Sunday, January 29, 2017

Getting to Know my Brand New Sailor DE Brush Stroke Style Calligraphy Pen

Wow, what a long name this pen has! Because there is a large variety of Sailor's pens and this is quite unique. In my journey of experimentations with fountain pens I kept hearing that this pen was fantastic for sketching as it has a bended tip that gives you the freedom to sketch making very thin lines and transition into thicker lines. Last year I had bought one that unfortunately I ruined as I didn't know the dos and don'ts of fountain pen handling. By know I am very happy to have a bit of knowledge in the matter thanks to my fellow urban sketchers (just a little tiny bit of knowledge mind you) and I did not ruin the pen this time by using China Ink (please never do that!). I am using Platinum Carbon Ink and that works fabulously.

This type of pen is made with a 55 degree nib and a 40 degree nib. I chose the 55 degree nib to start and later I may want to experiment with the 40 degree nib to see the difference in lines. I off course will keep you posted. This pen I have is green in color, is made of plastic, is light and easy to handle. I tried it on Friday during a quick lunch sketch and I was able to move the nib in ways that produced lines with different degrees of thickness and I enjoyed how my trees turned out. As follows I will show you a series of pictures describing the process of filling the pen with ink using a converter (this was a learning process for me) and then the sketch I did Friday using the Sailor pen along with another sketch I did before with a Micron 005 so you can compare




Above you can see the pen and converter as it came in as well as out of the packaging along with the instructions on how to use the converter.








Above you can see that I pushed the converter inside the pen once I broke the pen apart, I twisted the converter cap clockwise until I was able to see the length of the tube through the converter and placed the pen's nib inside the ink bottle and began to twist the converter's cap counterclockwise to fill it with ink. Once that was completed I assembled the pen back together and I was ready to test it.









Metropolitan District Park of Tacoma


Titlow Park Tacoma
I hope this was informative and I will be back with more sketching!

Happy Sketching you all,


Daisy






Monday, January 23, 2017

Taking Time to Draw

Hi, Sketchers,

With January following the busy season of Christmas, I figured life would slow down a bit and I could be back to filling my drawing books with sketches again. Was I wrong! Sometimes life throws us curve-balls and the unexpected becomes reality……..but, in the midst of the unexpected, I’ve still managed to do a little sketching, thankfully. And, for those times, I’m grateful because focusing on drawing can bring about a peace of mind and calm in the middle of the craziness.

Recently, our gang of sketchers met at Charlie’s Restaurant in Puyallup and I’m so glad I was able to convince myself to do this for me and draw. It’s so easy to forget how much of a therapy of the mind this activity can be, at least this is true for me. This is a sketch done at the restaurant from the bar. I tried one of my new Japanese pens on toned paper and colored in parts with Prismacolor colored pencils. Hmmm….I like the effect and think I’ll explore this style further ------ what do you think? J

Happy Sketching!

Pat


February 2017 sketch outings

Trying something new...  all the February outings in one post......   


First Saturday, February 4th:  Pantages Theater / Broadway Center for the Performing Arts



901 Broadway, Tacoma WA 98402
broadwaycenter.org

 



The theater will be opened just for us between 10:00 AM – 1:00PM Saturday.  Meet inside at 10 am)

Built as a vaudeville theater in 1915, this venue now hosts musicals, live music & comedy.  There many beautiful areas to sketch inside and out.  If you want a preview of what it looks like inside, go here:   http://broadwaycenter.org/book-the-venues/virtual-tour


Street parking is usually available throughout the Theater District, or paid parking ($5) in the Park Plaza North Garage, 923 Commerce Street (between 9th & 11th on Commerce Street), or the Subway Lot, 916 Broadway Street (across the street from the Pantages).


Alternatively, free parking on Saturday at Freighthouse Square/Tacoma Dome Station should be available.   2501 E D St, Tacoma, WA 98421   Take the light rail (trolley) from there to the Theater District stop and walk back a short distance.

Cafes in the immediate area are limited, but there’s a Subway just across the street from the Pantages that can seat our group (around 1:00PM).  They’ll even have your meal ready if you call your order in ahead: (253) 572-3393
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Second Thursday February 9

Gig Harbor sketch outing
 

Inn at Gig Harbor
3211 56th St NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

www.innatgigharbor.com

We will meet in the lobby of the Inn at Gig Harbor at 10am.  There are some chairs near a cozy fireplace in the large lobby area or bring your own chair to use since we will not be guests of the Inn.  There are also some interesting views around the exterior of the building if the weather is nice.  There is plenty of parking available. 





Directions:

Cross Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Exit to Olympic Dr.
Turn left to cross the freeway (from the north turn right onto Olympic Dr.
Turn right on Pt Fosdick.
Go past all the construction on your left, the road curves to the left.
Turn right on 32nd Ave NW and go straight to the front of the Inn.
There are several fast food places for lunch in the area or the Tanglewood Grill which is very close at the intersection of 32nd and 56th,.

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Third Wednesday  February 15   Foss Waterway Seaport

705 Dock St, Tacoma, WA 98402
http://www.fosswaterwayseaport.org/ 






Meet inside the front doors at 10 am.   

There is an admission cost:   Admission is $10.00 for Adults; $8.00 for Students, Military, and Seniors (62+). 

Parking:  There are a few spaces at the Museum.  Otherwise, here is a map:
http://fosswaterwayseaport.org/materials/FWSParking.pdf

There are many interesting exhibits inside the Museum.  The area also has a very good view of the seaport and if the weather is good there will be many sketching opportunities outside.


Lunch at Rock The Dock Pub & Grill nearby. 
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  Fourth Thursday: February 23  FISH Foodbank

4425 Burnham Drive, Gig Harbor, WA

http://www.ghpfish.com/

A gift of canned meat or fish would be appreciated!




16W to Gig Harbor City Center, straight onto Stinson Ave, left onto Harborview which leads into Burnham. Just past Hy-Lu-Hee-Hee restaurant turn into Eagles parking lot, is to the left of Eagles building.

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Ad Hoc outing with Seattle Urban Sketchers:  
Friday, February 24:  Wintergrass

Hyatt Regency Hotel located at 900 Bellevue Way NE in Bellevue, WA 
http://wintergrass.com/

From the FAQ:  http://wintergrass.com/faq.html
Wintergrass is a nonprofit, family-friendly Bluegrass music festival, with concerts and dances at 4 different stages. There are also music education programs for kids and adults, workshops, impromptu jams, and a chance to see and hear some great music. 


While you can buy a ticket, we found there was plenty to see, hear and sketch in the lobby area, which is free.  There were many impromptu sessions all over the hotel lobbies as well as vendors with instruments and other interesting items.  



(Being a nonprofit, even if you don't need to pay a membership, they would appreciate a contribution, no matter how small). 
 
While you can park there, it is easier and cheaper to park in the Lincoln Square Mall just across the street to the south. 

Meet in the "Winter Garden" (3 story atrium near Hyatt Regency hotel lobby) at 1000.  We'll sketch until 12:30 and meet back in the lobby.  





If anyone wants to then go for lunch after, there are many places withing the Hyatt/Bellevue Place
.   


 

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Urban Sketching and Social Justice




I was weary after attending the huge, hours long Womxn’s March in Seattle on January 21, 2017.  Yet, at the same time, I felt mobilized because at day’s end, I had to ask myself for the umpteenth time in my life: ‘Who am I now? Who will I yet become?’ A powerful, meaningful event is an agent for change.

Recently, I’ve been paying ever-more attention to REPORTAGE SKETCHING—because it seems to be fitting for exploring my interest in what it means to be a citizen today.  Reportage is about sketching an unfolding or ‘breaking story’ which depicts people and their concerns in a specific context. 

I left the Womxn’s March knowing I will be spending much more of my time actively supporting values and concerns which must be attended to, nurtured, fed, protected, and supported in every era, in order for them to survive and even better, thrive. 

The Womxn's March helped me learn some things about reportage sketching:

I began the morning at 4th and Pine in Seattle simply thinking, “I’ll just stand right here and sketch the marchers.” Oh naïve sketcher. I was surrounded by people. I was merely one little fish egg in a pound of caviar…one tiny grain of sand on a vast sandy beach. Even hours before the event began,  I was completely separated from having A CLEAR VIEW OF THE STREET where the March would  take place. What now?

I decided to sketch the tops of the tall buildings, the tops of light poles, the tops of  trees while I waited…which I did. It was my idea to capture marchers, eventually, at the bottom of my page. I tested my theory by adding a few people already present, but quickly got confused and lost control, IN INK....
    
So…. I turned to a blank page.

Suddenly a well prepared troupe of religious folks with huge signs marched by using bull horns to share their thoughts. Next came a jolly phalanx of police on bicycles (I could see their heads, and therefore, their smiles.). They were ensuring the pink-hatted sidewalk crowds were leaving room for the pink-hatted marchers. I could see, in bits and pieces, when the river of marchers finally began passing by. What to do with THAT on my blank page?

I remembered: Urban Sketchers sketch what they see before them, being true to what is present, not sketching from photographs or imagination. Well then, Pink-hatted Urban Sketcher Woman: Do that!



 I began thinking and seeing foreground, middle ground, and background before me, instead of the chaos.  So, I sketched the closest person in front of me, mere inches away. It was a person who seemed to have an intent to be there for awhile. Next, I sketched other folks to her right and left. None of these folks were actually standing there at the same time.

My middle-ground-marcher-attempts blended so much with my background marchers, that I forgave myself my lack of giving them definitive space. I concentrated instead on two things: capturing the quickly passing pink hats, and the quickly passing sign boards. Next , I added heads under pink hats, and added sticks to the signboards, and finally, I attached bodies of currently passing marchers to all of the above. 

What still remained to do? I relaxed and waited. At ease, I wrote onto my blank signboards the best sign slogans that happened by, when I was ready to render signage. Done. Whew! 

I added colors to my sketch at home….as, I relaxed with my feet up, listening to the day's news and our President's latest tweet. 

Best,

Frances

To see some sketches and read stories  by Seattle Sketchers go to:
http://www.urbansketchers.org/2017/01/we-marched-for-hope.html