All Posts On: Figures

New York Sketchbook, 2008, Part Three May 18th, 2008

Continued from: New York Sketchbook 2008, Part Two

Madison Avenue Shop Window (larger)

After I got back from my New York trip I decided to try making some additional sketches from photographs. Here are the results. I like these sketches, although they are not as loose as those I did on site.

The shop window is an Italian children’s clothing stop on Madison Avenue. It was the low key color palette that attracted my eye.

Whitney Museum, Biennial (larger)

W. 58th Street Firehouse (larger)

The Whitney Museum is having their well known contemporary art exhibition, the Biennial, and I happened by as the line was forming for an evening event.

This year one of the art pieces is on the outside of the museum: a giant Eagle’s Nest, by Fritz Haeg, perched above the entryway.

The firehouse is on 58th Street, and is the home of Engine Company 23. I walked right by the front if it, did a double take, and knew I had to record it!

More Sketches from New York
More Sketches of Shop Windows

Posted in Figures, Landscapes, New York, Travel Sketching | Leave a Comment » | View 14 Comments »

❀ ❀ ❀

New York Sketchbook, 2008, Part Two May 15th, 2008

Continued from: New York Sketchbook 2008, Part One

Koons Balloon Dog at the Met (larger)

Continuing on with my recent New York Trip, I had a great day walking through Central Park and visiting one of my (well, everyone’s) favorite museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This summer’s rooftop sculpture exhibit features three Jeff Koons sculptures including this one: Balloon Dog, Yellow. The day was rather chilly, yet with only a cappuccino to sustain me I braved the elements to get my sketch. Suffering for art, you know!

Because of the cold weather I generally did more indoor sketching in New York than planned. Here are a couple of favorite cafes, and a quick sketch of the Lincoln Center.

Le Pain Quotidien, 65th Street (larger)

Payard on Lexington Avenue (larger)

Lincoln Center (larger)

I also attended the New York City Ballet at the Lincoln Center, a program featuring Jerome Robbins choreography and Leonard Bernstein music. As I often do, I tried to sketch blind, in the dark. Here is a montage of some of the more readable scribbles done during the three dances: Fancy Free, Dybbuk, and West Side Story.

At the NYCB (larger)

More Sketches from New York

Posted in Figures, Interiors, Landscapes, New York, Travel Sketching | Leave a Comment » | View 12 Comments »

❀ ❀ ❀

New York Sketchbook, 2008, Part One May 5th, 2008

Christie’s Spring Auction Preview (larger)

I’ve just returned from a short trip to Manhattan for a couple of days of sketchcrawling. The highlight of my trip was getting to meet fellow sketchblogger Shirley and her husband. We spent a lovely day making and looking at art.

We visited the Spring Previews for upcoming Impressionist and Modern auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, where we saw quite a few memorable pieces on their way from one private collection to another. Shirley and I sketched details of some of our favorites. We had a lovely lunch too, and ended the day with a glass of wine and sketch talk while finishing up our pages.

Shirley has quite a number of completed sketchbooks filled with wonderful work. Looking through them was a pure delight and so inspiring! Isn’t it fun to peer into the sketchbooks of other artists?

Sotheby’s Spring Auction Preview (larger)

More Sketches from New York

Posted in Figures, New York, Still Life, Travel Sketching | Leave a Comment » | View 6 Comments »

❀ ❀ ❀

At the Symphony April 20th, 2008

Berkeley Symphony #1 (larger)

I recently attended the Berkeley Symphony and sketched the musicians during the performance. As I’ve done in the past when sketching in a theater, I did the ink work in the dark and added the watercolor later on.

Initially when the lights came up these sketches looked like a bunch of squiggles. But as I began to paint what I could recognize, more and more hidden shapes – arms, bows, violins – revealed themselves.

Berkeley Symphony #2 (larger)

Posted in Berkeley, Figures | Leave a Comment » | View 6 Comments »

❀ ❀ ❀

SketchCrawl 18: San Francisco April 6th, 2008

Last Sunday Lisa and I joined the intrepid San Francisco SketchCrawl group on a chilly grey morning at Ghirardelli Square, where over 60 artists turned out to sketch in and around the Fisherman’s Wharf area.

It took some fortitude to sketch in the windy open areas, but we were rewarded late in the day when suddenly the sun came out. By the time we all meet back at the starting point to share our sketchbooks it was downright balmy.

We had a great time exploring and sketching both indoors and out. I took some photos of the event as well, and Lisa and I finished the day in civilized manner with Irish Coffees at the Buena Vista Cafe.

Bay View from the Aquatic Park (larger)

Ghirardelli Square (larger)

At the Cannery (larger)

Here and There:
Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Sq., Argonaut Hotel (larger)

SketchCrawl is an inspiring event which takes place several times a year. All over the world artists spend the day sketching, on their own or in groups, and then share their work online. It’s great fun and a good way to get yourself motivated to really do some drawing. Keep an eye on the SketchCrawl website for the next event and come on out!

More SketchCrawls

Posted in Figures, Interiors, Landscapes, San Francisco, SketchCrawl | Leave a Comment » | View 11 Comments »

❀ ❀ ❀

Monterey Sketchbook, Part Two March 9th, 2008

Sketching at the Aquarium

Continued from: Monterey Sketchbook, Part One

Kelp Forest (larger)

Giant Tree Frog (larger)

Sea Otters (larger)

Our sketching adventures continued with more exotic subjects at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. You can’t miss the aquarium’s signature 28 foot tall Kelp Forest tank. And we found these frogs that looked exactly like they were made out of vinyl, except that they moved, so they’re not. The adorable and comical Sea Otters are a favorite of mine, and of everyone else’s too: the exhibit was packed all day.

I was most intrigued by the Giant Octopus, glued to the glass of his aquarium: he seemed to know that was his most impressive view. I was able to get a photo of him and ink in a sketch as well, which I painted later that day. It came out rather abstractly, but I like it.

Sketch, Giant Octopus (larger)

Photo, Giant Octopus (larger)

Berkeley Cafe Sketching February 5th, 2008

Cappuccino (larger)

At SketchCrawl #17 I met fellow sketchblogger Lee-Roy for the first time. He drove up from Los Angeles for the event and to spend a few days in the Bay Area. The day after the Crawl he came over to Berkeley to have a look. We met up in the North Berkeley neighborhood, aka Gourmet Ghetto, and took a little walking tour. It was cold though, and we’d already gotten frozen the day before, so we decided to seek refuge in Bar César. There we passed a lovely afternoon, talking and eating and drinking and sketching.

It was great fun to get to know another avid sketcher. Lee-Roy is quite talented indeed and did a wonderful sketch of the bar, right down to the many bottles and blue tiles. I love it!

At Bar César (larger)

And speaking of SketchCrawl, the date for SketchCrawl #18 has been announced: March 29, 2008!

Doodles in the Dark November 15th, 2007

Argonautika, Act I (larger)

We went to see Argonautika the other night at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. It was quite good, especially the staging and costumes, and I particularly liked the helmets and crowns. All of their (otherwise) triumphant spikes and spires were frayed or bent and curled as if they’d been deflated – very funny.

I was inspired to draw in the dark which I have done before. I kept running off the paper though and had no idea when my sketches were overlapping. At one point I had my fountain pen upside down and got only faint scratches for my effort. I did add the watercolor paint later though, which helped to pull out the sketches I could recognize.

Not being able to see the paper is unnerving but it’s a great way to practice seeing: an important and often overlooked aspect of drawing. By contour drawing, following the outlines with your eyes as you draw lines on the unseen page, you can train your eye and get some surprising results. Who knew that overlapping sketches could look interesting? It’s a great exercise: try sketching at the next dark performance you go to!

Argonautika, Act II (larger)

Posted in Figures, How to Sketch | Leave a Comment » | View 11 Comments »

❀ ❀ ❀

New York Sketchbook, 2007, Part One July 22nd, 2007

Poiret Show at the Met

Bouclier Day Dress, 1925 (larger)

Dress Costume, 1911 (larger)

One of the highlights of my trip was the exhibition of Art Deco designer Paul Poiret’s fashions and illustrations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It continues through August 5th and if you have the opportunity to go I highly recommend it.

The show is artfully staged which to my mind is half of its appeal. Stylized manikins in evocative poses convey the playful yet chic appeal of the clothing and stunning hand painted backdrops provide the context for the designs.

Manteau d’Auto Coat, 1912 (larger)

The rooms themselves are dark (to protect the fabrics?) which makes sketching somewhat challenging but does allow for dramatic lighting. No ink is allowed so I penciled these illustrations into my little Moleskine notebook and added my ink and color later in the evening. I decided I really liked my color notes, so went ahead and inked them in too! [cont. below]

Le Butard & La Rosière Day Dresses (larger)

Homage à Rousseau, 1910 (larger)

Téâtre Champs Elysées, 1913 (larger)

Opera Hat (larger)

Mademoiselle Day Dress, 1923 (larger)

Sorbet Evening Ensemble, 1913 (larger)

You don’t have to be into fashion to appreciate this show. It is about clothing, yes, but also about the graphics, shape, line, and color of the Art Deco era in which Poiret flourished.

Next up: New York Sketchbook 2007, Part Two, Out and About in New York.

All posts from this Trip:
     Planes and Trains
     Washington DC Sketchbook, Part One
     Washington DC Sketchbook 2007, Part Two
     New York Sketchbook 2007, Part One
     New York Sketchbook, Part Two

Posted in Figures, New York, Still Life, Travel Sketching | Leave a Comment » | View 14 Comments »

❀ ❀ ❀

SketchCrawl 14: San Francisco May 21st, 2007

On the Filbert Steps (larger)

On Saturday I joined the San Francisco SketchCrawl group for SketchCrawl 14. I hooked up with fellow art blogger Jana Bouc and we spent the day wandering and sketching. It was great to finally meet her!

The San Francisco group had about 80 people this time; quite a crowd. This SketchCrawl was especially Crawl-y; we walked over four miles. The general route (for us at least) was: Ferry Building, Filbert Steps, Coit Tower, North Beach, Ferry Building. The weather was just about perfect. What a great day!

North Beach: St. Peter and Paul Cathedral (larger)

Coit Tower (larger)

SketchCrawlers at Coit Tower (larger)

Chinatown: Corner of Grant & California (larger)

More SketchCrawls

Posted in Figures, Landscapes, San Francisco, SketchCrawl | Leave a Comment » | View 27 Comments »

❀ ❀ ❀

In the Dark May 12th, 2007

“Hi-Fidelity” (larger)

Last weekend we went to the Harmony Sweepstakes A Capella Festival. It’s a yearly event where vocal groups from around the US perform and compete. They sing beautifully, and in a wide range of styles. They move around a lot too; this makes drawing a challenge!

I did these ink drawings in the dark. I couldn’t see a thing, and even ran right off the paper on that first one. Later after the show I added the watercolor. This is a fun way to draw, and of course there’s no pressure to make it come out perfectly. Drawing people that move is hard though, even when you can’t see the paper!

“Solstice” (larger)

“The Fault Line” bodies and “Double Shot” clothes! (larger)

By the way, I’ve added a few new items to the menu bar on the right including “Link-o-rama” (my links list) and a Sketch Gallery. It seems one can spend an infinite amount of time tweaking their blog code and configuration. I have to remember to leave time for sketching! 🙂

Posted in Figures | Leave a Comment » | View 17 Comments »

❀ ❀ ❀