San Diego Symphony #2

This is my second sketch done while attending the San Diego Symphony. This was done during the March 4th performance of Beethoven's 7th.  As always, the music is so moving. The audience is a mix of old and young, and everything in between. Most people are dressed up. Some are very casual.  I dress up and risk getting paint on my white dress shirt and nice pants. It "comes with the territory" as the saying goes.  I do get some paint on my pants!

As is usual, it's difficult to hold my smallish watercolor block, little travel palette with the attached water pot, and brush, all in the confines of the seat, and NOT get paint on the nicely dressed elderly lady next to me.  If I drop anything the wet paint on the palette would likely splash and get on everybody.  This time I used a 9x12 Arches 140 lb. rough. I generally like the rough paper. The palette is Winsor/Newton's ingenious fold-out "Travel Kit".  I put tube paints in the half size plastic "tubs". The included brush is pretty much useless due to it's very small size.  I'll take a photo of my "kit" and put it on another posting.  I've got different ones. I'll put them all up on another day.

Ballerina

Jennifer Curry Wingrove, a ballerina with the California Ballet Company, modeled for the "Dr. Sketchy" drawing group in San Diego on April 21, 2012. What a rare treat to have such wonderfully elegant poses!  It was really hard to do "artistic justice" to her classic poses. This small five minute piece, maybe 10" x 8",  is a watercolor wash over a charcoal pencil line drawing.  I felt very rushed as I tried to finish it in the allotted time, but was, never-the-less, happy with the result.

San Diego Symphony

I really enjoy the symphony... the music is profound.. the musicians are brilliant. The music moves me more than I can say...  I'll admit to getting choked up.  This was a performance of Schummann and Brahmms. I forgot my closeup classes so my vision for drawing was iffy at best, and the lights were dim. Never-the-less, I tried to lay down the drawing and some washes before the lights went totally dark. I did some more color work during the intermission, and tweaked it after getting home.

Oil Change at Honda

This man was sitting across from me as I was waiting for the oil to changed in my car.  If he knew I was painting him he didn't show it.

Pho Hiep & Grill

We've just moved to San Diego and taken an apartment while we get a feel for the area. I did this Vietnamese noodle restaurant while waiting for my laundry. It ended up being a party with kids sitting around me and some adults standing back a bit, not wanting to "bother me" while I painted. It ended up being a lot of fun. This piece is a bit small, at 9" x 7", done on a small watercolor 140 lb. sketchbook.

Santa Clara Library, or for me... Free Models for Awhile...

We've sold our house, and it seems every three hours or so we're asked to leave for one kind of viewing, inspection, appraisal or whatever. I'm only exaggerating a little bit! So we've made a game out of it. Once we went to Chevy's (Mexican Restaurant) and had a margarita and some tidbits to while away the time. A good choice... it was fun to be "goofing off" in the mid afternoon. No complaints here.  However, this time we went to the Santa Clara Library, our second venture there in fact. People tend to pretty much hold still in a library, so I was able to do these pencil and fountain pen sketches in my handy 6" by 3 3/4" sketch book I usually carry in my back pocket. It comes in handy when I've got some time to spend.  I love drawing with a fountain pen or soft pencil. I'll use a ball point if nothing else is available, but ball points are my last choice for a drawing tool... and writing for that matter. I've always preferred fountain pens, especially ones with fine flexible nibs for making thick and thin in each letter.  I have old books of "Spensarian Script" and study the art, which is already just about dead.  Too bad! The pencil I used here is very special, a Lamy 185 "Scribble" with the 3.15 lead. It's a bit expensive, but really does seduce you in quick order. The lead is thick, really thick, which I especially like, though I wish it were offered with a softer lead to achieve a darker line. Never the less, the heft, size,  design and feel of it is wonderful. I always carry it with me. If you ever get one, you won't want anything else. It beckons you to put down a bold line when you draw with it. Fine with me.  I put a light water wash over the fountain pen line in the last image. The ink dissolved to give me some quick tones. It was immediate and fast which suits my nature just fine.  Yes, I get passionate about certain fountain pens too, but that is definitely another subject. My latest passion is to  draw figures with a a soft Conte pencil on smooth heavy Bristol paper.  It goes down like silk and is rich and black. What else could I want?

Hyde St. Pier

The little 7 x 9" sketch below was done from the above photo as a one-on-one demonstration for one of my students who has trouble getting "loose" with her approach to watercolor painting. Though it's not her desire, she always seems to go for absolute "correctness" in her paintings. I sat her next to me and just raced through this in 15 minutes or so, trying to exaggerate the effort to "not get careful". 

As it turned out, it helped me as much or more that the student to keep the looser approach as well.Not the outcome I expected but one I was happy to achieve never-the-less. I've included the photo above so you can see where the sketch came from here.   There was minimal pencil line put down here, just the most basic shape of the ferryboat, sign structure, and pier. Drawing with the brush always helps me get a fresher looking feel to the work.