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

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

Sketching Landscapes At The Quebec Aquarium

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Larry Marshall

The grounds of the Quebec Aquarium are great for a sketcher. Whoever designed them had esthetics in mind as well as the ability to accommodate families with kids running all over the place. And so it’s a fun place to do small landscape sketches. With winter looming in front of us, I’ve spent most of my aquarium time doing those kinds of sketches.

Monologue sketchbook (4×5), Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon ink

Claudette and I were at the aquarium this week (last week?). While waiting for it to open I quickly sketched a grouping of large rocks that sit near the entrance. I’m still trying to get a handle on drawing rocks.

Monologue sketchbook (4×5), Hero 578, Platinum Carbon Black

Later I made this little sketch out the window of the cafeteria. I was drawing trees but more, I was playing with my Hero 578 “fude” pen. I still haven’t tapped the expressiveness of this pen and should use it a lot more.

But I spent most of my time drawing this scene. It took me the best part of two hours to complete it. This included a chat with the security guard, another with a grounds-keeper and a couple visitors stopped to comment. The weather was ideal, as were the social interactions.

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

Sketching At The Quebec Aquarium

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Claudette, Fernande and I headed to the Quebec Aquarium because predictions were for rain. This is an ideal sketching venue when weather is suspect because there are both indoor and outdoor sketching available. As it turned out, the weather was pretty nice so we all stayed outdoors.

I started my day with a sketch of the largest building complex. It was a nice building scene and I could sit in the shade of a large ash tree. I had fun sketching the tall, large-leaf plants I was looking over from my tripod stool view.

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

We met for lunch at a picnic bench in the kid’s playground and compared sketches. Then we talked about their sketching sessions while I was in Ottawa and I told them about my sketching in Ottawa. I really enjoy this part of urban sketching. There’s just nothing like the camaraderie among sketchers.

We split up again and I did a bit of wandering. There are several ponds on the grounds and I found a water lily that grew in just the right spot for me to sketch and so I sat down and did just that.

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