Museum Sketching With A Pencil

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Larry Marshall

It’s a balmy 41F here this morning, with the promise of rain. Mr. Weatherman is promising something called “sun” about mid-week so maybe, just maybe, I’ll get to sketch outdoors this week. Hope so.

Since I am limited to indoor sketching, though, I thought I might use the time to do something I’m really not good at – use a pencil. When I started sketching it just seemed natural to use my fountain pens so I skipped the traditional ‘use pencil first’ approach to drawing. I think there were virtues to this approach as I had to concentrate on seeing relationships before I put anything on paper. The drawback, I think, is that sketching with pens emphasizes contour more than masses. It’s also rather silly, and sometimes embarrassing, for a sketcher not to know how to use a pencil.

So, when I went to the museum yesterday I was determined to use a graphite pointy device to make a drawing. I decided to draw Athena, with her leather helmet pushed back on her head. She’s a reminder that strong women were very much a part of the Greek religion. The daughter of Zeus, Athena was the goddess of reason, intelligent activity, arts and literature.

I did this drawing on Stillman & Birn Alpha series paper. While I love the paper for my pen and ink drawings, I have no idea whether it’s good or bad for pencil. It seemed to work. I used Staedtler pencils. I always have fun drawing on location but admit that a pencil felt clumsy in my hand. I think I learned a lot but I’m not sure what at this point (grin).

Sketching An Interesting Table Leg?

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Predictions of rain suggest I’ll be sketching at the museum for the next few days. Will spring every come? Thank goodness for the Masters of Olympus exhibit.

Today I was drawn (yeah…bad pun) to a rather bizarre human-creature with the head/body of a child/bird, a single leg from a three-toed something or other, and a large block sticking up from its shoulders.

I view sketching of such things as practice with seeing relationships and proportions and this one was a definite challenge to my limited abilities. As it turns out, the big block sticking up from its back is actually a compromise to its function as this 2-foot high statue (carved from stone) was a table leg. Maybe there are three more just like it wandering around Greece.

Pilot Prera, Lexington Gray ink, Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook

Sketching Masters Of Olympus

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Larry Marshall

It’s the end of April and our high temps are still in the mid to low 40s (F). Couple that with spring rains and I haven’t had much opportunity to sketch outdoors. So, when the new Masters of Olympus exhibition opened at the Musee de la Civilisation I saw it as an opportunity to sketch something new. Museum sketching is a winter thing, even if winter is at the end of April.

This exhibition is a presentation of Greek and Roman gods, mostly in the form of statues, busts, and painted pottery. The exhibition must have been laid out by a sketcher as there are lots of little nooks and crannies in which you can stick a stool to sketch and most of the statues are viewable from multiple points of view. In fact, following the opening ceremony the news promo for the exhibit made a point of saying that people were there sketching. I love my sketcher-friendly museum.

I decided to start this new exhibit by putting a toe in the water. In fact, I drew the whole foot. This foot came from what must have been a huge statue as this broken portion of the foot is at least three feet long.

Pilot Prera, Lex Gray ink – Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook

Channeling Anita Davies

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Larry Marshall

I bought a sheet of Arches hot-press watercolor paper and wanted to see how it responded to my pens and watercolors. I cut a small section from the sheet (4×6) and got out a Pilot Prera.

Thinking I would let Google give me inspiration I searched for, and found, a bunch of small houses. One of them reminded me of the many houses Anita Davies has drawn (https://www.flickr.com/photos/anitadavies/) and I love her clean, simple, approach to her architectural sketches. I decided I’d try to do one in her style. Apologies to Anita as I didn’t come close to her standards and probably missed her style. But it was fun and I found working on the hot-press paper to be lots of fun.

Crazy Artist Road Trip

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Remember when we were kids and would do crazy stuff, like hop in a car and drive forever so we could spend a couple hours somewhere, only to jump back in the car for the long drive home? I do. I’m old now, though, and that’s just crazy… isn’t it?

Well apparently not. I was in Ottawa a few weeks ago and got to attend the John Ruskin exhibition. For me that was thrilling as it was the first time I’d ever seen large, formal pen and ink drawings up close and personal and Ruskin is one of my favorites. But my sketching buddies weren’t with me and they decided that they needed to see the exhibition before it ended (this weekend the last weekend it will be in Ottawa). I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see it again so I tagged along.

So we, four adults of otherwise sound minds, climbed in a car at 6:30AM and headed west, for a little five hour drive. When we got to Ottawa it was raining but we were counting on the museum roof holding up and so no spirits were dampened by the rain. Parking was surprisingly cheap (less than half what it costs in Quebec City) and it was only a couple minute walk to the museum.

Once inside we checked our coats, bought our admission tickets and spent a glorious day staring at art done by people who are better at it than we are. Well, the guy whose idea of art is to place a huge boulder on a broken airplane as an indication of gravity might not be. The guy who drove a go-kart down a bumpy road while holding a piece of charcoal on paper might not be either. But Ruskin, Monet, and Krieghoff most certainly are and they entertained us for about five hours, including a lunch break. Then it was back in the car for another five hour drive. Ten hours of road time and five hours of great art. A two-to-one ratio ain’t bad. I remember trips with a less favorable ratio. Do you ever do this sort of thing? Should you? Should anyone? Yeah…of course we should.