Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Outdoor World

Several people came to our regular 3rd Wednesday sketch outing at Outdoor World (Bass Pro Shops) in Tacoma today.  I was not expecting as many as we'd had very bad storms yesterday with many people still without power and having big messes to clean up.  In fact, I learned after I got home that the governor has declared a state-wide disaster.

The storms had passed and it was actually sunny as we arrived.  Normally, I'm a bit annoyed when Christmas decorations are up before Thanksgiving.  But I chose Santa's village as my first sketch.  Santa doesn't arrive until 3pm.  So I sketched a side of the village with the animals.



My intended sketch of the day was the unique bowling ball returns in the Fish Bowl!  The entire bowling alley was made to seem like it was underwater.






We shared sketches on the coffee table in front of a huge roaring fire. 





A few of us had lunch together in the adjacent restaurant.  Even there, a frighteningly large shark "swam" over us, high up near the ceiling! 




Lots more photos here.

Friday, November 13, 2015

December 5th Sketch Outing

Our "First Saturday" Sketch-Out  -- December 5th, 10 am -12:30 pm


Van Lierop Garden Market
1020 Ryan Ave, Sumner, WA 98390

We will be meeting at the beautiful Van Lierop Garden Market as our 'home base' for some holiday sketching in downtown Sumner. It has become one of our favorite places to sketch, what with the market itself plus all the quaint storefronts on nearby Main Street, and the homes on neighborhood side streets. If the weather allows, we may sketch outdoors in the Market garden or inside the beautifully decorated greenhouses. Downtown will be decorated for Christmas.The Santa Parade will be down Main Street at 3:30 pm. Dress to be comfortable for your favorite indoor or outdoor alternatives. Bring a folding chair and a hot drink for comfort.

The Van Lierop Garden Market is located at 1020 Ryan Ave. which is right in the center of downtown Sumner.







Heads Up: Important Travel-Parking Information: 
Ryan Ave, for the entire block in front of the Garden Market, will be closed off because of some music events happening in that location during the day.

Suggestion 1: For ease of finding the Market (traffic is always diverted/controlled in Sumner during downtown events) run a copy of a detailed Google street map of the downtown Sumner area, so you will have back-street information to find your way to the Market, despite traffic diversions.

Suggestion #2: Bring a sandwich, snack, drink for lunch time: the local restaurants will be crazy-full.

Suggestion #3: Arrive early to have an easier time finding parking. Perhaps plan on arriving at 9:00 even though the Market opens at 9:30. We'll gather for announcements at 10 in the Market's outdoor garden area.
 
There is a parking lot directly across the street from the Market, which may be open for parking. Otherwise, we will need to park on a side street close by.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Urban sketching in the garden of Marion

 
   Last summer I was again  invited to take pleasure in painting at the Gig Harbor Garden Tour for my 5th year in a row. Although I did find a place to do my usual oil painting on a vast property on fox island, there was a place in town with narrow paths that I knew most painters would not be able to set up and work. I didn't want the garden to be missed so I only took a small work kit the next day I call my Urban Sketcher bag.
   On day two, I tried to visit new gardens so that everybody had at least one artist in the garden for the weekend so decided to work out of my lap in a small (7 x 9) watercolor sketchbook at the narrow path place. Afterwards I snuck across the street do a quick study in Marion's garden -another tour garden hostess and fellow artist who has invited my plein air group to come paint last summer. Strangely it looks more like my Urban Sketcher work -fast documentary for a sense of place then my garden tour work. The entire scene seems so reflective of the owner... the gate wide open to welcome any and all in the comforts of her home so I feel I captured the essence of how the place spoke to me, just as an urban sketch should be. -Feather

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Lecture by Frank Ching

Seattle Urban Sketcher and renowned professor of Architecture is giving a lecture at the Puget Sound Group of NW Artists.

Frank Ching

Tuesday, November 17, 2015
6:00pm 8:30pm 

"In his lecture, “Seeing, Thinking, Drawing,” Ching will discuss perspective on the drawing process, from drawing from observation to drawing the future gained during his 40-year career."

Follow this link for all the details
http://www.psgart.org/calendar/2015/11/18/salon-perspective-seeing-thinking-drawing

but you must register to attend:

"Free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.
Capacity is limited - register today to ensure your spot"
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/artist-salon-seeing-thinking-drawing-with-frank-ching-tickets-19265239851

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Red Shoe

A large group of Urban Sketchers-Tacoma met on a very rainy day at the LeMay Family Collection at Marymount. 

Since I arrived early, I sketched under the cover of a walkway.  This is a view of the building which housed the boiler for the complex.  Marymount was operated by the Sisters of St. Dominic from the early 1920′s to 1976 as a military academy for young boys.  Talk about a double dose of discipline!  I asked the staff how nuns ran a military school.  They did the regular teaching.  Soldiers from nearby Fort Lewis provided the military content.  More about that here  



Once we were all gathered, I explored the several rooms of the collection.  It was difficult to pick a subject.  Until I saw the Red Stiletto car!  It was the weirdest vehicle there so that's what I had to sketch.  It is a custom built art car made in 1990 by David Crow of Snohomish.  It is powered by a Honda motorcycle engine.  There are two seats, with a passenger seat above the driver in the upper heel.


Figure is a standee of Marilyn Monroe.  The album covers are a bit of
photo collage. 

As usual, we gathered to share sketches and have a group photo.  It was a good sized group today with several new sketchers.  Welcome, all!





Lots more photos here.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Approaches to Sketching



I enjoy trying out all sorts of sketching approaches. So far, I've explored using graphite, colored pencils, various forms of ink pens, watercolors, and oil paint. I like sketch books of all sorts too. Below are three sketches I did recently in my little 3.5" x 5.5" Fabriano sketchbooks. These books are small,  inexpensive, come in a packet of multiple books (3), fit in my shirt pocket, and don't bleed through the pages. Because of their attributes, I have no excuse not to carry one with me at all times.

Once in awhile I enjoy skipping serious or risky or expensive art explorations..and simply enjoy basking in my comfort zone of sketching in ink. I often make a few lines in pencil to help me size-up the subject (though I often don't really measure anything, for good or ill..instead, depending on visual relationships between forms as well as the shapes and sizes of negative spaces). I follow this approach either rapidly or slowly depending on the amount of time I have to spend with the subject.   

Ballpoints are very forgiving pens to use and allow us to make a range of marks in values from light to quite dark, depending on the lightness of our touch. Early mistakes may be corrected with later strokes  if you 'stay light.'  When I am 'speeding against the clock,' and don't take time to measure size relationships or stay in the 'light stage' long enough permanent mistakes become inevitable. It still is fun to sketch on the fly. The kayak was much longer than what I drew...yet, I like the range of values in the sketch. I did this sketch in about 20-30  minutes.

Kayak's for sale  in Gig Harbor WA 

 The type of pen I've used most is the Sakura Micron .01. It's line is permanent, unvarying in thickness, offers a lot of control, and, is great for fast cross-hatching. Here I sketched Leroy (sculpture) at the Tacoma Art Museum with a plan in mind: leave room at the bottom of the page to add people when they happen to come by. The couple buying tickets came by first, then the school group with chaperones came. I drew the lower part of Leroy and the background last. You can see the remaining 'saved' (and then forgotten) white spaces between the kids.

 Leroy (sculpture) being admired in the Tacoma Art Museum Lobby
The most recent additions to my pen options are some big brush pens (Pitt-Faber Castell) in a range of shades of grey  (warm & cool). I've recently also become enamored with Micron brush pens (black). In the sketch below, I used my Micron .01, a Micron brush pen, and for shadows...warm and cool grey Pitt pens. Those Pitt pens make sketching values a breeze!

A dark and rainy night and a cozy chair in Deep Cove (North Shore) British Columbia

I hope you too have a sketching 'comfort zone' you will be enjoying as our season turns toward lower temperatures and lots of  rain!

Happy Sketching!

  Frances






Sunday, November 1, 2015

Dia de los Muertos

Hall of shrines- Tacoma Art Museum
Watercolor & Micron
   As the weather has shifted to autumn, we urban sketchers tend to duck indoors for our practice. I had been to the TAM a week before to draw the skyline through the windows of the upper gallery yet this week the large windows were covered with remembrance alters for Dias de los Muertos (Day of the dead). If you have never seen them they are a sketchers serious challenge as there is so much detail and individuality put into each alter. I was fascinated by how each creator of these spaces chose to build the space so differently. Alter closest had a plaid blanket and boat type bookshelf with melted candles, a memory book and butterfly motif with messages inside. The one beside it was more formal with the mother Mary saint, the prayer candles and the cross motif. The third alter used an antique tablecloth of roses, a mass of flowers, the cut paper banners and a skeleton motif.
 Sand painting by Rene Julio
Although the actual day of celebration (Nov 1st) is a packed madhouse impossible to sketch, I do encourage you to appreciate these heart felt remembrances built by our community for their loved ones either by viewing or sketching... the sand painting in the lobby is awesome too!