, I finally broke down and bought one. As I mentioned it lives up to the comments you’ve made about it. I like that it’s lighter than most of my Hero calligraphy pens but the one thing I don’t like is that it has no clip. I’m not sure how I’ll carry it at this point.
Cheers — Larry
Yes, I hate slipping and sliding weather as I many times end up on my rear end. I think that guy sitting with his hat on backwards might be a tad bit off. Young people now days seem not to wear coats, my grandkids never dress warm enough.. I really find people so interesting. I can sit and watch them forever, you sketch them and share your talent, thanks Larry for a few good sketches and a interesting tale as usual.
Hi Lynne. Our weather has been nuts this winter. One day it’s -3 and the next it’s -30F, or worse. Less snow than normal but it sure causes problems. As for the guy, he did have a heavy coat. He just had it on the back of his chair (I didn’t draw it because of my attempt to bring the feeling of warmth into the sketch by dressing him in shorts 🙂 And come on, Lynne, grandmothers ALWAYS think their grandkids don’t dress warm enough. It’s a tradition (grin).
Cheers — Larry
Nice sketches…. and especially for about 10 minutes to complete! I’d like to do more coffee shop sketching but all I have around me are Starbucks and I can’t stand the coffee! 🙂 Tina Koyama does a lot but she has independent shops in her neighborhood.
I grew up near Sarnia but in Michigan, so I understand the cold and snow. Seattle has been an unseasonable 15 C. That’s why I like it here!