Opportunistic Sketching In Ottawa

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Larry Marshall

I was in Ottawa to pick up my daughter, who was coming home for the summer. My wife and I decided it would be a good idea to spend a few days there and, I decided it would be a good idea to also drive to Toronto to see a Blue Jays game, though in my defense, it was my daughter’s idea.

And so it was that I found myself as a tourist, with my family, as we wandered the city, mostly just eating, drinking and relaxing. Many have discussed the difficulties of sketching while on excursions with ~~non-believers~~, err… non-sketchers and I’m no exception to this struggle. Still, if one takes advantage of opportunities and is happy with quick-sketching, sketching can become part of the experience. Here are a few of the small sketches I did while in Ottawa.

We were walking along the Rideau Canal, enjoying the sunshinek and using phrases like “it’s hot today” for the first time in months. We were thoroughly enjoying ourselves. My wife and I decided to give our daughter a rest (that’s our story and we’re sticking to it) so we sat down on a bench. I got out my sketchbook (3×5) and did this quick sketch of a couple girls talking on the other side of the canal.

Once my daughter was well-rested we moved on. We walked and walked and walked. If you lined up all of our steps in a straight line it would be a very long straight line. But it was fun even for an old man like myself.

We sat on the grass in front of Parliament, along with a bunch of other like-minded (tired from walking no doubt) folks and, as a group, worked on our sunburns. After that was accomplished we went across the street to the information center. I’ve found I can get a lot of sketching done while women are in the bathroom and so I started quick-sketching people walking across the street. Parliament should be in the background somewhere but there’s only so much bathroom time available and I was pushing it. Color was added later that evening.

At one point we were in a park not far from the US embassy and the art museum. I don’t know its name and you probably don’t care anyway. We were drinking bubble tea. Lots of other folks were enjoying the day and I decided to quickly sketch a few of them. Here’s one of those sketches, again done in the 3×5 sketchbook.

We went walking again when we returned from Toronto. There are numerous places where you can look over the Ottawa River and I decided that I needed to do a small cityscape. I typically fail at this because I try to put too much detail in too small a space, so I was determined to keep this one spartan, quick, and clean. I hope I succeeded. I did this one in a Moleskine watercolor book; the brown came from a waterbrush filled with dilute Noodler’s #41 brown ink.

Last and probably least I’ll share with you a sketch I did of my new favorite hyper-sweet drink. It’s called bubble tea and is composed of tea, a bit of milk and sugar, a choice of flavoring, and a bunch of huge tapioca balls, called “babba” that are soaked in something that makes them black. They give you a big diameter straw so you can suck these things up along with the drink. Great opportunity to play with your food.

Searching For A Quicker Sketching Style

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Larry Marshall

I’ve only been learning to draw for three years. I have a long way to go but my goal has always been to achieve the ability to sketch in styles similar to those of Pete Scully, Gerard Michel, and others who sketch buildings in a realistic fashion. My own semi-cartoony attempts lack their skill with line and color but I’m happy with my results because I sketch more for the enjoyment I get from the process than the actual product.

The one downside of my sketching is that I’m slow…really slow, and that limits the situations where I can apply that meditative, let the brain head off into never-never-land approach. I spend a lot of time quick-sketching (2-minutes or less) everything and anything to help me learn to see proportions and angles more quickly but the results are far too rushed to satisfy me.

I need an intermediate method – a method that allows me to capture a building or scene in less than 20 minutes, sometimes much less. And so I’ve been playing around with a quicker, looser style. I study how people like Marc Taro Holmes and Liz Steel create their magnificent sketches and while my skills are not solid enough to completely mimic their approaches, they are providing me both inspiration and some mental targets for achieving a more loose style. I’m convinced that I’m only a few thousand sketches away from solving this problem.

Until then, here is a sketch I did while out walking. It was too cold and windy to sit still for very long and so I quickly sketched this monument that sits in the park near my river. I did it in a cheap, 5×7 sketchbook of unknown origin. It’s one that normally sits on my desk and I use it to scribble ideas. I used my Sailor Profit calligraphy pen and De Atramentis Document Black ink.

Making Room For Carriage Wheels

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Our weather is marginal for sketching outdoors but the long winter has me pressing the limits of my cold tolerance. I’m also motivated by the knowledge that at this time of year, there are areas in the old city that are more conducive to sketching (ie – you can see what you want to sketch) than they are later in the year when the tourists are here.

So, I put on a couple layers and headed downtown, to an area near the port area called Place Royale. The most important feature there is a gorgeous church but I was after smaller game.

I was going to draw the corner of a wall – a special corner of a wall. Streets in Quebec City during the 18th Century were narrow. Carriage wheels, on the other hand, were very large and protruded out from the carriage, making it difficult to negotiate a carriage around the corners.

The solution was to inset the corners of the buildings for the first eight feet of so, creating an odd-shaped corner with no explanation if you wander the streets in the 21st Century. But now, when you come to Quebec, you’ll know why some of the corners look like this:

Stillman & BIrn Beta (6×8), Sailor Profit calligraphy pen, DeAtramentis Document Black, Daniel Smith watercolors

Sketching The Musee De La Francophonie

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Larry Marshall

I’m just giddy with excitement that I’m getting some days that are warm enough for me to get out sketching on the street. It’s a good time too as tourists aren’t yet filling the old city streets so I’m able to sketch some things in that area that are normally difficult because of all the people.

One such place is the Musée de l’Amérique francophonie. It’s part of a complex of structures that used to be a seminary and Université Laval. The university moved, long ago, from the downtown area but its Department of Architecture still resides in one of the buildings. These buildings have a rich history and I’ve sketched several of them but never the Museum entrance because it faces the town square and is next to a huge cathedral that is a tourist attraction.

But tourists won’t show up until it’s a bit warmer so I sat and sketched this grand structure. Nothing better than sitting in the sun, coat zipped up, and sketching. Hmm…no, it’s better without needing the coat zipped up.

Stillman & Birn Gamma (10x7), Sailor Fude pen, De Atramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Gamma (10×7), Sailor Profit calligraphy pen, De Atramentis Document Black

We’re Having A Heat Wave

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Larry Marshall

They say it’s not going to last but right now it’s warm, or rather what those of us who have been freezing for the last five months call warm. Heck, it was 14C (57F) when I went out sketching on Monday. Most important, though, there was no wind, which makes all the difference in the world.

It seems I”m out of fighting form, however. I walked a lot and ended up with blisters on both feet. Too much couch potato time this winter, I guess. Anyways, I found myself downtown and when I saw this little convenience market (we call them depanneurs here) I had to sit down and sketch it. What a thrill. Absence makes the heart grow fonder even if you’re talking about street sketching.

At one point the guy who owned the store came across the street to see what I was up to and I was somewhat embarrassed as I wasn’t far enough along to give him much indication of the final result. He didn’t seem to mind though, and the encounter underscored that I was back – sketching on the street. Yippee!!!!

Stillman & Birn Gamma (10x7), Pilot Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Gamma (10×7), Pilot Falcon, De Atramentis Document Black