Larry D. Marshall's Blog, page 100

Portraits In The Park

Last weekend I attended an annual event that brings portrait artists together in a park area in front of the Gallerie d’Art Magella-Paradis.  This gallery, in association with the La Societé Artistique de Charlesbourg organized the event and Alain Fortier and Lucien Lanoie were the prime movers to make it happen.

René Chamberland doing his thing.

And what a fun day it was.  By my count there were a dozen or so portrait artists who drew each other and anyone else they could get to sit for them.  René Chamberland even sketched me.  With great company, in a great place, and with a dose of great weather, the day was pretty special.

Richard is drawing a lovely lady who volunteered to pose for him.

Lucien Lanoie ran the 20-minute sessions and helped portrait artists as he walked around the area.

Some of the artists taking a break to get something to drink and chat a bit.

I’m an urban sketcher, not a portrait artist but that didn’t keep my pen in my pocket.  I did several sketches during the day, including these sketches of the artists doing what they do best.  These were done in a small 3×5 sketchbook using J.Herbin 1670 ink.  Is it urban sketching to sketch a portrait event?  I think it is (grin).

 

 

Do You Sketch The Boring Stuff?

I like to sketch boring stuff.  I guess I should be more precise and say that I like to sketch things that other people find boring, or worse, don’t even notice them at all.  Things like garbage cans, fire hydrants, telephone poles… and plain, ‘boring’ buildings.

So when I saw this view of the end of a 3-store complex, it called to me.  I set up my stool, sat down, and got out my Stillman & Birn Zeta (5×8) sketchbook.  I used a Pilot Prera loaded with Platinum Carbon Ink to do the sketch.  I was happy with the results.

What do you think?  Do you sketch boring stuff?

More Small Sketches… More Fun

I’m continuing to have fun with small 3×5 (or smaller) sketches.  Thought I’d share a few more with you.

This is a small, adorable building that is the home to a dress designer.  It looks like something from a fairy tale and seemed like a great small sketch subject.  As with my previous small sketches, this one (and the others here) were done in a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.  This particular one was done with a Pilot Prera and Platinum Carbon Black ink.

We took a day trip down (up?) the southern coast of the St. Lawrence River to Kamouraska.  I’d hoped to sketch some of the great buildings there but instead I did this sketch of my daughter looking out at the ocean (the Atlantic is out there somewhere if you look far enough).  I like this one a lot, probably because of the subject matter.

I was walking across the bridges that crosses the St. Charles River just as it flows into the St. Lawrence and decided, without much thought, to sketch this scene.  I think the scene would have been better served by a larger format but the little sketchbook came out and the pen started jittering around the paper.  I’m not a fan of sketching while standing and this is further evidence that I’m not very good at it.  But they can’t all be great.  It was still fun, which is why I do this.

Lastly, and certainly least, I was taking a break on Terrace Dufferin, a large boardwalk associated with the Chateau Frontenac.  Across from me was this guy, looking out at the St. Lawrence.  I took out my cheap sketchbook thinking I’d just do a one-minute sketch of him and, big mistake, I started the sketch in portrait format, thinking I was only going to draw him and couple boards to represent the bench.  Then I sort of got carried away making squiggles to represent the railing and before I knew it I was having to draw him smaller than I planned, the bench became more integral to the sketch, and in the end I had a tiny, 2×2 vignette of a guy on a bench.  It’s sort of scratch and way too small but again, quite fun and I thought I would share it as an example of improper planning… or maybe just the right amount   This one was done with a Uniball Signo UM151 (brown-black) pen.  I really like these pens and I’m now armed with several of them.

Sometimes You Just Need A Challenge

If you know Brenda Swenson’s “75-day Challenge”, you know the concept of casting aside the pencil, even for organizational purposes and sketching directly with pen.  It’s said, and I believe it to be true, that doing so for a lot of sketches, will improve your ability to see and put what you see on paper.  The process moves a lot of thinking to early in the process, ensuring that when you do lay down a line it’s in the right place.

I do a lot of ink work but typically use a pencil to lightly outline main masses and relationships in a sketch.  But sometimes a guy just needs a challenge and I was feeling like one when I started looking at this railing and post.

I set up to sketch it (Stillman & Birn Zeta -5×8, Pilot Prera) and decided to do it ‘ink-only’, though I confess that I drew a pencil horizontal line at the top of the railing and a vertical line at the inside of the post.  Then I got out my pen and stared.  And then I stared some more, measuring, seeing, and occasionally putting a dot on my paper.  Then I drew the lines… and the curves.  For me it was a struggle with all the curved wrought iron to render.  And there are screw ups… there are always screw ups.  It’s my signature move.  But generally, I like the results and had a lot of fun with the process.

 

While Walking Through The Park One Day….

Yvan and I planned a sketching session on St. Denis street and we were to meet there.  This street has many majestic residences and a large grassy area in front of them so it’s an ideal place to sketch.

As I arrived I realized that I’d forgotten my WalkStool.  This is a big problem as my knees and me don’t much like sitting on the ground, for fear that we’ll never be able to get back up.

And so the search began for a sitting place with something in front of me to sketch.  It’s not really rocket science but I wandered around for a while before finding such a combination.  I ended up in the Parc des Governeurs, a small park between the Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City’s tourist landmark and the American consulate.

Both of these buildings are great sketching subjects but I chose this more humble structure that sits in the park.  Yvan suggested that it was once a toilet but these days it looks to be used by maintenance people.  In any case, it had a bench, in the shade, and so I sketched it in my Stillman & Birn Zeta (5×8) with a Pilot Prera and Platinum Carbon Black ink.  I used Lexington Gray for the stairs in the background.  I’m enjoying the contrast between these two inks.  As always, I used Winsor & Newton watercolors like crayons to add some color.

Ferry Dock Sketching

I use any excuse to take the ferry from Quebec City to Levis, which is on the other side of the St. Lawrence River from us.  I do it because 1) I like boats, 2) my bus pass makes it free, and 3) did I mention that I like boats?

On this day, I did it because Yvan wanted to sketch the ferry station, which is an old train station that’s been sort of messed up by neglect and its conversion into a ferry dock.  But they’re planning on tearing it down and he wanted a sketch of it.  Seemed like a plan to me.

But when I got there, something about sketching the station just didn’t turn my crank that morning so I found an alternative, this building that was probably a hotel at some point and may still be.  I like the way the cliff jutted up above, dwarfing what is actually a very large building.



It was done in a Stillman & Birn Zeta (5×8) sketchbook with Pilot Preras and Platinum Carbon Black and Noodler’s Lexington gray inks.  Hope you like it.  It was sure fun.

Do You Sketch Small?

I’ve always carried a small sketchbook with me for doing quick-sketches of things.  But more and more I’ve been sketching in 5×8 or 10×7 sketchbooks. Working larger is fun and lets me ‘stretch’ my gaze a bit more.  The result is that my small sketchbook became a cheap dollar store sketchbook that wouldn’t tolerate watercolors while my larger sketchbooks are all Stillman & Birn, first-class sketchbooks. The ‘gap’ between small and large had become greater in my sketching.

So I tried one of Stillman & Birn’s 4×6 sketchbooks.  In fact, I’ve nearly filled two of them.  The paper is fantastic, as always, but a 4×6, thick sketchbook is too ‘big’ to be called a ‘small’ sketchbook, at least for this street sketcher.  I need something I can stuff in a pocket.

And so I bought a Moleskine watercolor book.  I don’t much like its landscape layout but it’s tolerable in this small size.  The larger one is almost painful to manage if you try to balance it on your knee while sitting on a stool, which is my typical approach.  I do wish they’d produce a portrait format sketchbook with their watercolor paper.  Heck, what I really wish is that Stillman & Birn would produce a thin (30pages?) 3×5 sketchbook with their Epsilon paper.  Then I’d be a very happy sketcher.

This is a Celtic Cross in Artillery Park. Done with a Pilot Prera.

Anyways, I’ve started doing small pen & ink watercolors again and I’m really enjoying it.  I thought I’d share some with you.  All of these were done in the tiny Moleskine.  I’ll mention the pen used in captions.

Factory building along the Riviere St. Charles. Sakura Micron 01.

[image error]

Lamp on Plains of Abraham. Uniball Signo UM-151 “brown-black” .28

 

Cast metal fountain on Plains of Abraham. Pilot Prera, Platinum Carbon Black.

Large light inside the Kent Gate. Pilot Prera.

Cartier-Brebeuf Park. Pilot Prera

Pilot Prera w/Platinum Carbon Black

A Red Flag Will Stop A Sketcher Every Time

As an urban sketcher, with a penchant for the mundane, I couldn’t pass up this scene. The railroad track in the background feeds into the train station here in Quebec City. A passenger train was headed inbound. The track in the foreground is a seldom-used track that allows a connection between a huge cargo facility on one side of a river and another one on the other side. Not much traffic but they’re not interested in any at all when the passenger trains come and go (only a few times a day).

And so, they clip this flag to the track, to let anyone thinking of taking their train engine for a spin, not to do it. The bright red flag created an interesting scene, at least to me. Done in my Stillman & Birn Alpha (10×7) with a Pilot Prera, PCB ink, W&N artist watercolors and limited skill.

40th Worldwide Sketchcrawl – Quebec Style

Last weekend was the 40th Worldwide Sketchcrawl and a group of sketchers in Quebec City participated.  We were blessed with great weather, had a great turnout,  and we had a great time… except I lost my entire watercolor kit.

Daniel Potvin (blue shirt) and Vincent (tan shirt), one of his students.

Our numbers increased significantly this time around for the simple reason that Daniel Potvin, an enthusiastic sketcher, who happens to teach animation at Université Laval, brought some of his students – a group of very talented folks.

We met just inside the St. Jean Gate, in Artillery Park.  Both of these are tourist hotspots so there were lots of people around.

Yvan did welcoming duties while sketching the St. Jean gate.

Yvan took up station and offered a welcome to everyone as they arrived.  We agreed to meet for lunch at 12:15 and so we each went our own way to hunt down the ideal sketching subject.  I was looking for shade.  (Note to self.  Next time do a formal group photo as the group has gotten too large to cover them all with a snapshot.)

Celine and Pierre sketching the Kent Gate

With lots of sketching behind us, we broke for lunch and gathered under a large shade tree.  Some brought lunches, some went foraging at the many food vendors in the area.  We talked, shared sketchbooks, ate and generally had a mini-sketching party.  It was great!

Natalie sketching the Kent Gate tower.

Eventually, we decided that we should sketch some more and so we did.  I was pretty beat by that time and I suspect others were as well but heck, it was a great day and so we sketched.

Claudette sketching on Rue d’Auteuil.

In the end, it was a big success, we got to meet and talk with some new sketchers and we all took home great sketches to remind us the day.

One complete failure on my part was that I got no good photos of the spread of sketches, laid out during lunch.  The problem was that they were part in the sun and part in the shade, with leaf shadows all over them.  I’ll have to do better next time.  This time around, you should be able to see (real soon) at least some of those sketches on the Worldwide Sketchcrawl site.

Couldn’t resist this. It was at least 15-feet high and part of summer festival.

Somewhere, between the old city and home, my entire watercolor kit fell out of my sketching bag and I lost it.  Anyone who finds a green case with a watercolor palette, some Escoda travel brushes, water bottle and misc….it’s mine (grin).  Here are the sketches I did during the event.

This is a Celtic Cross in Artillery Park. 3×5 and done with a Pilot Prera.

 

Church next to Kent Gate. S&B Zeta (5×8), Pilot Prera.

 

Urban Sketcher Communes With Nature

I had a wonderful time last Saturday.  I was invited to the house of long-time friend, Pierre Therrien, along with two other sketching buddies, one of them being Pierre’s constant companion and main squeeze, Celine.

I picked Yvan up and we headed to Pierre’s house, which is just south of the North Pole, I think.  We drove and drove and drove.  Pierre lives in a forest.  His home looks out on gorgeous forested landscape areas and is near Jacques Cartier River, a very sketch-ogenic river.  It is a sketcher’s dream.

We spent the first hour chatting about everything and anything and spent some time drooling over his art library.  Then we decided that maybe sketching time was wasting away so we headed outside and broke out the pointy devices.  Yvan, Celine and Pierre set up in front of the house to draw the ‘paysage’ that splays out in front of it and ends with a backdrop of the Laurentian mountains which, to a Rocky Mountain guy like myself, have always more resembled hills than mountains.  Everything’s relative, I guess, and so are mountains.

But I’m an urban sketcher so I started wandering around.  I found myself in a far corner of a field, looking back at Pierre’s house.  Photo is courtesy of Yvan.  You can see that I was very comfy as I had a full chair rather than my stool.

All alone was I, except for the curious ants, too many biting flies and a Theridid spider.  I tried to strike up a conversation with the spider but she didn’t say much.  She just glared at me for plunking my chair down so close to her web.

Here’s the view I had and the partially completed sketch:

I had decided to try out my new Uniball UM-151 (.28mm) pen on Stillman & Birn Alpha paper and I’ve concluded that it’s a wonderful combination.  I’m going to be ordering some more of them ‘real soon.’

After lunch I returned to my perch, with the addition of a portable umbrella that shaded me from what was now a very hot sun.  I completed the ink sketch and added color, using a waterbrush and W&N artist colors.  I’m a hack watercolorists but I’ve got to get back to using real brushes.  Here’s the finished sketch: