Currently Browsing: sketching in public
Sketching at the Dentist’s
There’s no excuse not to have a sketchbook with you at all times. I’ve made sketchbooks as small as 2 x 4 inches. They fit nicely into a pocket if you aren’t carrying a purse or bag. And now so many commercially bound books are available in small sizes, including the Hahnemühle Watercolor Book, which […]
In Context: At the Allergist’s
Sometimes it’s the line or angle or shape of a subject that attracts us. We need to get it down as quickly as possible because we don’t know when the subject will leave. (My first subject was called away before I could do any development.) Sometimes it’s the volume or brilliance of something contrasted against […]
Sometimes People in an Audience Catch My Eye
Above: Line of people sitting in front of me at the opening performance for “Orphan Train.” In the pocket size Hahnemühle Nostalgie book with a Sakura Pigma Sensei. I had the great good fortune to go to “Orphan Train” at the Minnesota History Theater on opening night. My friend, composer and musician Charlie Maguire did […]
Someone Really Wants to Take Gouache to the Fair
Left: The scan of my second chicken test on the Canson Plein Air Watercolor Board (cold press). This is 9 x 12 inches and done with a Uni Posca Marker, the Pentel Pigment Brush Pen with the squeezy barrel, a Montana Acrylic Marker, and Daniel Smith Watercolors applied with a Niji water brush. Completed under […]
Which Paper Will I Use at the 2016 Minnesota State Fair? Don’t Know—But I Can Tell You How I’ve Been Narrowing It Down
Left: My first runner-up for Fair Journal paper was white Stonehenge. Here’s a test piece I made while sketching from the TV one afternoon. It’s glued down to a larger page in my experiments journal. Which paper will I take to the 2016 Minnesota State Fair? I wish I knew. I have a vague notion. […]
Sketching in Public: Looking for Negative Space
Above: Quick sketch in my current journal. Read more about it below. You can see the most amazing things when you’re out and about. When I go to a local diner (Cecil’s—French Toast Turkey Club…just saying), I typically sit and sketch until the meal arrives. There’s a great cross section of the population. Cecil’s is […]
The Seventh Minnesota State Fair Sketch Out is TOMORROW—Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Above: A quick sheep sheering sketch I made on Thursday, the opening day of the Fair. I went to hear my friend Charlie Maguire sing, but of course I got a lot of sketching done too. (I'm testing Pigma Sensei Pens here, with Schmincke watercolors, on TH Saunders/Waterford 140 lb. watercolor paper. I will have […]
Project Friday: Dealing with Interruptions and Chaos—The Reality of Creativity
See the full post for details.
Another Note on Taking a Mental Break to Get a Second Wind
Above: sheep sketch; 9 x 7 inches, Fabriano Artistico 300 lb. Hot Press Watercolor paper; Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolor pencils (used dry). Click on the image to view an enlargement.
On Sept. 6 I wrote about taking a mental break when your energy is low by returning to a favorite drawing standby. I thought you would enjoy seeing another example of this from my 2009 Minnesota State Fair visits. At the Sketch Out on Sept. 1 I returned to the barns after a short Corn Dog break and decided I really wanted to see some rich black lines on the paper. (It’s all that white paper, it’s blinding!) I sketched the above ewe with the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and then scribbled in some various blues for shading. I really like the shapes I was able to catch quickly. It freed my mind up from the small strokes I had been taking all day with pencils.
Zapped back by this little break, I walked into the Poultry section with a renewed mission to sketch one more bird before I called it quits for the day (which had been a long day—I'd walked in at 10:38 a.m.).
Last Chance to Visit the 2009 Minnesota State Fair
Above: My first journal card from my second visit to the 2009 Minnesota State Fair on September 1, 2009. Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencils used dry on a 9 x 7 inch card of Fabriano Artistico 300 lb. HP Watercolor paper. Notes written with a Staedtler Pigment Liner 0.3. I started in the top left […]