Single-Line Sketching Revisited

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Larry Marshall

I reported on some single-line sketches I’d done in a previous post, an idea presented by Marc Taro Holmes in his free PDF handout, Making Expressive Pen and Ink Drawings on Location. Marc has a new Craftsy course titled Travel Sketching in Mixed Media, an amazing follow up to his People in Motion course and he begins the course with the single-line sketching exercise.

Getting to see him actually do single-line sketches made me realize that I was doing them “wrong.” They are, afterall, an exercise meant to loosen up your hand and to get you to emphasize the big shapes, while not becoming mired in details. But Marc had said, “Keep the pen moving” and so I did. The result was that each time I had to stop to figure out how to get from one thing to the next (a distracting problem of single-line sketching) I ended up with a bunch of squiggles as I “kept the pen moving.” The results were very scribbly sketches.

Ok…just you…yeah, you, the one looking into the monitor. Lean in close because I don’t want to give away Marc’s secret to everyone, but just between you and me [dropping my voice to a whisper] he doesn’t do that. He stops his pen on occasion as he looks how best to get from point A to B between objects.

And so, I was out doing more single-line drawings. I’ve also decided that I’ve got to learn, once and for all, how to draw while holding my sketchbook and standing up. I really struggle with that. My line work becomes completely out of control.

I took some inexpensive watercolor paper (9×12) and cut it in half. These 6×9 sheets were used as I did a bunch of single-line drawings. Each of them only took a minute or two for the linework. Then I added some brush pen darks (another place I struggle) and for a few of them I added color.

This is a great exercise that sets the stage for the less radical approaches to expressive drawing that Marc explains in his class. Tell you about them? Heck no…go take the class (grin). You’ll never regret it and Craftsy classes are inexpensive. Here’s one of my single-line sketches.

Wedded Sketching Bliss

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Larry Marshall

My wife and I have been together for nearly 30 years and married for 28 of them. There have been a lot of potholes on our road through life but I can count on one hand the number of big arguments we’ve had. It’s uncanny as I’m impossible to live with – at least I couldn’t do it.

But last week we went sketching together. It’s not the first time but it hasn’t been a regular event either. We put together picnic food and headed to the Plains of Abraham to sit in the shade and enjoy a perfect day. It was a glorious day.

Stillman & Birn Beta (10x7), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black

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

I drew a tree. It’s clear that I need more experience sketching trees. Still, it was fun and my wife was drawing a tree while sitting right next to me. Life was sweet.

Then it was lunch time and we chatted, watched squirrels and talked about sketching. What more could a guy want in life? Besides, the cheese and baguette were great.

We only had 25 minutes left on our parking time (grrr…grumble), so we decided to do another sketch. I wandered around a bit while she sat down to draw. I decided on this scene and rushed it a bit to fit it into the time frame and think I might return with more time and bigger sketchbook. This was done in a 3×5 Moleskine watercolor book.

Standing On The Corner…

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Standing on the corner…
…watching all the girls go by. — Four Lads

I’m old enough to remember a time before rock-n-roll. It was an era between big band music and Elvis Presley, where pop music came either from crooners or quartets of men or women. Lyrics were silly, but happy. Melodies simple and memorable. When I was a kid there was a song, Standing on the Corner, whose melody caught the attention of this kid. I must have been six or seven.

As an old sketcher I was standing on a corner and I suppose there were girls walking by, but what I noticed was the light pole and the block wall next to it. In the background and up the street a bit is where Rene Levesque lived, undoubtedly the best known and most beloved of Quebec’s Premiers. I did this quick drawing of the scene.

Sitting In The Morning Sun…

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Larry Marshall

“I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time” – Otis Redding

I had to meet some people in front of the Notre Dame cathedral and there’s a tiny park in front of it, which is where I was, with some time to kill.

Since becoming a sketcher I rarely ‘kill time.’ These interludes between the activities of life are sketching opportunities for me, whether it be waiting in a doctor’s office or waiting for a friend to show up.

And there I was, on a sunny morning, sitting on a bench, with a book statue looking down on me. What’s a guy to do. I got out my Moleskine watercolor book. I hadn’t used it in a long time for some reason but it seemed just right for this little sketch.

Moleskine watercolor book (3x5), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black

Moleskine watercolor book (3×5), Namiki Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black

The Bande Dessinee Truck Comes To Limoilu

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Every month, Cathy Johnson runs a virtual sketchcrawl where we all agree to go out, sketch, and then post the results on a Facebook page for that purpose. This Saturday was that day and I needed to do my part in the sketchcrawl, meet up with people at an event, get my daily walk in (2 hours) and them a few things at home.

I headed off to accomplish all those things, sketchbag at my side, feet pounding the pavement. And then it happened. I missed a golden opportunity to take a photo to show you. My only excuse was that I was caught up in the moment and also didn’t want to risk taking the photo. Why? What? Where? Ah, but this is a “who” story.

Those of us who are street sketchers are used to sketching in public. It’s what we do. We also try to convince others that it’s fun and that there is no risk of embarrassment or harassment. Nobody needed to tell a little girl I met any of that.

I came upon her, sitting next to the sidewalk, on 3rd Avenue. She was drawing the typical drawing of an 8-year old – parents, child, sun in the sky, and lots of sky – she was working on the sky with vigor. I stopped and told her how nice her drawing was and tried to engage her in some chit-chat. She was shy, as you might expect. She also had a small box sitting next to her that you might not expect. It was a box in which people who admired her work could drop a coin or three. How could I resist. I emptied my pocket into her box, repeated my praise for her sketch, and moved on. Oh how I wish I’d taken a picture.

Anyways, I continued my walk and realized that we’re in the middle of a heat wave, or rather a humidity wave. The temps are only 26-28C but the humidity his very high and I was melting as I plodded along. I mention this as my excuse for not sketching. I know it’s not a great excuse but it’s the best I’ve got.

I got to my event, which was a small block party in Limoilu and was thrilled to find that I could get a bottle of cold water from them for free. It was my lucky day. The reason I was there, though, was that the Bande Dessinee (comics/graphic novels for the French-challenged) Francophone de Quebec had their mobile library available and an outdoor reading room. It was being manned by a fellow sketcher, and superb artist, Andre Gagnon.

As we sat and talked I noticed a couple kids with big foam hats that looked like Pluto and Donald Duck. As they were reading you could only see the hat above the book and I couldn’t resist doing a quick-sketch of this young girl as she read. In some small way I hope it saves my honor in the sketchcrawl.