If Only I Had Time To Sketch…

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Larry Marshall

If you sketch in the presence of others you’ll hear it. It comes in many forms but, if you get down to the bone of what’s being said it’s “If only I had time to sketch like you do” and it’s said as though my daily 24-hour time allotment is longer than their 24-hour allotment. Or maybe they’re really talking to themselves, excusing themselves in some twisted way.

I’m not sure what it is but I never know what to say. The truth is, we all have the same amount of time per day. Yes, some have to work more hours than others. Some have kids. Some are in school. In spite of this, the average American, it is said, manages to watch four to five hours of television every day. Facebook and Twitter traffic suggest that the hours spent in front of computer aren’t insignificant either. Sooo…..whether you believe it or not, discretionary time is something we ALL have available to us. It’s how you spend it that determines whether you do or do not have time for sketching.

The truth is, it doesn’t take much time to be a sketcher. It’s true that I do spend time with sketching friends and that I often wandering the streets, enjoying extended sketching sessions on occasion. But I’ve been “very busy” for the last few days and so haven’t done any “serious” sketching. In spite of that, I have sketched and I’ve had fun sketching. I thought I’d show you a few of the smallish sketches I’ve done, providing a bit of context in an attempt to demonstrate just how easy it is to include sketching in your day.

Done in Stillman & Birn Alpha (4x6), Hero 9018 and Diamine Chocolate Brown ink

Done in Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6), Hero 9018 and Diamine Chocolate Brown ink

The single thing that is required to be a sketcher is to be READY to sketch, which means you have paper and pointy device with you at all times. If my sketching were limited to finding special blocks of time to set up my art materials, I wouldn’t do 2/3 of the sketches I do. As the Boy Scout motto says, “Be Prepared.” It’s also important to think about enjoying the process of drawing, not creating great art. Sketching is about the fun – about the doing – or it should be. If you’ve got to find that ‘perfect’ scene, you’ll never sketch.

Here’s a sketch I did while I was at the library. It took only a few minutes. Libraries are target-rich environments and one of the few places where humans sit still for a while.

3×5 cheap notebook, Pitt brush pen

I stopped by the art store and picked up some Pitt brush pens, followed by a stop for coffee. It seemed as good a time as any to try out one of the new pens. This rooftop sketch was done in my el cheapo ($1.25 at the dollar store) notebook between sips of coffee and increased the enjoyment of that pause in the day.

Canson Ingres paper (3x5); Pilot 78G, Platinum Carbon Sepia & a bit of Lex Gray added with a Pilot Prera

Canson Ingres paper (3×5); Pilot 78G, Platinum Carbon Sepia & a bit of Lex Gray added with a Pilot Prera

I’d been at the art museum and if you look out their front window you see a monument to General Wolfe, the guy who died winning the battle for Quebec City back in 1759. Behind it is a street lined with buildings.

That night, I was watching American Idol with Chantal and I was bored, so I picked up a pen and a 3×5 piece of Canson Ingres paper (I have these materials available at my TV watching perch) and drew the scene from memory. It only took a few minutes but it was a pleasant experience and I emphasized the use of loose, light pen strokes.

3x5 cheap notebook; Platinum Carbon pen w/Platinum Carbon Black ink

3×5 cheap notebook; Platinum Carbon pen w/Platinum Carbon Black ink

At another time I was watching a Toronto Blue Jays pre-season game and drew this group of flowers. That are part of a larger, dried flower arrangement in our living room. Used a Platinum Carbon pen for this one.

Are these great drawings? Nope…but they were fun. Did they take a long time? Nope. In fact no ‘extra’ time was required at all. I just counted and from Sunday to Friday, when I’ve been ‘too busy to draw,’ I’ve done more than a dozen sketches, all in ‘spare’ time. The only exception was my attendance at a music recital that I would have gone to with or without sketching. It doesn’t take much time to be a sketcher. You DO have time… don’t you?

First Outdoor Sketch of “Spring???”

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Larry Marshall

I was heading downtown the other day, marching along ice-covered sidewalks and hopping over occasional mounds of snow when it occurred to me – it was pretty “warm.”

Now you’ve got to understand what the word means in early March in Quebec City. It means I was walking briskly, wearing a sweater over a long-sleeve shirt and with a heavy coat on top of that. It was “warm.” The temperature had risen all the way to -5C (22F).

And possibly a result of my being a street sketcher harboring a desperation brought on by a long winter, I made a decision. Rather than go to the coffee shop, or to the library, as I was planning, I would head to Place D’Youville (a central location inside our old, walled city) and sketch something OUTDOORS!!!

And it all started great. When I arrived there were a bunch of ice skaters waiting for the Zamboni to clean off the ice rink. I took a position among them on one of the benchs, got out my Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6) and my Hero 578. I wasn’t completely delusional about the definition of “warm” so I decided this would be a sketch done quickly.

By the time I got to thinking about adding some details, the notion of “warm” had long since disappeared, as had my ability to feel the pen in my hands. My brain had shifted from “get it right” to “get it done” and I was quickly bringing the sketch to a close. I packed up and headed for the McDonalds on St. Jean Street.

After huddling over a cup of coffee for warmth, I decided to add some color and got the bright idea to “boldly go where Larry had not gone before” and play with mixing color on the paper and I capped this off with a bit of splatter. While I had no idea what I was doing, there was a serendipity about the process that was fun.

Because McDonalds was very busy, they’d opened up their third-floor eating area so I headed there, hoping to get a different look at the rooftops. Unfortunately, there were big posters covering most of the windows so the view was limited. But, by ducking down and shifting forward a bit, I could see under an ad for something called a McWrap and I could see the steeple of a small church next to the downtown hospital (founded in 1639). It stuck up behind a pile of metal thingies on top of the building in front of it. Same sketchbook here but I used my Pilot Prera on this one.

While it wasn’t as “warm” as I thought, it was a great day and, as they say, I broke the ice on 2014 outdoor sketching… almost literally.

Shading Quick-Sketches Quickly

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Many sketchers enjoy doing quick-sketches as they can be done while waiting in line, sitting in a doctor’s reception room, or in any food court. You can do them while driving down the highway, though it’s best to have someone else driving. I fill several sketchbooks a year with these kinds of sketches, each taking 1-3 minutes.

But one thing these simple line drawings lack is any sense of tonal variation – unless you add it. As a couple people have asked about how I do it I thought I’d talk about my process, though I’m a rank amateur at quick-sketching. The same technique can be used to color more complete drawings as well.

The most common form of shading quick sketches is to use an ink that isn’t waterproof. Most fountain pen inks are not so you have a wide range of colors, brands, and pens to choose from. I believe Goulet Pens say they stock 600 inks, and most of them are water-soluble.

Done in Strathmore “toned gray” sketchbook, using J.Herbin 1670 ink. Click to enlarge.

If you carry a waterbrush (with clear water), shading with water-soluble ink is easy. You simply run the pen along one side of the line, pulling color from the line and into a shape to indicate shading.

While this is, by far, the easiest approach there are a couple of potential drawbacks. First, drawing ink away from the lines diminishs the lines and possibly makes them fuzzy. This can be good or bad, of course. The other limitation is that your shading is the same color as the lines. Again, sometimes good, sometimes bad.

Stillman & Birn Alpha, Noodler’s Lex Gray and brown & black waterbrushes. Click to enlarge.

For nearly a year, now, in addition to a clear-water waterbrush I’ve carried a waterbrush where I’ve added a few drops of Noodler’s Lexington Gray and another with a few drops of Noodler’s Polar Brown. This gives me the flexibility to use both a brown and a gray to shade my drawings and I can do it in seconds. I keep the shade from the waterbrush very light so that I can apply multiple coats and obtain a range of colors. I think the very dilute solution helps keep the brushes flowing properly. I use a waterproof ink (Noodler’s Lexington Gray) for the linework so that it’s unaffected by the shading.

Stillman & Birn Alpha 4x6. Pilot Prera & gray waterbrush. Click to enlarge

Stillman & Birn Alpha 4×6. Pilot Prera & gray waterbrush. Click to enlarge

If you enjoy quick-sketching, give this approach a try. Easy to carry, easy to apply when there’s no time for a full watercolor treatment.

Some quickies at the coffee shop. Click to enlarge.

Using both color sometimes enhances the scene. Click to enlarge.

Winter Building Sketching

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Larry Marshall

I’m desperate. I really am a building sketcher and winter sends me indoors, to museums, concerts, etc. Not many buildings to be found inside buildings.

This is a view if you sit on the second floor of the McDonalds on St. Jean St. in old Quebec, McCafe in hand. Stillman & Birn Alpha 4x6), Platinum Carbon pen, Platinum Carbon ink

This is a view if you sit on the second floor of the McDonalds on St. Jean St. in old Quebec, McCafe in hand. Stillman & Birn Alpha 4×6), Platinum Carbon pen, Platinum Carbon ink

But when there’s a will, there’s a way, at least in a limited fashion. If one is lucky, one can sit by the window in a coffee shop and sketch the outdoors. I searched a bit and got lucky. Here’s a couple small sketches I did while looking out of windows. I’m ready for spring. How about you?

This one was hard to do as I had to lean over a bench and a heater so I could look out a small window in the old jail that’s now associated with the art museum in Quebec City. It was to see and balance sketchbook at the same time. Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6), Platinum Carbon pen.

Sketching Hotel St-Antoine In Quebec City

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Next to my winter sketching grounds, the Musée de la Civilisation, is one of the finest hotels in Quebec City. I doubt I could afford to rent a broom closet for the night. But one very cold day, when we’d arrived at the museum too early and were standing around, waiting for it to open, Claudette suggested we visit the Hotel St-Antoine, a ploy to get inside some place…any place.

Once we were there, however, we saw great potential as a sketching opportunity. Not only is the hotel gorgeous, throughout its corridors and lobby area are shadow boxes built into the wall that are filled with artifacts from the 1600-1800s, mostly dug up from what is now called Place Royal, where the hotel is situated. We vowed to return.

And we did and found the staff very accommodating. They gave us permission to sketch and I concentrated on an area near the entrance, which is something of a posh sitting/lunch/reading room. We had so much fun there. It was also fun that the staff were telling their buddies about our activities and one after the other they came by to see our sketches. It was great fun and their kind comments good for our egos (grin). They even offered us a cup of coffee.

Here are two sketches done in that lobby area. Both were done in a Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7) using a Pilot Prera and diluted Lexington Gray. I’ll be returning to sketch some of the items in their shadowboxes ‘real soon.’