Long ago, Pete Scully introduced me to the notion that the mundane in our lives could be great sketching subjects with his series of fire hydrant sketches. I started drawing every fire hydrant and garbage can in sight. When you start looking at these things as art objects, they become art objects and that Pete’s important lesson to the rest of us.
I feel the same way about street lamps. I draw them all the time. They serve as practice; they serve as fun. They also serve as the basis for sketches that give me joy. Here’s one I did recently in Tadoussac where my family spent the day last week. I’ll talk more about sketching Tadoussac in a future post but for now, imagine a place with these all over the place.
Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Esterbrook J9550, diluted DeAtramentis Document Black
there was a time I sketched trash cans, as subject of as part of an urban sketch … I think it’s time to start doing that again!
It’s amazing how many different kinds of trash cans there are in a city, once you actually start looking at them. — Larry
Love the drawing and the colors.
Thanks, Julana. I’m not much of a watercolorist. — Larry
Lovely sketch. I agree about street lamps. I particularly like old ones, or ones that are made in an old fashioned style.
Yeah, modern street lamps, like so many things with modern as their adjective, are pretty boring. I wonder where we went so wrong to stop caring about esthetics when designing our surroundings. — Larry