Larry D. Marshall's Blog, page 93

Sketching in Pencil

I met Claudette this morning for a sketching session at the Musée d’Amerique Francophonie.   I want to say this is a tiny museum but it’s actually a fairly big building/facility.  They just don’t have much in it :-)  But there were a couple pieces that Claudette wanted to sketch so that’s where we went this morning.

I wandered around, looking for something to sketch.  We’ve done group sketching events there on several occasions so I was very familiar with the displays.  So, after wandering a bit, I finally settled on a statue (former mayor I think) as my subject.  Since we’ve been discussing pencil drawing in one of the Facebook groups, and since I know nothing of pencil drawing except that I tend to smear everything I draw, I decided to do this sketch with an HB mechanical pencil.  Definitely a KISS principle drawing.  It’s also a sketch that demonstrates why I use my fountain pens (grin).  It was done on a light gray Canson Mi-Teintes (6×9).

Sketching The Art of Fernand Pelez

I rarely sketch from art unless I’m trying to learn how DaVinci did it, or how my buddy Yvan Breton does his people sketches.  But the Paris exhibit at our Musée de la Civilisation has a couple of large that just say “sketch me.”  I think it’s because of their size and content.  One is a 21-foot long mural of the Parisian open-air market in 1900.  The other is an equally large circus mural titled Grimaces et misére by Fernand Pelez (1888).

Grimaces et misére depicts circus performers, including dancers, musicians, clowns and others, but unlike most circus art, these figures are depicted in what was probably a more realistic state.  The faces and body language of these characters are sad, tired, and suggestive of their overworked, day-by-day lives.

I, along with my buddy Yvan decided to meet Tuesday morning to sketch the musicians who represent about 25% of the mural.  He drew in pencil; I used my Wahl-Eversharp pen and Noodler’s Lexington Gray.

The paper was Canson Ingres (6×9).  I like the lightly toned versions of this paper for pen drawings, though it would be quite useless for watercolor.  The bit of added tone came from dilute Lex Gray in a waterbrush, while the white was done with a Stabilo “paper-glass-plastic-metal” pencil.  I think Prismacolor pencil does a better job but it was worth a try (grin)

For those asking “What the heck is that instrument on the right,” I was equally curious and so I did some digging.  Turns out it is an ophicleide, a precursor to the tuba.  It’s actually a U-shaped tube but the downward part of the tube is behind the upward portion so you don’t see it in the painting.  But you can see the mouthpiece which is very tuba-like.

 

A Grand Day Out: Sketching With Others

My favorite Wallace and Gromit film is A Grand Day Out.  In it, Wallace finds that while he has crackers, he has run out of cheese.  Of course, that means he and his dog Gromit need to go to the moon to get some more, as everyone knows the moon is made of cheese.  Gromit builds a rocket and they head off to find some cheese.

Yesterday I was reminded of A Grand Day Out because I had one in the form of Quebec City’s version of the 42nd Worldwide Sketchcrawl.  We’ve held several of these and while it’s hard to do when it’s -25C, we do what we can to bring people together.

This sketchcrawl was held at the Musée de la Civilisation.  This museum is a very welcoming and accommodating place and it’s ideal for such an event.  As with all of our sketchcrawls, this one was organized by Yvan Breton and Celine Poulin.  One of my sketching buddies, Claudette Gauvreau, deserves some credit as well as she used her infectious laugh and sociability to convince several of her friends to join us.

Just beginning to gather in the lunch area. Hard choice between talking and eating being made by many

And what an event it was.  We had a couple DOZEN people at this event.  I emphasize the word dozen as when you can start counting participants in ‘dozens’ it’s sort of like being old enough to talk about how many decades you’ve been alive.  And dozens we had, at least 24 people and while it was hard to get an accurate count, I think it was more.  What I do know is that I found it impossible to remember the names of all the people I met for the first time.  But I’ll always remember the smiles on their faces.

And did we have fun.  The one downside of a museum sketchcrawl is documentation as they frown on photography in the exhibit areas (click on image to get a larger image).  What I can tell you is that from 10AM until 12:30 there were sketchers everywhere you looked and it was quite exciting.  Some people were surprised by how relaxed the atmosphere was and how “non-competitive” we were.  You can tell ‘serious’ artists about this difference between sketching and fine art but until they experience group sketching on location, it’s hard to understand it.

Looking at sketchbooks, laughing and enjoying one another’s company

A group admiring Jacques Paquet’s sketch box

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 12:30 we gathered in a basement area to eat lunch and kibbitz about sketching, pens, watercolors, and to share our sketchbooks.  I’m not sure we ever had everyone in one place so I can’t show you the typical ‘the gang’ photo but here are a few clusters of people and even a few sketches I managed to snap a photo of as they were laid out by some of the participants.

I found it hard to get photos of other people’s sketches because everyone was having so much fun flipping through everyone else’s sketchbooks.  Pictures come second to fun in my book but I did manage to get these few snapshots.

Guylaine Côté’s bicycle. Love this view.

Celine (top) and Pierre’s (bottom) sketches

Group of sketches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, and after we couldn’t talk any more, most of us headed back out to sketch.  We lost a few of our participants as they had afternoon appointments elsewhere.  Once again we invaded the exhibits like ants on a sugar cube and while we were having fun, we were also becoming part of the exhibits, as folks were looking over our shoulders and saying nice things.  Location sketching is good for the ego.

We wrapped up around 3PM, most of us quite tired but also exhilarated by the day’s activities.  I’m still walking a foot or so above the ground.  Did I mention we had a COUPLE DOZEN participants?

Oh…I did a bit of sketching myself, though not as much as some.  And I did have the ability to scan them.  Here are my sketches from the day.  It was definitely a Grand Day Out.

I saw this drum display as an opportunity to practice orienting ellipses as each drum was positioned differently. Stillman & Birn Zeta (6×9), Wahl-Eversharp pen, Lexington Gray ink

 

These were part of a large poster of clown caricatures and I thought it might be fun to draw a few of them. It was. Stillman & Birn Zeta (6×9), Wahl-Eversharp pen, Lexington Gray

Sketchcrawl Reminder – January 25th

Just a quick reminder that Saturday, January 25th, at 10AM will begin a grand day of sketching as we celebrate the 42nd Worldwide Sketchcrawl at the Musée de la Civilisation.  It’s free to all but bring sketching materials and a lunch, though the museum will be most happy to sell you food as well.  You can see details here, in my original post about the sketchcrawl.  See you there.

Sketching At The Library

It’s turned bitter cold again, killing hopes of a mild winter.  And at -33F I headed off this morning to meet Claudette at the library.  Somehow the walk was longer than normal.  I wonder why.

Done in Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6) sketchbook, Pilot 78G and Noodler’s Lexington Gray ink

But we had a lot of fun sketching people at the library.  Library people tend to stay put a bit longer than museum people so there’s a better chance of finishing a sketch before they wander off.  I’m not much of a people sketcher but I thought I’d share a couple of the sketches I did this morning.  It’s ok to laugh… honest.  I wonder if the sleeping kid would have been embarrassed to know that he was snoring and that people were looking at him.

A Walk With The Gods

The search for places to sketch in winter is continual here in Quebec City, so when Yvan said “Why don’t we go to Pavillion Laurentienne to sketch?” everyone immediately responded with “Sure!”  Only later did we ask “What is Pavillion Laurentienne and what can we sketch there?”

Pavillion Laurentienne, as it turns out, is a relatively new building on the Université Laval campus.  It’s used for conferences and larger meetings.  What’s interesting about it is that it’s got a very large lobby area with a bunch of large plaster casts of statues that live in Europe somewhere.  Another way of looking at them is that they’re big white naked people, though one of them, out of modesty no doubt. has a small sheep wrapped around his shoulders.

Yvan got permission for our motley crew to show up today to sketch.  Sunday is certainly the day to go as except for the security guard, we were there alone, hanging out with the white naked people.  It was a very meditative atmosphere.

Here’s a loose sketch of part of the lobby area.  I did all these sketches on Canson Ingres papers that seems ideal for pen and ink drawing, though it’s too thin for watercolor.

Sketching statues is certainly not my forté  but I sure had fun today.  This guy’s name is Marcellus, though he and I never had a real conversation.  His neck isn’t really that long – I was being “artistic,” I guess (grin).

I was getting a bit tired at this point, so I had some coffee and some great conversation.  I decided to draw an arm and, I’m afraid, I worked one beat too fast and the poor guy’s hand looks like it went through a meat grinder, though in this case I guess it would have to be a plaster grinder.  In any case, the result left something to be desired, as did my second, hand attempt.  I guess I was just tired from trying to keep my gut sucked in around these well-muscled white guys.

All of these sketches were done with a Pilot Prera with either J.Herbin Lie de thé or Noodlers Lexington Gray ink.   As we left for the day most of us agreed that we’d have to come back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sketching The January Thaw

Like much of North America, we experienced very cold temperatures for a few days.  Following that, however, we’ve experienced weather that made it seem like May here in Quebec City.  It rained, it got warmer (40F a couple days).  Excepting this has turned all of Quebec City into a lumpy skating rink, it’s been wonderful.

I was supposed to meet Claudette at a cafe for our weekly sketching session and I arrived about 10-15 minutes ahead of her.  Rather than going inside, I found a place to stand out of the light rain that was falling and drew the exterior of the cafe.  When she arrived we went inside and I added color to my sketch and added some other ‘stuff’ to the page.  Done in a Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6) with a Pilot Prera.

While Claudette was finishing up a sketch I looked outside and saw this lonely street lamp, its feet stuck in heavy, dirty snow and it’s head bent over as a response to the rain.  It seemed so forlorn so I sketched it.  This was done in my el cheapo 3×5 notebook.

We finished up and Claudette and I headed off in different directions.  I walked down St. Jean street, heading towards the old city and it was wonderful.  The rain had become nearly a mist and it was warm enough that I could actually remove my gloves.  I saw that as a ‘sign’ and as I walked past this building, with its amazing roof, I ducked into a little alcove out of the rain and did this quick sketch of it in my S&B Alpha (4×6).  I added the color to this little sketch when I got home but, for me, this sketch was pretty special as the winter cold has prevented me from sketching outdoors.  It was, indeed, a great day.

Quebec Sketchcrawl: Musee De La Civilisation

Saturday, January 25th is the date for the 42nd Worldwide Sketchcrawl.  It’s very cold in Quebec City this time of year so we’ll be having our sketchcrawl indoors at the Musée de la Civilisation.   We’ll be at the museum from 10h to 16h, breaking for lunch at mid-day.  Bring a lunch or buy it at the museum but we’ll gather at the museum cafeteria around 12:30.

Participation, of course, is free.  Normally, entrance to the museum is only available from 10h to 12h but the museum has generously offered free admission to all participants regardless of your time of arrival.  Just let them know that you’re with the sketching group.  Coat check is also free.

It should be a great day as there’s plenty to tempt you to put pen to paper.  While a bit bizarre, the Haiti In Extremis exhibit offers some macabre sketching possibilities.

The newly refurbished and expanded Native American exhibit is also full of goodies to sketch, from snowshoes, utensils, weapons, carvings, paintings, mannikins all waiting for interest a sketcher.

There is a large computer games exhibit and while it’s mostly a bunch of boxes on which you can play video games, there are a number of possibilities for sketching as well, including a full-sized sculpture of the lead character for the Assassin’s Creed III video game.

There are also a lot of interior architecture possibilities as the building itself has a lobby area that is an architect’s dream.  I still need to do some sketching there.

Of course the star of the show right now is the Paris: 1899-1914 exhibit.  Here you’ll find a room filled with old camera and movie projector equipment and ongoing movies from the period.

 

There are a lot of sculptures, busts, and vases if that’s your preference.  You’ll also find a number of early vehicles, including a  steam-powered car.

The exhibit also holds a lot of very large posters as well as floor-to-ceiling projections of photos, taken in Paris in the 1900s.  I did this sketch from one of those.

And, of course, a Paris exhibit wouldn’t be complete without pieces that represent the cabaret scene of the era.  Lots of great stuff to sketch in that part of the exhibit.

In short, you won’t want to miss this sketchcrawl as we’re going to have a ball.  I hope you’ll join us.  And from the organizers, Yvan Breton and Celine Poulin:

 ———————EN FRANÇAIS———————
Bonjour chers croquistes,
La prochaine sortie de croquis du 42e Sketchcrawl à Québec aura lieu au chaud du Musée de la Civilisation samedi le 25 janvierprochain.
Nous nous retrouverons à partir de 10h (accès gratuit).

Pour plus d’information, voir l’annonce à la page suivante :
http://www.sketchcrawl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=11293

Au plaisir de faire du croquis en votre compagnie.
Yvan Breton et Céline Poulin

 

 

 

 

 

Sketching An Inuit Art Piece

Quebec has a rich Native American community, from the Shawnee who helped Pre-Canadians fight Americans during the war of 1812 to the Inuit (Americans might still call them Eskimos) who manage to live in the very cold northern parts of Quebec.

Our Musée de la Civilisation has a large permanent exhibit dedicated to Native American history and art.  This is a beautiful piece of wood and soapstone carving.  It’s about two feet tall and the soapstone face has a long tail on it that allows it to sit in the hollow of the tree trunk.  It’s quite stunning and I didn’t do it justice.

Done in a Stillman & Birn Zeta (6×9) with a Pilot 78G, followed with Albrecht-Durer watercolor pencils and a waterbrush.

 

Sketching Quebec’s Past

Our Musée de la Civilisation has a permanent exhibit of Quebec artifacts.  They are organized roughly along the lines of Quebec’s history, starting with the results of archeological digs and then progessing through 400 years of its history.  Celine Dion is somewhere near the end of the exhibit.

I thought it might be fun to sketch a few of these antiquités and this is the result.  Done in a Stillman & Birn Zeta (6×9) using a Pilot Prera (Platinum Carbon Black) and a Wahl-Eversharp flex nib pen (Noodler’s Lexington Gray).