Sketching At The Mt. Herman Cemetery

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Last Saturday our sketching group, Le Collectif, held a sketching event at the Mt. Herman Cemetery. It’s located just south of Sillery and stretches down to the cliffs overlooking the St. Lawrence. This cemetery is nearly 200 years old, and contains, mostly, the remains of British, Scottish, and Irish people who did much to grow Quebec into what it is today. And as you wander the rolling hills of the cemetery, below its canopy of old maples, ashes, and elms, you can’t help but be drawn to the names on the headstones, many dating to the middle of the 19th Century.

It must have been the case that marble was a lot cheaper back then than it is now as there’s a lot of it in this cemetery. Tall, statuesque monuments, requiring a team of people to put in place, have stood for 100 years or more and they provide enduring symbols of what materials and craftsmanship can accomplish.

Our trip coincided with a memorial/commemoration of the retirement of the last of five Treggetts, that have acted as directors of the cemetery. This was a bonus on the day as I got to meet Mark Brennan, the new director, his right hand, Maureen, and several other fine people who didn’t seem put off by my poor French and even allowed me to speak some English. Oh…and they gave use cookies and coffee.

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

But it was sketching we came for so it was sketching we did. The morning was cold, wet and windy so actually sitting down to sketch was a struggle, and bordering on foolhardy. Ultimately I came across this scene and set about putting pen to paper. There are dozens, if not hundreds of scenes like this so I hope to do more sketching here before it becomes too cold for outdoor sketching.

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

The cold morning fatigued me and it was hard to get onto the next sketch so I was slow in doing so. Besides, the other sketchers were scattered around the grounds and I wanted to say hi and see what others were doing. I’m nosey that way. So, I did a lot of walking instead of sketching and it was fun. I did sketch this headstone, dated 1871.

Moleskine watercolor book, Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

Fernande, my regularly sketching partner was there and we ate lunch together and chatted about the day. By then the sun had come out and it sort of revitalized us a bit. After this late lunch we started looking around for something that plucked at our 2PM sensibilities and I found it in this modest headstone, made of large, cast stones with a Celtic circle and plaque attached to it. I found three in the cemetery that used similar construction, though each was unique. I’m doing the ink-sketch-a-day event that’s going on right now so I approached this as an ink-only sketch, including a lot more hatching than I would normally add. Then I decided to add some color anyway.

By the time we finished it was time to head up for the memorial. Sadly, the time we were given for this was 3PM but by 2:40, when we arrived, the service was over. We were, however, in time for coffee, cookies, and comraderie with some very fine folks. Thanks, Mark and Maureen. We had a great day.

A Summer’s Day At Berthier, Quebec

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Larry Marshall

It’s been three days since I went out sketching with the gang. It didn’t make it to 60F that day so, of course, as we headed out for a road trip to Berthier, Quebec the prediction was for temps in the mid-80s with a humidex pushed to over 90F. Mr. Jetstream is oscillating like crazy these days.

This trip was timed perfectly as we would be sketching next to the St. Lawrence River, where there’s always a breeze to cool things down. Claudette, Fernande, Yvan and I headed over the bridge with Fernande at the helm. Once on the south shore we turned east along the river on our way to pick up Louise in St. Vallier, half an hour away.

Monologue 9x12, Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

Monologue 9×12, Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

Berthier is just down the road from St. Vallier and I’d never been there before. I’ll be going back ‘real soon’, though. It’s a sketcher paradise. There is a small marina with lots of sailboats to sketch. There is a quay with benches so you can sit and sketch either passing boats or the other side of the St. Lawrence, which features Mount Tremblant. There is a large park area with lots of picnic-partaking folks to draw. There are rocks along the coastline and farm buildings if you look in the other direction. And if that ain’t enough, there’s a place to get coffee and restrooms to cycle it.

The five of us headed for the marina to sketch boats. I wanted to capture the height of the masts and chose a scene and vertical format to emphasize their extraordinary height. I probably worked too fast but that’s always the case when I’m with a group.

Moleskine watercolor 3x5, Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

Moleskine watercolor 3×5, Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

Monologue 9×12, Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

Once finished there we sketched a bit more, up in the park area and then set up at a table overlooking the marina for lunch. We’d collaborated and brought cheeses, baguettes, grapes, and wine for lunch. Claudette made some fantastic roasted peppers that were great along side cucumber slices. We were living high. I ate too much.

To be honest, by the time lunch was over I needed a siesta. I sketched some but decided that a coffee might perk me up. I think it did and I sketched some more but the sun and food had slowed me to a crawl.

Monologue A6 sketchbook, Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

Evidence of that is here. I’d sat down on a bench looking out at the river. It was thoroughly enjoyable but there wasn’t much to sketch except for a large ‘other side of the St. Lawrence’ sort of sketch and I didn’t have the energy for that. But, in front of me, on the storm wall was a light, part of a series of them along the wall. Behind, and well below them were rocks and the river. So, I drew one light, drinking coffee and breathing in the fresh air. I was thoroughly content with the day and this sketch was the final drip from my pen.

Sketching At Parc Chauveau

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Denis Couture, our fearless leader

I don’t know what it is about French but the names of French organizations are impossible. This includes the Collectif des ateliers libres en arts visuels de Québec, the name of an artist group in Quebec City. They were established to facilitate winter life drawing sessions and that is still their principle activity but they are starting to organize outdoor summer activities as well. This past weekend was the second year that we assembled at Parc Chauveau, a park on the north side of Quebec City. It’s a beautiful place. The St. Charles River runs through it, providing considerable sketching fodder.

Organized by Denis Couture, a really nice guy who teaches drawing and photography at a local college, it was truly a shame that on this day, there were only three of us in attendance. The up side is that the day was a bit more laid back as we could do pretty much what we chose to do.

Our first stop was the river, in a place where a large tower of rock, remnants from long-term erosion, juts up from the river. It seemed fitting that we should draw it. I decided it might be fun to put it in the background and to make Fernande, one of my sketching buddies, the central focus for the scene. This was also the first time I got to use my new Namiki (Pilot?) Falcon. I think I’m in love. More on that later.

Stillman & Birn Delta (6x8), Namiki Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

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

Denis knows the area quite well and he suggested that we climb back up to the road and cross the bridge to the other side of the river where there are rest rooms, picnic tables, and a trailhead for the Parc lineaire trail that runs for 32 km along the St. Charles River. In fact, if I would have followed it for about 16 of those kilometers I would have arrived home.

As we ate lunch Denis suggested that we walk the trail some and that the views from high above the river were wonderful. He was right about that but for my next sketch I plunked my tripod stool down in the middle of the forest, off the trail, and started drawing some unknown plant. For a building guy, I was surprised how much fun this was and how much I wanted to do it. I used a different approach from my usual pen first, watercolor as an afterthought approach. I think I’ll talk about this separately as this post is becoming a bit long.

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

In spite of the poor turnout for the event, we had a really great time. The rest of the folks just missed out.

Quebec City: 44th Worldwide Sketchcrawl

Posted on July 13, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Twas that time again and to participate in the 44th Worldwide Sketchcrawl we all gathered at the Jardin Botanique Roger-Van Den Ende de l’Université Laval. French names are often more than a mouthful. This is a large garden run by and adjacent to Laval University. The university gave us the run of the place, a very large place with tons of flowers and other things to sketch. We couldn’t have asked for better weather than we got. Sunny, warm but not stifling hot and the garden provided considerable amounts of shade, though not always in the required spot.

It was difficult to count the participants as we spread out across the landscape. Maybe we should have had a “sketcher hunt” the way kids hunt for Easter eggs as you could walk the trails and find sketchers scrunched down over plants, drawing away, or hiding in the shade while trying to draw an arbor. By my count, however, we set a new sketchcrawl record with 27 participants. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

The name of the game was to find some shade, identify something to draw, and then “just do it” as the saying goes. Much sketching was done on this day but we broke for lunch a little after noon and met in a large tent that exists for this purpose. It was fun to see most of the sketchers all in one place and to kibbitz and share sketches. Unfortunately, I took photos of this before everyone arrived but by the time they did I was embroiled in conversation and sketchbook swapping.

Here is evidence of sketching being committed and the perpetrators (click on a photo to see a larger view):

And here is a small sampling of the sketches that were done this Saturday:

This post is getting long enough that I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to post the sketches I did when I wasn’t taking photos of sketchers (grin). By the end of the day I think we’d all learned and/or remembered a few important things. These are:

1) Sketching is fun.

2) Sketching with other people is funner.

3) The shade moves quickly in Quebec City this time of year.

4) Anticipation – we’re all looking forward to the next sketchcrawl.

Halloween door sketching

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Larry Marshall

A week or so ago I posted a sketch of a fancy door in Quebec City. A comment from a long-time friend, Pat Roberson, asking for more door sketches has resulted in this one.

A week ago I saw this door but I was on my way to St. Vallier to sketch with friends and so couldn’t sketch it. It’s not one of the old, classic Quebec City doors, but Pat is such a fan of Halloween, and apparently doors, that I just had to go back and sketch this aperture into the bright orange house with black trim. Hope you like it, Pat.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9x6), Pilot Prera, Noodler's Lexington Gray

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9×6), Pilot Prera, Noodler’s Lexington Gray