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

A Bad Sketching Day

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Does it ever happen to you? You agree to meet people for a sketching session and when you arrive you’re just not inspired to sketch? It doesn’t happen to me very often but when it does, the results aren’t pretty (grin).

Stillman & Birn Beta (9x12), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Beta (9×12), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

And so it was when I agreed to meet five of my sketching buddies at the Latin Park, or whatever they call the place where there are a bunch of statues of famous South American folks. The smiling faces and upbeat attitudes that always come with sketchers were there and the day was gorgeous, as it’s still considerably warmer than it should be this time of year. But, for some reason, I just wasn’t in the mood to sketch.

I sat down to draw this guy, or this hunk of stone that looks like a guy. I worked faster than normal, mostly because of my disinterest, I think. The drawing result wasn’t horrible but I decided to try something different with the watercolor and made a mess of it.

From there I started sketching one of the most boring buildings in Quebec, the bus station, which is also an expansion to the train station, one of the most beautiful buildings in Quebec. I’d only just begun when everyone finished their first sketches, so we headed into the Dept. of Justice, the back of which looks out on the park, and we found toilets, coffee, and then returned to the park to eat lunch. That was fun and we talked about film festivals, the weather and sketching.

Everyone decided to do some more sketching so I went back to my bus station sketch. Why do we build such bland, soulless structures? As I look around Quebec it’s easy to see that there was a time when people cared about the esthetics of the world around them. Now it’s all just glass boxes full of cubicles. So sad.

Stillman & Birn Beta (9×12), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

After I finished that sketch I did a couple quick sketches of statue pieces but it just wasn’t an inspiring day for me. Still, any sketching day beats a non-sketching day.

Relaxing At Mt Herman Cemetery

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Larry Marshall

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

One of my favorite places in Quebec City is the Mt Herman Cemetery. It’s an old English cemetery that dates back at least to 1800 and is situated on a heavily forested, rolling hill landscape. People go to Mt Herman to read, meditate, walk around, have picnics, let their kids see a bit of nature. Of course, some come for a longer stay, which is the raison d’etre of a cemetery.

Me, I go there to sketch and to enjoy the quiet of the place, and that’s what I was doing about a week ago. During my time there I did a couple sketches. Nothing special, and not much to say about them except that both subjects were crafted during the 1860s. We do live our history here in Quebec.

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

Citroen 2-CV

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Larry Marshall

The Citroen 2-CV (deux chevaux-vapeur), is something of a blast from the past. While not made in production numbers until after WWII, it was designed in the 30s to move a couple adults at a whopping 37 mph along French dirt roads. I don’t know if they ever made it to the US but I never saw one until I came to Quebec and even here, the only ones I’ve seen are display items at a large restaurant. But they smack of a pre-Volkswagon where inexpensive cars were kept light, low-powered and without power everything.

I went with Claudette to the north side of the city because she wanted to draw a large bear statue. When we got there I found the 2-CV and knew what I had to do. The subject I was looking at was painted bright red with white polka dots. Why they had insulted this vehicle in this way is beyond me but I colored the sketch in more traditional colors.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (10x7), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Even So, The Sketchcrawl Was A Success

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Steps in the garden at Bois du Coulonge; Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Sometimes luck is on your side; sometimes it’s not. I’m still not sure which of these occurred yesterday, when we held our second Croquistes de Quebec sketchcrawl. The day before the event the weather reports were suggesting 20-30mm of rain for the day – not exactly what you want to hear as an organizer of an outdoor event. But when Sunday morning arrived, the report had been downgraded to 1mm of rain. It was windy and it had cooled significantly from the nice temps we’d had all week. Things, shall we say, were not looking good.

But, intrepid sketchers that we are, Yvan and I arrived at Parc Parc du Bois de Coulonge bright and early with smiles on our faces, though our collars were turned up and hats pulled down tight onto our heads. We started sketching, hoping beyond hope that someone else would show up. I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that we were doubtful.

Agathe drawing a Hosta plant.

But alas, there are other ~~crazy~~ dedicated sketchers in Quebec City and soon, Agathe showed up. She’s a passionate sketcher that did a great sketch of me sketching. I wish I had it to share with you. Later she became interested in drawing some of the plants in the park.

Guylaine, trying to keep warm

A bit later Guylaine arrived and began drawing a building that’s right out of one of Disney’s animation movies, with more gables and turrets resting on its small footprint than any building deserves. I think she was the really smart one among us as the building houses a coffee shop and she got to sit at a table while she drew.

Yvan, my mentor, doing what he’s always doing – drawing

It was cold, however, and very windy. Rain seemed just around the corner, though it didn’t actually rain until Yvan and I were heading home late in the afternoon. The two women had had enough by lunch time and left but since we had established both a morning and an afternoon meeting time, for those who couldn’t make it in the morning, Yvan and I felt compelled to stay. We headed to the afternoon meeting place, and while our spirits were cold, they had yet to be dampened, at least not literally.

Yvan decided he was going to draw the grand building at the head of the large garden/fountain/open area that is the heart of the park. Being of more modest abilities and energy, I decided to draw what is now the information center. It used to be the hub building for three greenhouses that splayed out in three directions but had been removed. I found the building fascinating, particularly from my perch on a hill above it. I still need to draw some of the garden behind it.

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

One thing Yvan did during the day was accumulate drawings of the lamps and fixtures within the park. I thought I’d share it with you to give you some indication of this guy’s talent. These are his “quick sketches,” each taking him only 2-3 minutes.

In the end, the bad weather reports and the cold reality diminished our numbers and was unlucky. On other hand, four of us had a great time getting together to sketch. Overall I think we were lucky because we all went home happy and dry. Besides, it’s supposed to warm up tomorrow and I’ll be out sketching.