Tag Archives: Stillman&Birn

The Urban Sketcher View

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I’ve only been an urban sketcher.  Yes, I’ve drawn stuffed animals and a few flowers but mostly I go out somewhere, sit down and draw what’s in front of me, on location.  I like this because I don’t have to make stuff up.  I can see the objects ‘in the flesh’ and from all angles.  Drawing from photos is boring and, somehow incomplete.

But there’s a downside to urban sketching.  You’re always faced with cluttered, complex landscapes.  Drawn verbatim, you end up with confused, messy sketches.  Everyone says “simplify,” but in my opinion, this is the hardest thing to do in art.  What to leave out, what to leave in.  Where should the border of the sketch be>  How do you treat those edges?  Do you zoom in or out to capture a subject?  Too many decisions… too many choices.

I went with Yvan to draw boats.  Specifically we wanted to draw some of the tugboats that are moored in the Quebec City harbor.  I found a place out of the wind and set up to draw a tugboat on the other side of the harbor.  I had this view.

I’m not a master of composition but even I know this is a cluttered view and that having a big rope cutting across a drawing with no reason isn’t a good idea.  So, “simplify” is what I’m told so that’s what I do.

Even so, it was going to be hard to make that tugboat the star of my sketch if I drew it from that far away.  So, the solution was to zoom in, forcing the tugboat onto center stage.  I also decided to greatly simplify the background.  And I started to draw my tugboat.

I was happy with this result but zooming in did present a new problem.  If the boat is drawn that large, don’tcha want to see a lot of detail?  Of course, but because the boat is actually so far away, you can’t see the details.  Some details are faked as a set of textural marks.  Others are left out completely.  It’s a balance I guess.  A balance that makes me realize just how much I still need to learn about sketching.

Cap Rouge Marina Sketching

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We were at the Cap Rouge Marina last Sunday and it was a wonderful day, though a bit on the warm side.  I relish the heat, partly because I’m from Arizona and partly because I know that all too soon we’ll be back in heavy coats and complaining about winter.

I was in the mood to draw rocks and found a bunch of them on the other side of the mouth of the river that flows into the marina and out into the St. Lawrence.

When I finished I walked down to where some other people were sketching and I started sketching a sailboat that was moored on the ‘flats’, which turns into a giant grassland at low tide.  I’d just gotten started when it was announced that it was time to gather for lunch.  I share it in its unfinished state as I never got back to it.  By the time lunch was over the boat was laying on its side in a sea of grass, waiting for the tide to come back in.

After lunch I walked to the other side of the marina and drew this scene, that is looking across the marina.  By then it was blisteringly hot and I cooked on my tripod stool for the duration of the drawing.  It was an end of a great day and, once again, I owe Denise a big thank you for organizing the event.

Stillman & Birn Beta (8×10), DeAtramentis Document brn/blk, Daniel Smith watercolors

Are You Afraid Of Clowns?

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Many people are afraid of clowns for some reason.  They might be scared to death if they walk down rue St. Paul in the old port area of Quebec City because, between two buildings there is a humongous inflatable clown head scrunged between the two walls.  I think it’s cute but it could also be scary, depending upon your point of view.  I had to draw it.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6), DeAtramentis Document Black, Wing Sung 8009, Platinum brush pen

Our New Cow

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My wife is a gardener and she loves to visit garden centers.  She was doing just that a couple weeks ago and they were having a big sale.  She came home with a car full of plants and a plaster garden cow that, to me, looks like a sheep with horns.  I think it’s the stone fur that does it.  In any case, it’s cute as can be so I drew it.

Stillman & Birn Beta (8×10 softcover), Platinum Carbon Black, Platinum Plaisir

Why Draw A Squash?

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Why would anyone draw a single squash?  Because it was there, of course.  There need be no other reason.  And so it was as the squash sat on our kitchen island and I drew it.  This one was odd-looking in that while most Sunburst squashes are round, but flattened, this one was almost as high as it was round.

If I were Charlie O’Shields (Mr. Doodlewash) I’d have a charming story to tell you about how Philippe prepares squash or how his mother forced him to eat it when he was young.  I’m not nearly as talented.  I buy squash, I cook squash, I eat squash and now I can say I’ve sketched squash.  Anyway, I had fun sketching it.