Michaud Service – A Limoilu Landmark

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Larry Marshall

One of the fun things about sketching in Quebec City is being able to sketch buildings that have been repurposed and, sometimes, being able to see photos of what the building used to look like. There are a couple photos of Michaud Service from the 50s but they’re copyrighted and so I’m not going to post them here.

Michaud Service used to be an auto service location, with two large bays and an office area, all accessible from the street side of the building. There were also several bays whose doors faced north, on the other side of the building. These days it seems that the north access bays are used for storage while the front of the building houses a couple social service organizations. My sketch was done as I sat in a small park area on the south side of the building, an area that used to be a parking lot associated with Michaud Service.

In a way, this is a fairly plain building but the huge sign that still resides atop the building, and the somewhat organized graffiti along the south wall just spoke to me. There was also the matter that I could sit in the sun which kept me from completely freezing as I sketched. I did high-tail it for home and tea to do the color once I warmed up.

Michaud Service: Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7), Pilot/Namiki Falcon, Platinum Carbon Black

It’s Time For The Pumpkins To Roll

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Larry Marshall

I’m not sure whether to love or hate pumpkins. You gotta love their rich, warm color and they do signal things like Thanksgiving and Halloween. But they also announce the coming of winter and, if I haven’t mentioned it before, I hate winter. No street sketching for at least five months.

But I always draw at least one pumpkin every year. This one was done in my kitchen, a squash thrown in to compliment it. Hope you like it.

Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, Pilot Falcon, Platinum Carbon ink, watercolors

The Real Entrance To Narnia

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Yeah…yeah, I know that the kids got to Narnia by way of a wardrobe but have you ever wondered where the main entrance was? I think I’ve found it. It’s in Levis, Quebec. Just go through this gate and up the steps into the forest. Easy peasy.

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

Quick Sketching With Ron Husband

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Larry Marshall

As a street sketcher I’ve wondered why there are so few resources for those of us who want to draw people on the streets. It seems that every other book is about drawing portraits. Another third talk about life drawing, mostly of naked people. What’s a guy to do if he wants to learn to quick-sketch people, doing real life things?

The answer comes in an amazing book, Quick Sketching, by Ron Husband, a 30 year veteran of Disney Studios. His day job is animation but, it seems, his hobby is drawing folks in the lunch room, in the mall, and everywhere else he finds them. He’s compiled a book of hundreds of his sketches and provides an amazing amount of information to help sketchers quickly sketch human behavior.

This is not your typical art book that spends a third of the book talking about materials. Ron assumes that you know that paper is the flat stuff and pencils and pens are the devices used to make marks on it. Ron is more about teaching you what to look for, how to depict the body in motion and how to simplify those images so they can be done quickly.

He begins by talking about the importance of quick-sketching, the goals of quick-sketching and some of his general philosophy. He moves on to discussions of simple shapes that, when added together, equal a human body. This is followed by a discussion of different body types.

There is a major section on analyzing action, thoughts on body language, and the value of props in quick-sketches. The rest of the book is composed of chapters on people standing, walking, dancing, doing sports, and working in various occupations. Each of these chapters discusses how clothing reponds to the positions and how balance is affected by the activity. Each chapter is heavily illustrated with sketches by Ron and these alone are worth the price of admission. There’s a separate chapter about sketching children and others that concentrate on animal sketching.

If you’re interested in quick-sketching people this book provides a lot of bang for the buck. It’s 343 pages of text are jam-packed with information and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

The Teggert Bell At Mt Herman Cemetery

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Larry Marshall

I discussed a sketching trip I made to the Mt. Herman cemetery here in Quebec City in my last post. I love that place, though I’d rather be walking around in it than “resting” in it, if you know what I mean.

I hope to sketch there quite often, though outdoor sketching days will soon become few and far between as winter is knocking on the door. But I had to return to sketch the Teggert Bell. It is in honor of the family who have acted as cemetery directors for five generations and the way it’s displayed just begged to be sketched. Here is my meager effort at doing just that.

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