A Bad Sketching Day

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Does it ever happen to you? You agree to meet people for a sketching session and when you arrive you’re just not inspired to sketch? It doesn’t happen to me very often but when it does, the results aren’t pretty (grin).

Stillman & Birn Beta (9x12), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Beta (9×12), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

And so it was when I agreed to meet five of my sketching buddies at the Latin Park, or whatever they call the place where there are a bunch of statues of famous South American folks. The smiling faces and upbeat attitudes that always come with sketchers were there and the day was gorgeous, as it’s still considerably warmer than it should be this time of year. But, for some reason, I just wasn’t in the mood to sketch.

I sat down to draw this guy, or this hunk of stone that looks like a guy. I worked faster than normal, mostly because of my disinterest, I think. The drawing result wasn’t horrible but I decided to try something different with the watercolor and made a mess of it.

From there I started sketching one of the most boring buildings in Quebec, the bus station, which is also an expansion to the train station, one of the most beautiful buildings in Quebec. I’d only just begun when everyone finished their first sketches, so we headed into the Dept. of Justice, the back of which looks out on the park, and we found toilets, coffee, and then returned to the park to eat lunch. That was fun and we talked about film festivals, the weather and sketching.

Everyone decided to do some more sketching so I went back to my bus station sketch. Why do we build such bland, soulless structures? As I look around Quebec it’s easy to see that there was a time when people cared about the esthetics of the world around them. Now it’s all just glass boxes full of cubicles. So sad.

Stillman & Birn Beta (9×12), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

After I finished that sketch I did a couple quick sketches of statue pieces but it just wasn’t an inspiring day for me. Still, any sketching day beats a non-sketching day.

Relaxing At Mt Herman Cemetery

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

One of my favorite places in Quebec City is the Mt Herman Cemetery. It’s an old English cemetery that dates back at least to 1800 and is situated on a heavily forested, rolling hill landscape. People go to Mt Herman to read, meditate, walk around, have picnics, let their kids see a bit of nature. Of course, some come for a longer stay, which is the raison d’etre of a cemetery.

Me, I go there to sketch and to enjoy the quiet of the place, and that’s what I was doing about a week ago. During my time there I did a couple sketches. Nothing special, and not much to say about them except that both subjects were crafted during the 1860s. We do live our history here in Quebec.

Stillman & BIrn Beta (6x9), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & BIrn Beta (6×9), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

I’m Four Years Old

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Larry Marshall

When you are as old as I am, birthdays aren’t a big deal beyond preferring them to the alternative. But when I can say “I’m Four Years Old,” well that’s better, and I’m now a four-year-old sketcher.

I can’t really say what day it was that I read Danny Gregory’s Everyday Matters and bought into his notion that the value of art comes from the doing of it rather than the end product, but it was sometime in September of 2011. At the time, I couldn’t draw anything. I’d been told when I was a kid that I had no talent for art and I’d spent almost 60 years believing it. Times change and now I don’t believe that “talent” has anything to do with it, though if persistence is a talent maybe there is truth in “you’re so talented” as I’ve been persistent if nothing else.

Anyways, back then I started drawing cubes… lots of cubes. I figured that lots of things fit into cubes and so if I could draw cubes in any orientation, I’d have a good start on drawing pretty much anything. And you know what, I think I was right. Books told me I should also add spheres, cones and cylinders to the mix but otherwise, I started to build a foundation for drawing. I got pretty myopic about it too, worrying only about the drawing, using paint like crayons and not giving it much thought.

Sadly, I don’t have any of those pages of cubes. I was using photocopy paper and throwing everything away. It wasn’t until I posted a couple simple sketches in a sketching group and mentioned my circular file approach to storage that someone said, “Hey, hang onto that stuff. You’ll want to look back on it some day.” And so I started my first sketchbook.

By this time I’d heard about urban sketching and that looked like a good idea to me – all except for that going out in public to sketch stuff. That sounded really scary!

But I was determined. I took a small 4×6 sketchbook, with horrible paper, and headed to a shopping center. I’m an analytical type and I reasoned that if I sketched a manikin she wouldn’t get mad at me and I wouldn’t have to worry about her leaving. I was right on both counts.

It was still scary, though and I held my sketchbook close to my chest, drawing as quickly as I could in the hope that nobody would see me. Once again, the strategy worked and I finished the sketch, got up immediately, and walked away. It was only in hindsight that I saw the reality. Nobody cared what the heck I was doing. Everyone just walked by, too busy in their own affairs to care about me and my manikin sketch. My second ‘urban sketch’ was a post box and it didn’t get angry either. But I got “bold” and soon I was sketching my coffee cup in the middle of McDonalds (grin).

By this time I was 1) having a great time sketching, or trying, anywhere I wanted. It doesn’t take long before you figure out that nobody cares what you’re doing and the fears are unfounded. My only limitations were, and still are, my ability to draw and paint. But I wanted to draw buildings and so one day I bit the bullet and drew this one, my first location sketch of a building. Since then I’ve done, literally, thousands of sketches, almost all of them done on location. I’ve filled more than 40 sketchbooks. I think I’m a little better at sketching than I was when I started but that doesn’t really matter. I’m having fun and it’s become a part of my life.

Citroen 2-CV

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Larry Marshall

The Citroen 2-CV (deux chevaux-vapeur), is something of a blast from the past. While not made in production numbers until after WWII, it was designed in the 30s to move a couple adults at a whopping 37 mph along French dirt roads. I don’t know if they ever made it to the US but I never saw one until I came to Quebec and even here, the only ones I’ve seen are display items at a large restaurant. But they smack of a pre-Volkswagon where inexpensive cars were kept light, low-powered and without power everything.

I went with Claudette to the north side of the city because she wanted to draw a large bear statue. When we got there I found the 2-CV and knew what I had to do. The subject I was looking at was painted bright red with white polka dots. Why they had insulted this vehicle in this way is beyond me but I colored the sketch in more traditional colors.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (10x7), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Even So, The Sketchcrawl Was A Success

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Larry Marshall

Steps in the garden at Bois du Coulonge; Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

Sometimes luck is on your side; sometimes it’s not. I’m still not sure which of these occurred yesterday, when we held our second Croquistes de Quebec sketchcrawl. The day before the event the weather reports were suggesting 20-30mm of rain for the day – not exactly what you want to hear as an organizer of an outdoor event. But when Sunday morning arrived, the report had been downgraded to 1mm of rain. It was windy and it had cooled significantly from the nice temps we’d had all week. Things, shall we say, were not looking good.

But, intrepid sketchers that we are, Yvan and I arrived at Parc Parc du Bois de Coulonge bright and early with smiles on our faces, though our collars were turned up and hats pulled down tight onto our heads. We started sketching, hoping beyond hope that someone else would show up. I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that we were doubtful.

Agathe drawing a Hosta plant.

But alas, there are other ~~crazy~~ dedicated sketchers in Quebec City and soon, Agathe showed up. She’s a passionate sketcher that did a great sketch of me sketching. I wish I had it to share with you. Later she became interested in drawing some of the plants in the park.

Guylaine, trying to keep warm

A bit later Guylaine arrived and began drawing a building that’s right out of one of Disney’s animation movies, with more gables and turrets resting on its small footprint than any building deserves. I think she was the really smart one among us as the building houses a coffee shop and she got to sit at a table while she drew.

Yvan, my mentor, doing what he’s always doing – drawing

It was cold, however, and very windy. Rain seemed just around the corner, though it didn’t actually rain until Yvan and I were heading home late in the afternoon. The two women had had enough by lunch time and left but since we had established both a morning and an afternoon meeting time, for those who couldn’t make it in the morning, Yvan and I felt compelled to stay. We headed to the afternoon meeting place, and while our spirits were cold, they had yet to be dampened, at least not literally.

Yvan decided he was going to draw the grand building at the head of the large garden/fountain/open area that is the heart of the park. Being of more modest abilities and energy, I decided to draw what is now the information center. It used to be the hub building for three greenhouses that splayed out in three directions but had been removed. I found the building fascinating, particularly from my perch on a hill above it. I still need to draw some of the garden behind it.

Stillman & Birn Beta (6×9), Namiki Falcon, DeAtramentis Document Black

One thing Yvan did during the day was accumulate drawings of the lamps and fixtures within the park. I thought I’d share it with you to give you some indication of this guy’s talent. These are his “quick sketches,” each taking him only 2-3 minutes.

In the end, the bad weather reports and the cold reality diminished our numbers and was unlucky. On other hand, four of us had a great time getting together to sketch. Overall I think we were lucky because we all went home happy and dry. Besides, it’s supposed to warm up tomorrow and I’ll be out sketching.