April Sketchcrawl At Museum Chapel

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Larry Marshall

Spring rains have started so soon we’ll be able to have our sketchcrawls outdoors. On Sunday, April 10th, at 10:00AM, though, the Croquistes de Québec will meet at the chapel associated with the Musée de l’Amerique Francophone. If it’s warm enough the area around the museum is full of sketching targets, but if not we can sketch in the chapel. Some of us have been sketching there throughout the winter and since the place is full of statues, woodcarvings and fixtures that are worthy of sketching. Check the Croquistes de Québec site for details. I’ll include a few of the sketches I’ve done in the chapel as examples of the possibilities. See you there.

Museum Sketching Fatigue

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Larry Marshall

As the internet brings me sketches of cherry blossoms, crocuses popping out of the ground, and various pronouncements of spring, we’re bracing for a foot of snow tonight. Spring will come to Quebec but I’m beginning to wonder if I’m going to live long enough to see it.

We were back at the museum again, a place I’m really tiring of this year. In the past the exhibits have been very interesting and full of variety but the main exhibit this winter has been Egyptian Magic and, well, there are only so many times one can sketch another stone statue of a mummy or the favorite Egyptian god, Bes. To make matters worse the exhibit is very dark. You can’t even see many of the display items it’s so dark and after a while it becomes downright depressing.

Stillman & BIrn Delta (8x10) softcover, Platinum 3776, Platinum Carbon Black

Stillman & BIrn Delta (8×10) softcover, Platinum 3776, Platinum Carbon Black

Yvan and I sketched this guy because he was outside the exhibit and there was decent light. It’s not a real artifact, however, as you can buy one at the museum store 🙂

Stillman & Birn Delta (8×10) softcover, Platinum 3776, Platinum Carbon Black

After that I decided to go to the Australian aboriginal exhibit. It’s mostly tapestries and such but I found these guys fun. Meet Mimih, who is something of a jokester god. They’re tall (8-feet or so), thin and they hide in the cracks between the rocks in Arnhem land. It took forever to put all those dots on him with a Uniball white pen but at least there was light in the room.

The snow is starting. Maybe I should trade in my sketchbook for a snowboard (grin).

February Sketchcrawl At Maison Dorion-Coulombe

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Larry Marshall

Celine, Yvan, and Rene drawing the Great Horned Owl

We did it! Our numbers were small, but we were mighty. I think a lot of people decided not to come because it was so cold (-40) and the news was warning everyone of the extreme cold.

Only six of us show up at Maison Dorion-Coulombe to draw last Sunday. One of them was my daughter, who is home from school. That was a special treat for me. When we arrived, Cassandra, staff member for the Société de la rivière Saint-Charles, greeted us and let us set up stuffed animals however we liked. For us, it was just nice to be warm.

Celine, Pierre, and Jodie

Popular subjects were the Great Horned Owl and the Northern Loon but some ink was spilled documenting the river otter as well. I did a quick drawing of Cassandra at her desk. There was more chatter than normal between the sketchers, probably because we were so tightly clustered but that was fun. Generally we have to wait until lunch to talk.

Celine drawing the otter

I’m including one sketch from each artist and displaying them smaller than I normally would. To see them larger, click on each photo. Sketchcrawls in winter are hard to plan because the venues are so limited but I hope you’ll come out and join us because they’re fun.

Pierre’s Loon

Yvan’s owl

Rene’s owl

Larry is a Loon

Sketching Quebec City From Levis

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Larry Marshall

Recently I wrote about Yvan and I crossing the St. Lawrence so we could sketch the Quebec City skyline. I mentioned that we were disappointed by the lack of sun that made it difficult to see the buildings clearly in the low-contrast light.

Of course we do quick sketches as we cross on the ferry. Here’s one example – A Girl On a Boat (alias A Girl On a Phone).

Undaunted by that experience, we watched weather forecasts and, on a day that was supposed to be sunny, we boarded the ferry and headed to the south shore of the St. Lawrence. That sounds too much like we took a trip. The ferry ride is no more than 10 minutes and half of that is waiting as they dock the ship. We scurried off the board and into the terminal, which is a nice, warm place from which to look at Quebec City.

Apparently, Mother Nature doesn’t read weather forecasts because there was no sun but we sketched anyway. As we were leaving it started to snow.

Fabriano Artistico CP, Platinum Carbon Black, Platinum 3776

February Croquistes De Quebec Sketchcrawl

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Larry Marshall

It’s hard to find places to hold winter sketchcrawls in Quebec City. We don’t have an array of museums to choose from so we’ve got to get inventive. So far, those inventions have been quite successful, mostly because of the participants are so fun to be around. I think the February event will be even better.

We’re going to meet at Maison Dorion-Coulombe, which is the home of the Riviere St. Charles Society, a group that helps to maintain the 32km long Parc Lineare that runs along the river. They do great work, including the maintenance of Dorion-Coulombe and the small museum contained within its walls.

We’re fortunate to be invited to hold a sketchcrawl there on Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14th. We’ll meet at 9:30 and get to draw the stuffed animals, plants, and the views of the river and bridge beyond. We’ll be in the company of a large turtle who smiles a lot as he swims in a large aquarium. While you can buy coffee and water on site, you need to bring a lunch as there are no restaurants nearby.

One thing we’re going to do a bit different, to add a bit of spice to the event, is to bring along an item or three that people can sketch if they choose to do so. This is a lot of fun and we encourage you to drop an item into your own bag to bring along.

The last time we did a sketchcrawl at Maison Dorion-Coulombe it was raining and yet it was a fantastic as a sketchcrawl site. The cold of winter should make drawing in a nice warm environment even more fun.