The Value Of Sitting

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Larry Marshall

I’m a street sketcher. I wander my city looking for things to sketch. I’m not too picky and actually shun the things tourists photograph. I guess I’m more of a “mundane sketcher” as I like the challenge of creating something that looks good from something most wouldn’t even notice.

But there are times when I “can’t find anything to sketch.” I put that in quotes as it’s a common phrase among sketchers that really makes little sense, but the person saying it knows exactly what they mean. Yes, there are trees, planes, trains and automobiles to sketch but nothing is speaking to them.

When I find myself in that situation I sit down. Yep, it’s that simple. If I sit, pretty much anywhere, I start to see things I don’t see when I’m walking. I’ll sit and start looking around. Rather quickly, I’ll find something interesting to sketch. Remember, I’m not searching for Mona Lisa. I just want something that motivates me to get out my sketchbook and pen.

This sketch is the result of sitting down in a tiny park along the St. Charles River. I sat on a rock as it was dryer than the benches because it had been raining as I walked. Before I got to add color to this sketch, it started raining again so I had to add the color when I got home.

Stillman & Birn Delta (6×8), Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

I was returning from a long walk and I sat on a bench in Parc Brebeuf, along my river (the St. Charles) and decided to sketch this small scene of a part of the river bank. Done quickly, I added color to this one when I got home as well.

Moleskine watercolor sketchbook, Pilot Falcon, Noodler’s Lexington Gray

So, the next time you’re out and looking for something to sketch, sit down. It may help.

Put On Your Sketching Gloves

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Larry Marshall

This is a sketching subject you won’t find Singapore urban sketchers talk about. And people living in the southern half of the US might wonder, “Is he serious?” But here in Quebec, we’re rapidly approaching a time when we get serious about coats and where the notion of sketching outdoors is, well, nuts.

But I like to postpone the inevitable as long as I can and one way is to protect my hands from cold and wind. Heavy coats keep the core warm and I’ve got a ridiculous-looking, but very warm fur-lined leather hat with ear flaps that I willingly don if it allows me to continue sketching outdoors.

But hands are a different matter. I have pairs of heavy gloves but these are useless for drawing as you lose both control and feel of a pen. I’ve tried fingerless gloves and they’re ok but I end up with frozen finger tips. I’ve tried surgical gloves too, and those just don’t do enough to keep out the cold.

One moderately functional solution are these gardening (I think) gloves. I bought them at our Dollar Store for $2. I know…I know…they need to change the name of those places. Anyways, these are tight-fitting nylon gloves. The palms have a rubberized surface with little bumps on them. I’m sure that’s a ‘feature’ if you’re trying to pick up flower pots but those bumps really get in the way if you’re trying to guide a fountain pen across paper.

BUT…if you put the right glove on your left hand (or the other way if you’re handicapped by being right-handed) the rubbery stuff is out of the way, it better protects the back of your hand from wind, and you have a nice, smooth surface through which to grip the pen. It’s not a perfect solution (if there is one, let me know) but these gloves allow me to sketch in colder temps than I could without them.

The Hotel de l’Esplanade

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Hundreds of tourists walk by this hotel every day and I’d guess that most don’t even notice it. The building is rather plain, built from large gray blocks. But there is something about it that has always intrigued me. I think it was its sketch potential.

We’re nearing the time that cold starts to limit the days we can sketch outdoors so I decided to put on an extra coat and sketch the Hotel de l’Esplanade. I was sketching with Claudette and she went hunting for her prey while I got started. I mentally zoomed in on the entryway to the hotel and went into the zone so the gnomes that rattle around in my brain could do their thing.

By the time I finished the ink drawing I thought it was time for me to see what Claudette was up to so I didn’t add color, but I did take a few photos for later reference.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7), Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

Moleskine watercolor book (5×3), Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

When I found Claudette she was immersed in detailed sketches of door carvings and fancy door knobs. Not wanting to disturb her I looked around for something I could quickly sketch while she was finishing. I chose this back alley scene, with too many railings to be done in the 3×5 sketchbook I was using. But it was fun and kept me warm while I waited.

By this time we were both pretty cold and the desire for something warm to drink caused us to think of little else besides coffee. It was a great day, in spite of the cold.

When I got home I decided to add color to my sketch so I popped up the photos of the hotel on the computer and went to work. This was the result. Hope you like it.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7), Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

I Think It’s My Birthday

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Larry Marshall

I think it’s my birthday but I’m not really sure. Sometime in mid-September of 2011 I made my first attempt at sketching, having read Danny Gregory’s Everyday Matters. So some time in mid-September 0f 2014 I became a 3-year old sketcher. Yippee, for me.

The sad thing is that I can’t say exactly what day I did the original deed. When I started sketching I was doing it on any old paper using a fountain pens. I drew a gazillion cubes in all orientations, somehow knowing this was good practice in drawing three dimensional objects. I tried to draw everything in sight…in sight of my office that is as I was afraid to go out on the street to sketch.

Unfortunately, all of those sketches were thrown away because I didn’t know any better. Then, one day, someone in an internet group suggested that I upload one of my sketches. I did and the participants became aware that I was throwing them away. I was told that I should keep everythiung because I would, one day, want to look back on them. Guess what day it is?

I remember that my first attempt at street sketching took place in a mall, with a tiny sketchbook held close to my chest. I drew a clothing store mannikin, figuring she wouldn’t mind and wouldn’t walk away. I was scared to death I would get “caught” in the act. I drew quickly and poorly and left the second I was finished. I guess I figured stealth sketching was a viable approach.

First Building Sketch

Here’s the first building sketch I ever did. It was done from a photo of this small restaurant. I remember being proud of it at the time, mostly because the many sketches that preceded it that were much worse (grin). Interestingly, this was the same subject that launched me as a street sketcher – the first sketch where I perched on a tripod stool and drew. Here’s that one, done in March of 2012.

First street sketch (Mar 2012)

Since then I’ve done hundreds of sketches on the street as street sketching has become a way of life for me. Here’s a snapshot of the sketchbooks I’ve filled so far. The black ones are all Stillman & Birn. The rest are of lesser quality.

Sketchbooks from my first three years as a sketcher

Internet groups and friends continue to fuel my learning curve climb and I’m enjoying the journey. Thanks to all who are helping me with that process.

So, I’m three, going on four. That sounds pretty good to an old man. I’ll end with a more recent sketch in an attempt to recoup a bit of sketcher dignity (grin).

Stillman & Birn Alpha (10x7), Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7), Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

Can’t a City Horse Get A Drink Around Here?

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Larry Marshall

It seems that with all of the issues that face us these days that New York’s Mayor de Blasio could pick something more pressing than elimination of horses from Central Park. Then again, that is consistent with a lot of the weirdness we see from our politicians these days.

But indeed, this anti-equine maybe claims he wants to replace the horse carriages of Central Park with electric cars. Progress? Throwing tourist dollars down the drain? Eliminating one of the few ways for city kids to see animals? Are horses just too much nature for New Yorkers, or just for Mayor de Blasio?

I bring this up because here in Quebec City we have horse-drawn carriages. Tourists pay way too much money to be transported around the old city and parts of the Plains of Abraham, behind one of the many beautiful horses who work for… well, I’m not sure who signs their checks.

But the horse union, long ago, must have lobbied long and hard for proper facilities. Behind each horse is a ‘waste capture device’ which prevents horses from being embarrassed by things they might drop along the way. And when the tourists are paying large fees, horses have a ready supply of oats to snack on.

But horses are no fools. They also got the city to install several horse-sized drinking fountains around the city. They didn’t settle for plain old metal or concrete troughs either. No…they wanted something with class, fountains with running water. None of that stagnant stuff for them.

And so, thanks to horses, we’re blessed with several beautiful drinking fountains, big enough for horses. I realized, after walking by them a gazillion times, that I’d never drawn one. I have rectified that omission and present the results here.

Moleskine watercolor sketchbook (5×3), Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black