Not the boathouses--but close

If you've read any of my past posts you will notice that I like to sketch or paint the historic boathouses in Canandaigua. This particular day was too nice of a day to sit inside, so I made the trek down to the boathouses but instead of drawing them I sketched a lazy sailboat just opposite them.



[TWSBI Diamond 580, broad nib, w/Rohrer & Klingner Document ink, D+S watercolors in a Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook-softcover]

Last pages of sketchbook (lucky) #13

Here are the last few pages of sketchbook #13. I started this book on 8-16-15 and wrapped it up on 11-8-15. Not a bad run for a 64 page book! 

If you had seen the last post I sketched some dishes drying with some minimal tools--pentel brush pen, brush pen with some grayed out black ink. It was fun to think with minimal distractions, and I had to concentrate on translating the view I was looking at with only a few marks. That weekend I was in a coffee shop and they had a pile of dirty dishes and I used the same tools and got to work. The best part was that they kept on adding on to the pile and I kept on sketching! I could have been there for weeks if I wanted to! 

I got tired of doing the dishes, so I moved onto some folks sitting starring at their laptops or phones. I tried out some new "Graphtone" water-soluble colored pencils from Derwent.























My last page of sketchbook #13 was a very quick attempt at capturing a cool sunset on some buildings in town. Once I got the outline done the sun had set and I had to paint like Superman trying to reverse the earth's rotation. I cheated and added some details at home where there was light and warmth. 

Apples and sketching!

Our local meetup group got together at the Apple Farm for a nice afternoon of sketching and eating apples and doughnuts. 

[namiki falcon with DeArtementis Document ink, D+S watercolors in a S+B Epsilon Series sketchbook]

51 seniors in the MTL

What more could you ask for? 12 hours on a bus, 51 seniors, bad food, gorgeous sunshine, crisp fall air, stiff hotel beds, three 1st place finishes in Laser Tag, 7-3 victory in air hockey? 

I was asked to chaperone the senior trip to Montreal in Quebec, Canada this past weekend. We had some free time here and there so I attempted to get some sketches in when I could. Some were rushed due to time constraints, or schedules. Most were finished on site, maybe some details added here or there when I had a moment. 

[namiki falcon with DeArtementis Document ink, Lamy Safari M-nib with DeArtementis Document ink, Lamy Safari EF-nib with Noodler's Lexington Gray, with D+S watercolors in a S+B Epsilon Series sketchbook]

a small church in downtown MTL

a collection of animals from the BIODOME

a collection of sketches from our tour of MTL

a pirate dinner party! 

some folks from the amusement park: La Ronde

Brrrrrrr sketching

As a meetup group we headed out to the Public Market for some good old fashioned chilly sketching. This, by far, was the coldest day we've had this fall, and we picked an outside venue! 

We wandered around from place to place sketching chickens, coffee shops, and people milling about. At one point Genine got chatting with the owner of Juan and Maria's Empanada Stop food stall. She was sketching his stall and got chatting about creativity. He uses food and sauces for his outlet, we use pen and watercolors! At one point he handed us free empanadas so we could try his sauce! We munched away and I sketched the sauces to remember the moment! It was really cool! Only when sketching will you meet people that way!!

Java's front porch

Genine and Juan!

Me and Juan!

[namiki falcon with DeArtementis Document ink, D+S watercolors in a S+B Epsilon Series sketchbook]

Rockin' coffee shop meetup

We had a meet up a local coffee shop that hosts an open mic night every wednesday. Let's just say the acts were "interesting". They ranged from Ukrainian death metal, to biker rock ballad to whimsical 2 piece bands with a violin. I will post some videos of the action below. 

But now for the art. It was VERY poorly lit and I couldn't see ANY colors I was laying down. I went for value as best as I could and guessed at color. I was getting frustrated, but when I saw the sketches in the parking lot light, they didn't look too bad! 

[Sailor bent nib with J. Herbin pearl noire ink, Hero 1077 bent nib with J. Herbin olive ink, namiki falcon with DeArtementis Document ink, D+S watercolors in a S+B Epsilon Series sketchbook]

Quick sketch outing

My sketching buddy Genine and I met up to catch-up, trade art geek secrets, and to sketch this past weekend. 

As usual, the unsuspecting patron at the coffee shop. 

We ventured to a near-by church where I attempted to butcher the architecture. 

And lastly, what was labeled "Rosa Park's Bus". But what would that piece of history be doing parked under an oak tree behind a house of Main St. Rochester? Wouldn't the Smithsonian want this?

[uni-pin pens, namiki falcon with DeArtementis Document ink, D+S watercolors in a Sennelier sketchbook]

Whoa, it's been a while (part 1)

It's been a while since a meaningful post, so here it goes:

I've had a very busy July and am finally back in town, caught up and ready to dump all of my sketches in one post. It'll be a long one so bear with me. 

I bought a cool sketchbook at one of the oldest art supply shops--Sennelier in Paris, France and had to give it a run for the month of July. I started this book on July 7th and almost completed! This may be a new record for me. 

I broke in the new sketchbook during my visit to Neeburyport Mass.:

Now that I enjoy sitting on a beach I got some sketching done on Plum Island, Mass. 

And as Scott and I toured some breweries like Riverwalk Brewery and Newburyport Brewery, I sketched a little to capture the occasion. 

Some quick bar sketches at the Grog.

I had the most awesomest opportunity to join 40 other art teachers from 20 states at the Mass College of Art and Design for a 7 day TAB institute. And my goal was to learn as much as I could and to sketch as much as I could. Mission accomplished. 

This first one was our first dinner out at a cool restaurant just outside Fenway Pahk. Who just got pummeled by the Yankees three games in a row. I reminded a lot of people that as they walked by. 

Our first talk at the institute. People presenting are perfect subjects! 

More presenting. 

We had some seasoned teachers present some station ideas for our rooms and I had a 5 minute window to capture them!

A quick sketch between lunch and class--I still want to add color to this guy. 

We had this cool thing one night where you got to present 20 slides and had 20 seconds per slide to chat. Your subject could be whatever! 

We got to tour Fenway Studios which are artists studios that have been there for 100 years! These studios were to die for! 

During a tour of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, I snuck away to sketch a 5th century sculpture. 

Our last night in Boston, we trekked down to the ward and dined on seafood. There happened to be a concert right next door so we stuck around long enough for a...

Portrait PARTY! 
We passed around my sketch book and we all did blind contour line drawings at dinner! Only with 6 art teacher can you get away with this at dinner!