Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Urban Sketching v. Urban House Painting





Urban Sketching v. Urban House Painting

Voluntary--------Necessary

En Plein Air---En Plein Air

Avocation----Work

‘In the Zone’-------Pondering Solutions to Problems

Limited Supplies--------Gallons of Supplies

Knowledge of Perspective----Knowledge of Gravity

Value Contrast to Model Form----Putty and Caulk to Model Form

Transparent Wash---Power Wash

A Point of View or Station Point------Viewing Every Point  


July has been ‘paint the house month’ at our home, so this posting is all words.  The comparison list above is ‘the art’ I have to offer at this time. I’ve only sketched twice this month. The first time was at our Regional Sketch-out on 7/11 ..and I already posted the three sketches I did that day on Flickr and Facebook.




I sketched a second time when I volunteered to help out at the Peninsula Art League’s Summer Arts Festival in Gig Harbor on 7/19. I’m not done with that sketch yet. I hope I don’t ruin it when I get time to finish it. I enjoyed  sketching outdoors at the Arts Festival..even though the temperature was over 90 degrees. I learned that heat does strange things to colored pencils...and, I like learning these things:



Water-soluble colored pencils do not turn into a ‘wash’ with the application of water.
Wax-based colored pencils melt and do surprising things.


Saturday, July 25, 2015

In Olympia for the 48th World Wide Sketchcrawl Day

Urban Sketchers Seattle and Tacoma joined together for the 48th World Wide SketchCrawl Day in Olympia.  We met at the "Legislative Steps"... the large stairs into the Capitol building.

This facade is so impressive but I found it a little overwhelming in its architectural grandeur.  I sketched a side view with the dome from across the street.



As I'd arrived, staff at the Visitors' Center told me that there would be a wreath laying ceremony at the Korean War memorial this morning.  It was in commemoration of the anniversary of the end of the war.  I was a bit late getting over to the site and the ceremony was all but over.  However, I had time to pay tribute with a sketch including the wreaths.  The flags are at half mast in honor of the military killed this past week in the shootings in Tennessee.





We met back on the Legislative Steps to share our sketches.  I'd seen Michelle taking photos at the Korea memorial and she stopped by to look at our sketches.  She took the group photos:



Then we went on the the Olympia Farmers Market.  I again found the scene too  large and chaotic.  I followed Jane's advice and just sketched a portion of one of the vegetable stands.


Thursday, July 23, 2015

View from the bench


I sketched this while interpreting at Fort Nisqually yesterday.  I sat on a bench in the shade in front of the "Large Store" building.  The white house in the background is the Factor's House, where the manager of the installation lived.

For a Wednesday, there seemed to be many visitors.  I interacted with a few but nothing remarkable.  It was a very peaceful, quiet day.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Regional Sketch Gathering - Tacoma



These are two sketches from the July 11th Sketch Gathering in and around Union Station. We were given a reprieve from the hot weather and actually found myself scrambling to cover a sketch from the rain. Almost forgot what that was like.

The second sketch was an attempt to paint the reflection off glass on the Tacoma Art Museum.

Pen, ink and watercolor in a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Annie Wright Schools

I've been so busy with multiple sketch outings, I didn't realize I never posted mine from Wednesday at Annie Wright Schools!  

The Tacoma Sketchers Wednesday outing for July was held at the Annie Wright Schools.    Jean, one of our members, teaches there and arranged for us to have access.

After a tour of the school, I decided I would attempt the perspective challenge offered by this view of the cloisters.  I really loved the Tudor beauty of the building.  I also really love cloister walks and gardens.




This is the most difficult perspective view I've ever attempted.  I nearly gave up during the pencil drawing.  But I persevered and got it mostly right.  There is a bit of wonky-ness but I'm pleased overall.  I did need the help of my perspective tool as I didn't quite believe what I saw.  As Stephanie Bower said in her perspective workshop, "don't believe your eye".

While sketching, a group of middle school aged children arrived with their teacher, "Dr. Wizard," and carrying TREBUCHETS!!!  How wonderful.  I got a close up view of the good Doctor's expert teaching on how to fine tune the aim of these small weapons.  Apparently, there will be a contest on Friday, scoring for accuracy and distance.   The young girls closest to me were doing very well in accuracy.




Sharing sketches and group photo






Many more photos here, including outside and inside the school

Friday, July 17, 2015

City of Destiny



I used to think the only place for truly great water front and historic building sketching was Port Townsend until Tacoma Urban sketchers came into my life. Now I can't seem to get enough of the City of Destiny. 

The waterfront sketch was done kind of on the fly with 30 minutes to spare before a USk meeting at the end of June. I finished it later in my studio - micron 08 sketch, watercolor pencils and watercolor.

Our 3rd Wednesday at Annie Wright School gave me the opportunity to work on perspective. This one I worked out the perspective and the details in pencil, went back over it in ink and finished it in watercolor. Our outing began with a tour of the school so by the time we got around to sketching we had about two hours to do what ever we were going to do. This sketch took all of that and some work back in my studio to finish it.

I still love Port Townsend but the proximity, convenience and richness of Tacoma is hard to beat.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Shaking it up with a new medium

Fuel pump -5x11 gouache on watercolor moleskin
   Today I tried something totally new which I find similar to a "gravity check"--- when you drop something unexpected. So I went out to roast on the tarmac of an airport this afternoon for 2 attempts at painting a gas station in gouache. Having no prior experience with this medium, I found that I spent just as much time misting the paint and swishing water into a dry brush as I did trying to push paint around the paper. The good thing is when it dries it is treatable to revise with water. After having struggled with watercolor the last 15+ months (and never suiting my needs) I see this new medium as having possibilities in my Urban Sketching future... just maybe not in the sweltering heat like today.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Regional Sketch Outing

We put out an invitation to USk groups from Portland to Vancouver BC.  We called it a PNW Regional Sketch Outing.   Sketchers came from Seattle, Kitsap Penninsula and Vancouver.  It was a fun day to meet so many new people.

I did a lot of meeting, greeting and talking.  But I managed one and half sketches.  My second one isn't colored yet... it started to sprinkle and it was close to the meeting time.

My first sketch was on the Glass Bridge.  Nancy is sketching in front of me.



Davie from Vancouver BC USK



Lea from Vancouver BC USK



Sharing sketches:



The group (a few had left and a few more arrived since the meet and greet at 10):

Friday, July 10, 2015

Past Tacoma sketches



Going through older sketchbooks and found some Tacoma sketches. I did these sketches while my daughter was at youth symphony rehearsal on Saturday mornings.

Pen and ink with watercolor.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Dosewallips State Park camp and sketch outing



This week we left our island paradise and headed north for two days of camping at Dosewallips State Park on Hoods Canal. I'm not really sure why but I've always had an aversion to camping until this summer when my wife Chris talked me into purchasing a very small tear drop travel trailer. Now we had to go somewhere and since the end of May we have been to Penrose State Park on the Key Peninsula, Fort Flagler on Marestone Island, Seabeck on Hoods Canal and this week again on the canal at Dosewallips. What an eye opener for me! So much natural beauty, so much to see, to sketch and paint, to be in awe of. The weather of course has been stunningly beautiful and near the water not too hot.

The sketch of the nature preserve was viewed from an observation station in the preserve. Derwent watercolor pencils, a touch of watercolor provided evidence of my being in this incredible place if only for about an hour.

I knew as soon as we arrived at this location on Dabob Bay and I saw the reflections in the glassy calm water I had to sketch it. So a short kyak along the shore and back to the beach to take it all in.

Last May I attended my first urban sketchers outing and I began a journey of discovering sketching and comradeship with a profoundly wonderful effect on my life and my art. Now I have added more travel exploration and discovery to my sketching life experience. How very grateful I am!

Friday, July 3, 2015

Urban Sketching, Reminiscence and Hope

 Late last week, Eli and I went to Canada for three days. It was a great break for us because in all this heat, we've been doing the prep work for painting our house. It was warm in White Rock, B.C., but the beach was one house and one street from where we stayed...and there was some breeze from that proximity. The first afternoon, we ate dinner very early...before anyone else had the same idea. The restaurant was ours. We ate some great Greek food at the Cosmos Greek Restaurant while downing many frosty glasses of sweet ice tea, extra lemon. (Ice tea, Canadian style). Since only a couple of other tables had guests by the time we were done, it was time to sketch the yet empty tables on the patio.
  
The next day, while Eli did some writing in our rented studio apartment, I went exploring down Marine View Driven, the main drag by the waterfront.  Up on the higher up waterfront sidewalk, I saw artists had set up tables, easels, umbrellas, etc. as sales 'booths' to sell their art. Hmmm. Nothing wrong at all with that picture: ocean breeze, shade and seating by a wall, a view of the States across the water, and, a fellow artist close by to chat with when either of us took a break. She 'posed' in the position above for about 2 minutes...and moved constantly the rest of the time I was there.
After my 'artist-model' packed up her gear to leave for a dinner with some friends in Vancouver, I went around the building to its other side. Again, the shade was right where I needed it. And, there was a bench! Because of the heat, I chose shade first, view second. If I wasn't a slow sketcher, I could have done several other nice views without moving an inch from this perfect spot.
The next day, while I waited for Eli to finish an appointment, I walked down the block and found a Tim Horton's Restaurant kitty corner from a covered bus stop that had lots of empty, shaded seating! I felt a bit guilty the whole time I sketched (but not too much, apparently) : I kept nodding 'no' to approaching bus drivers, to let them know they need not pull over and stop for me. I once left a Tim Horton's and accidentally forgot my purse hanging on the back of my chair. It was returned to me hours later,  100% contents intact: an almost full sketchbook, sketching materials, money, credit cards, the usual. To borrow one of my husband's favorite phrases: "sometimes we're luckier than we're smart."

Yesterday I got up at 5 am to chip paint and caulk in the ever-increasing heat of the day. Today, I got up at the same time and gardened until a few minutes ago (almost 1 pm.) I reminisced, most of the time, about last week's Canadian sketch-outs, remembering everything I saw around me and 'feeling'  the shade and breezes. While I had focused on what I sketched, I also remembered lots of things that weren't put into my sketches. When I wasn't reminiscing , I was dreaming ahead about an invitation I received in my email today: to go sketching with some friends this coming Sunday. All day!  It's written in ink on my calendar.(Admittedly, most things are.)  Reminiscence and Hope, two delicious, pleasurable side-benefits of urban sketching.  I often  enjoy them both when I'm not sketching. I hope the same happens for you!!


Thursday, July 2, 2015

Astronaut on Board

This morning I made a dash to Bremerton to sketch the astronaut on the Viet Nam era destroyer, USS Turner Joy.  This is the 9th sketch of 25 in the series.   My plan is to sketch all 25 of the "Astronauts on the Town", which is part of the Museum of Flight's celebration of its 50th anniversary,

It was a cramped space so I composed the page with just half the sculpture as I wanted to also include the hatch so that the environment of the ship would be a part of it.





This is "From the Archives" by Patrick Sexton.  It's covered in collage pieces.  So my sketch has a couple of them, too. 



Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Narrows Bridge

This is the bridge that replaced "galloping Gertie", the bridge across the Tacoma Narrows that swayed, bucked and then collapsed in the famous 1940 film.  Actually, it's now two bridges as another entire bridge was built recently so now there are more lanes across.  It connects the Tacoma area with the Kitsap Peninsula.

I had a short shift at Fort Nisqually today.  So I left early and took a drive around the somewhat cooler Pt. Defiance Park's 5 mile Drive.  There are so many trees that it was about 10 degrees cooler than the freeway had been earlier.  It is from one of the viewpoints that I made this sketch.