Rainy Day Sketchcrawl A Big Success

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Larry Marshall

The morning of this month’s Croquis de Quebec sketchcrawl bordered on the depressing. It was the proverbial dark and stormy night only it wasn’t night, but it was certainly stormy. I headed to our sketchcrawl in full rain gear, thinking that only Yvan and I, the organizers, would show up as people are reluctant to sketch in the rain. Go figure.

The sketchcrawl was to be in a park near my house so the walk was short. Yvan had arranged for us to be able to take shelter in Maison Dorion-Coulombe to eat lunch. This house is the office of the Societé de la riviere St. Charles, the group that manages the very long (I think it’s 32 km long) Parc lineare. I headed there, and found Yvan, huddled at one end of the long porch that fronts this beautiful house. We lamented our bad luck (the next day was supposed to be warm and sunny) and I sat down to draw some pumpkins that were sitting on the porch.

Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black

Yvan got up and said he was going inside to chat with them about our “event” and returned very excited. He was almost at a loss for words as he’d discovered that inside was a cornucopia of things to draw. Inside there were plants and a host of stuffed birds and mammals. And in a large aquarium was a large turtle named Donnatello. He and I talked for quite a while.

Things just got better and better. Cassandra, the woman who runs the place had no problem with us moving the taxidermy and situating it on one of the tables so we could draw it. The cushy chairs were quite a step up from my tripod stool, too. I found that they sell tea, coffee and soft drinks and I ordered a coffee. It was some of the best coffee I’ve ever had. Now this was sketching at its finest.

Still, a sketchcrawl of two is a bit of a hollow adventure so it was pretty special when our friends Pierre and Celine came in, followed shortly afterward by Guylaine. The sketchcrawl, without the crawling, was on. We spent the next few hours sketching, talking and even spent some time sitting around a table eating lunch. The time passed too quickly. Here’s a sketch I did of a Northern Saw-whet owl.

Stillman & Birn Beta (6x9), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Sketching At Quebec City Hall

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Quebec’s city hall is a gorgeous building that spans a hillside, the south end being somewhere around 20-25 meters higher than the north end. It was built back before humanity decided that what a building looked like was unimportant as it was made operational at the end of the 19th Century. It’s got pointy roofs with lots of gables, turrets and a very fancy entrance.

It’s also got a relatively new open area along the south wall, with a shallow pool and fountain and a whole bunch of inviting chair and table sets that, I’m sure were put there for sketchers, though it seems that downtown employees and tourists alike use them when they eat lunch. That’s ok. We sketchers are willing to share.

It was a sunny and, for this time of year, warm day as I arrived downtown. I decided to sit and look around, my sketching equivalent of a dog circling before lying down. I noticed the decorations over some of the windows and decided they would be my target. They were beautiful. They were challenging. What more could a sketcher ask for?

I was trying a new ink, Noodler’s Red/Black. I had filled a Lamy Safari with it and while it’s not my favorite pen, it was handy as a test bed. Red/Black is a washable ink, and each ink has it’s own properties when it comes to how ink lines will respond to water so there’s always a step into the unknown when you add water.

For the second time I made the mistake of trying to do this step with a waterbrush and, more than a little bit, lost control over the washed ink. Real brushes are the only way to go for this if you want to maintain any semblance of control – I’m not a fan of so-called “happy accidents.” But it was a fun afternoon and I hope to repeated it soon, but with more control over the water.

Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Lamy Safari, Noodler’s Red/Black

Chasing The Queen Mary 2

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Last Saturday was a good day. The Queen Mary 2 arrived in Quebec and Nicolas and I had decided to meet it. He’s a photographer and wanted to get some photos of it as it steamed up the St. Lawrence towards Quebec, so we decided that a good way to make that happen was a very long walk down the south shore of the St. Lawrence, across from Ile d’Orleans. You see, photographers are as crazy as sketchers when it comes to getting to the right place to capture a scene.

To get there I walked nearly an hour to get to the ferry landing in the old port. We met up and took the ferry to get across the river. Then it was a very long walk, along a beautiful walk and bikeway that runs along the coast to the Davie Shipyards. From there we continued walking through the St. Lauzon part of Levis and on to a gorgeous view of the island and when we arrived we could see, far into the distance the QM2 heading in our direction. It only took 2 1/2 hours of walking to get there.

My plan was to sketch as we waited but I think I’ve mentioned that I’m a sissy when it comes to cold. It’s my Arizona upbringing I think. While the sun was shining and it must have been at least 10C, we were getting some very significant northeastern winds that were….brrrr….cold.

Nicolas set up to take photos. I stood with my neck scrunched down into my jacket and my hands in my pockets. And I stood. And stood. Then I stood some more.

Finally, I couldn’t stand it any more. I got out my sketchbook, gritted my teeth and did this sketch. It took me no more than 2-3 minutes and I didn’t add any color until I got home. Still, I managed to one sketch.

Once the QM2 had passed, and Nicolas had gotten his photos, we headed back to town. It occurred to both of us that we were hungry so we headed to the main street of old-Levis and had a great lunch. With belly full, and some 22,000 steps behind me, I was beat and ready to head home.

We got a good view of the QM2 moored to the Quebec City side of the river from the top of the gazillion stairs that are required to get a person down to river level and we headed directly to the ferry. As the ferry docked in Quebec City we got a close up view of the ship. It was a very good day.

Are You Sure You Don’t Have Time?

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Larry Marshall

If you hang out in sketching circles, it’s very common to hear “I just haven’t had the time to draw.” I can never understand that, and dedicated sketchers will know what I mean when I say, “do you really think I buy that excuse? I don’t.” Now if you really don’t want to sketch, then don’t do it. But don’t kid yourself into thinking you don’t have time. There is nothing easier to fit into a hectic schedule than sketching.

How can I be so sure? Well, everyone has 24 hours in a day. We all need to eat, sleep and to varying degrees, work. I know that some work a lot. Ok, that means you have less time than I do but ‘no time’? There’s not one ‘couple minutes’ in your day when you could sketch?

Let me give you a couple examples of finding sketching time even when no time is set aside for sketching. I’ll start with my baseball passion. From April until October I burn up a couple hours a night watching the Blue Jays beat opposing teams. It’s a sickness, but I’ve got to do it. Others might watch hockey, football, cooking shows, or the latest dramatic series. People watch movies too. Here are the last couple pages from the sketchbook that I use when I do watch TV.

Some faces on TV

Some play with a ballpoint pen

quick details from memory

just some scribbles while watching baseball

Our lives are always what military guys refer to as ‘hurry up and wait.’ We rush to appointments and then sit around waiting for them to begin. I was in that situation just yesterday. I had to sign papers at my bank but I arrived at the bank 15 minutes before they opened. So, I walked down the street and popped into a small place and ordered a cup of coffee. While drinking coffee I drew these and got back to the bank by opening time. Are you sure you don’t have time to draw?

Quick sketches while waiting for bank to open

October Croquistes de Quebec Sketchcrawl

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Larry Marshall

I’ve talked about walking along my river, sketching on my river, and seeing ducks and flowers on my river. It’s not really my river but the St. Charles River passes within a few minute walk of my house and the paths along its banks are a handy way for me to walk downtown, so I spend a lot of time on it.

Where Riviere Lairet exits into Parc Brebeuf

The Croquistes de Québec will hold their October sketchcrawl on my river, or rather, at Parc Cartier-Brébeuf, on Sunday, October 11. Parc Brebeuf is the confluence of the St. Charles and Lariat rivers; the Lariat runs mostly underground these days but is exposed to daylight just before it dumps into the St. Charles. The park is a famous place as Cartier, explorer extraordinaire for the French government, overwintered (1535) in his ship, back when the St. Charles River was more open to ship traffic. Now only kayaks and canoes ply its waters.

1st Avenue Bridge, just downstream from Parc Brebeuf

The sketchcrawl should be lots of fun so don’t be discouraged by our cooler weather. Forecasts are for decent sketching weather and Yvan has arranged for us to use the Maison Dorion-Coulombe, which is a beautiful and large house along the banks of the river if you decide it is too cold.

We’ll meet at the usual time (9:30AM) and sketch all day so bring a lunch, a sketchbook, and your favorite pointy device. Expect to be greeted with smiles. For more details, head over to the Croquistes de Québec web page. See you there.

Monument in Parc Brebeuf