Sketch Workshop Sketchout

 I spent a week at a workshop for watercolor sketching. This was at the Madeline Island School of the Arts. We had four instructors from overseas, all specializing in mobile watercolor sketching/painting. This is my third class at MISA. I just love it there! It's a short ferry hop from Bayfield, WI. On the Thursday night of our week-long workshop the instructors suggested a sketchout at a local pub. 

This is my first totally watercolor journal entry. My "standard" is watercolor pencils. I wanted this workshop because it would push me to try watercolors. I've taken a couple on-line classes in watercolor, which got me started. It also required me to buy a lot of tubes of paint. However, can one really own too many art supplies? Not. It felt great to finally start using them. Much to learn but I'm on my way.

Fountain pen, watercolors, enhanced with colored pencils. 

March Sketch Crawl

Time for the USk KC sketch crawl! I missed the last one, and will miss the next one, so I made it a goal to hit this one. I like going to this Bass Pro store in east Kansas City. I've sketched there with a prior sketch group that has folded. This store is loaded with nick-knacks to draw. This Kansas City group is a nice group. I've always felt welcome, even though I'm not a local.

I had a real failure to draw the inverted canoe mounted above my head. Total mental process meltdown. The eyes could see it but the brain hijacked that message and forced what I THOUGHT I was seeing and threw off all my angles and lengths. I just couldn't handle the foreshortening and non-typical position. Seems like a good challenge I need to try again.

What I DID like was the antlers. I've tried them before and only had limited success. If I were to lay it out in pencil I could be assured success, but I lay it out in ink. It's tough to catch the graceful symmetry and curves and balance with ink. I feel good about this one.

USk KC March Sketch Crawl

Time for Urban Sketchers Kansas City sketch crawl. This time it's The Plaza. Wilma and I always like going to The Plaza to stroll around and see the interesting high-end retail shops. The architecture is unique. If I had taken architecture classes I could explain it better. The trip info claims it "reflects a distinctive Seville Spain theme". I'll go with that. We are encouraged to make and wear name tags with the USk KC designation. That sure makes it easier to identify who we are in a crowd and makes it easier to strike up a conversation.

I found the top of a parking garage with a 360 degree view with an edge wall the right height to hold my gear. It was sunny and jacket weather, so it was a nice outing. Met a sketching mom with pre-teen daughter who came up after I was settled in. Both were sketching.

Ground zero for this outing was The Unity Temple. I don't know it's background or affiliation, but this was a great place to meet. After we sketched, we met up again to show and talk. They put is in a small theatre-type room, which worked great. Then many of us stayed to eat at Eden Alley, who specialize in vegetarian and vegan cuisine. A bit expensive, but great food. I had a Chickpea Rancheros, which was spices and a bit of heat. Plenty of flavor and texture.

This group is the best-run USk group I've sketched with. The pull off the sketch crawl, I think four volunteers were involved, and they are always researching future places to sketch. Those who attend I find to be very approachable, even if their large number is a bit intimidating. I'll be attending more sketch crawls.

Urban Sketchers KC February Sketch Crawl

Well, I actually missed this month's crawl due to the bookbinding class I was in. I'm not complaining, but I did want to go to the Roasterie Factory coffee shop and roasting factory. I've wanted to see their facility for years. So, when my class was over Saturday, before I drove the 60 miles home, I went there by myself and did my own sketch crawl. I love the plane on the roof but didn't feel like going outside in the cold to sketch it. A hot coffee and PB cookie sounded much better while I sketched.

I love the coffeehouse environment. Mid-afternoon Saturday they had quite a crowd. Retail shop with gift-type items. Factory that gives tours. Cafe.  I just wish they had a place to set and see the plane. The Roasterie sells coffee nationwide now. I've watched them grow over the years. Several restaurants in Topeka now use them. They do good work.

January Sketch Crawl

Time to try a sketch crawl with Urban Sketchers Kansas City. I've heard of them but with Lawrence being closer and having their own chapter, I've been going on their outings. They've been quiet since November, though, and I'm getting the itch to get out and sketch.

The outing was centered at The Link, which is the elevated walkway joining Union Station with Crown Center and a couple motels. It's a fun area, so we drove to KC for the crawl. Wilma hit the shops as I sketched. Seems like a fine group. Their membership is over 220 now and they were organized, with maybe 20 in attendance.

Outside temperature was a windy 20F. The walkway was warmer than freezing but still cold. It was a nice sketch time. Plenty of young families because the main traveling display at Union Station is Legos, so the kids love it. We walked through the Union Station lobby to absorb the sunlight coming in. It's a spacious lobby that still has the old feel. The active restaurant and the coffee shop and Science Center and traveling display keep it active.

I used my Lamy Joy with the new Fine nib upgrade. Liz Steel likes this combination and I can see why. The extra 'give' make for a very pleasant sketching experience. Great ink flow. I like the variable width of line. Not extreme like a flex nib, but still it's better than a stiff nib or a fiber point pen. I'll probably rotate between my Pilot Nikoma Falcon and this Lamy.

March Sketch Crawl

Today was sketch crawl time for Lawrence Urban Sketcher. We visited the KU Spencer Museum of Art. My first visit. We had a good showing of sketchers and met in the Student Union for a little food and talk afterwards.

This sketch doesn't really exemplify a typical art exhibit. I was drawn to this exhibit, though. The heart wants what the heart wants. The artist made up a story about an escaped (stolen) lab animal from KU. He had the office desk of the lab researcher, letters explaining the escape, lab tools everywhere, and then you notice an incubator with a weird looking animal in a glass globe. Then you notice the lungs expand as it breaths! And it's all made up. I walked around to all the other arts exhibits but came back here to sketch. Due to typical art museum paranoia we were told to use pencils only. I used my fountain pen. I sure love my flex nib.

The Urban Sketcher scene around here is very active and in a state of flux. The longest-running group in the area is organized by Kate Johnson of Excelsior Springs (Kansas City). As that group is fading away, another unofficial group started in Lawrence, headed by Gail, which I've been attending. Then an official Lawrence Urban Sketcher groups started in Lawrence last year. Our two groups have been meeting together lately. Then last week was the kickoff sketch crawl for the newly-created Kansas City Urban Sketchers group.  It's a busy time for urban sketchers! I think they're onto something.

February Sketch Crawl

The Urban Sketchers Lawrence group had their February sketch crawl at the local bowling alley. I just recently found out about this group. This is my second outing with them and it was mostly a different batch of people. Had a good time and met some nice people.


We were there this morning and we thought a tournament was going to be happening. However, the general public was all that was bowling, so most of the lanes were empty to get ready for the tournament. We still had people to watch and observe and sketch. So many parallel lines and perspectives! The kids were fun to watch, too. They always have so much fun bowling. Brings back memories.

I started with some quick gesture sketches in my other sketchbook, using my brushpen. All the movement of limbs was captivating. I just learned in an on-line sketching class I'm taking now to start by thinking of the verb - then see the line of action - then draw it. The verb would be bowling. The line of action is complex. Usually there is just one, but here there are two. The body slides and stands on one leg while an arm delivers the ball. The shoulder line and hip lines tilt differently, and torso leans. This is good stuff . . . and I've never noticed it before.

November Sketchcrawl

I missed the sketchcrawl in October but I made this one. Gail passed on the meeting time for the Urban Sketchers Lawrence group. Gail's group (my normal outing) is not officially an Urban Sketchers group. It's just a group of like-minded sketchers that like to get together. This is my first outing with the formal group. I started my sketch time at the south end of downtown Mass Street with a warm cup of coffee (36 degrees on a cold Sunday morning) and work north.

Wilma and Amy really like Papa Keno's, so that's on our short list of restaurants. Had to sketch Toy Store. Two grandkids now so plenty of reasons to stop and shop.  We go to their Topeka store most often since it's closer to home. Then I had to sketch Sunflower Outdoor because of the gear and clothes we buy there. This area has tons of neat stores and I simply ran out of time to even pick all my favorites. 

The plan was to meet up at 11:30 a.m. at Quintons to eat and share. Being my first time I didn't know anyone, but I carried my sketch book and had my shoulder bag of supplies (the definitive urban sketch aesthetic) and quickly found their table. Not many customers at this hour on a Sunday. I quickly found out this must be a closed group because nobody would talk to me or even look at me standing next to them. I took the hint and Wilma and I found another place to sit. Guess I won't be following this group anymore.

September Sketchcrawl

Vacation and other matters conflicted with the last two sketch crawls. This time we went to a farm that has 40 acres of sunflowers. Never been there before. It was quite the community event, with families all over! From their conversations I gather that it's an annual event for many families, and they like to take their pictures in the field. This place was in the news last weekend. Law enforcement had to shut down the highway because of all the traffic. They had vehicle accidents, with one motorcycle accident resulting in an injury. We take our sunflower fields seriously around here! Grinter's Farm also sells at the local farmers market and sells the sunflower seeds as bird feed. They have a retail shop near the field. Even sell T-shirts. I have too many T-shirts now, but I sure don't have one that's agriculture-related. Bought one.

June Sketchcrawl

We spent the morning in South Park in Lawrence. I always liked this park. Grass is always trimmed nice. The gazebo is the centerpoint, and the sidewalks meander through. When I looked closer I found the arched artwork on the northwest corner that I hadn't noticed before. Even the light post is interesting.

May Sketchcrawl

This month we went to the farmstead of a local artist, Maryam. We tried before but it ended up rained out. Today was beautiful! I'm a sucker for old buildings so I was drawn to this little old shed. Maryam told me after I sketched it that it was used in a prior owner's dairy operation there. The main barn was close to it. They'd milk the cows in the barn and then carry the milk canisters to this shed for storage until it could be picked up. She has spruced up this property with plenty of landscaping.

Lawrence Sketch Crawl

It's time for our sketch crawl again. This time we met in my back yard: Topeka. Gail asked for a good place to sketch and I thought of our State Capitol building. We had some red tape to go through but everything worked out fine. The whole building just went through a 1/3 billion $ renovation and boy does it look fine! We (4 of us) convened in the Lobby and then went to the fourth floor gallery in the State House of Representatives. This was sensory overload! It's trimmed out to the nth degree. I don't think anything was added, but it was brought back to its old glory. 

Each of us decided to take artistic liberty and simplify some of the view because you can't get it all in at one quick setting. It was a pleasant and quiet time to sit and absorb the craftsmanship.

We went over to the Celtic Fox for lunch. Wilma and I had to leave early so I could get home. I'm taking Roz Stendahl's class Drawing Practice: Drawing Live Subjects in Public. She had a webinar I had to catch. That class is why I haven't posted for a while. It will last the month of February and then I'll resume my leisurely posting routine.

Sketch Crawl

This month's Lawrence Sketch Crawl was at the Lawrence Sports Pavilion. It's a new multi-sport facility for Lawrence and sees a lot of activity. When Gail chose it, she said she visited it and it was nice and quiet. We show up today and this weekend they are hosting the Heart of America Volleyball Tournament. Doesn't sound bad until you see it live. Twelve courts going simultaneously for two days. Let's talk noisy! I asked a staffer how many kids they had playing and they estimated 4000! Now you're getting the picture.

In addition to the games is the elevated walk/run track, weight machine room and treadmill-type room with regular citizens. This place was hopping. We stayed for an hour, which is about all sanity would allow. No time for color so I stuck with fountain pen.

I got a kick out of the "No Camping" sign. This was on a railing overseeing the courts. Then I noticed the teams each grabbed a spot of hallway to call home for the tournament and they 'camp' there with blankets and mats. That would have prevented spectators from seeing the action at this spot. Where else would you have a sport that calls for camping in hallways?

I have identified a weakness of mine is life sketching of people (as can be seen here). I signed up for Roz Stendehl's class on life sketching of critters and people. I'll get better.

Oct. Lawrence Sketch Crawl

This month's sketch crawl gave me an excuse to explore a Lawrence park we've never been to. Wells Overlook Park. Gail organized it. Attendance was small, with just Gail, John and I, but it was a beautiful day for it.
It's a small park with just an observation tower and a covered picnic shelter, but such a view! I couldn't sketch the 360 degree panoramic, but I could handle smaller parts. A sketch crawl in a city park lends itself to drawing maps, too.

I did the map last night, before the crawl. Recently bought the book "How to Draw Fantasy Art & RPG Maps, Step by Step Cartography". I have a thing for cartography and it's on my "To Learn" list. When I saw the book I HAD to buy it, and it's a good one. I used a few of the concepts. To do it right would take HOURS of work, so I did a sketchbook short cut version.

While I was sketching, I struck a conversation with the father of a family out to walk around the park. The family dog was a Great Pyrenees, and she was beautiful! Once the ice was broken she was a push-over and ate up all the petting I could give her. The dad said the park has a trail system, too, so I need to get back to check it out.

August Lawrence Sketch Crawl

This month was the second outing of this group. Gail organizes them. This time we met at the Eldridge Hotel in Lawrence. On these hot summer days the group wanted some air conditioning, and save the outside sketching for later. This is an operating hotel with roots back 150 years and has quite a history. The restaurant and cafe/bar add a nice touch. Wilma and I have seen the outside of this nice old place for years and we never went inside. Now we can say we have. For our after-sketch gathering we ate in the cafe/bar. Five of us sketchers and Wilma. Could have talked all day, but had to move on. Mowing to do, garden and fruit trees to tend to.

Lawrence Sketch Crawl

I had my first outing with a sketch group in Lawrence this morning. The weather finally turned good so it was a nice outing. We met at the Visitor's Center and sketched for a couple hours. Then met for a meal and chat. Met new people and made new friends. Wilma went to some fabric and quilting shops while I sketched. We like to come to Lawrence for many reasons.

A couple coal trains passed by while I was sketching. The center is a former Union Pacific terminal. The tracks were literally ten feet from my sketching spot. Boy do they make the noise and actually make the ground shake! When you compare the mass of the train to the mass of the earth, I just don't see how there is enough energy available to do that but there is.

I chatted with two different families that were walking by with their young kids to see the sights. The kids didn't like the trains when they passed, but they sure liked to run around the grounds. There's just something that kids like about trains, and some of us don't outgrow it.

Plan B

Today was to be the April sketch crawl organized by Kate. We were to meet at Case Park in Kansas City, Missouri, near the merging of the Kansas River and the Missouri River. The forecast started terrible early in the week,  but yesterday made it look rosy, or at least dry. Wilma and I left Topeka in overcast and drizzle. As we drove by Lawrence it was raining. As we drove by Bonner Springs it was raining cats and dogs! Not the weather I like to drive in downtown KC, so we turned around.

We've always heard of the Moon Marble Company there, and my folks had gone years ago and gave it a thumbs up. We had our lunch packed for the planned picnic so all we needed was a picnic table with a cover and we're set. We found the Visitor's Center, a restored caboose, and they had a small gazebo with picnic table. Bingo! We picked up some local info and moved into the gazebo for our picnic lunch. It's raining in a fine mist now, so it's fine to eat out. I bought extra cookies to share with the sketch group, but they'll keep until we can eat them all.

We watched some local pre-teens play around the caboose. As I sketched the caboose, Wilma found an embroidery/quilting store. Then we walked around a little and checked out an antique store. Talked to the owner to get some local flavor. Then off to the Moon Marble company. The owner gives demonstrations of creating a marble, right in front of us seated in bleachers! We then grabbed some Dairy Queen, drove over the Kansas River to see how it looked, and headed home.

It may be Plan B, but it ended up a fun day. Missed the fellow sketchers, but there's always next time.

Sketch Crawl, October '14

Finally got back to a monthly sketch crawl. It's the closest one to me, based out of Excelsior Springs, which is just outside of Kansas City. The October crawl met at the Kansas City River Market. It's located north of downtown not far from the river. I love all the activity here. Some day I need to practice drawing people, because they are what add the energy to this environment. I had an older man set up his portable chair a few yards from me and my portable stool, and he had a book and pen. Figured another sketcher. Nope. When I left I noticed his work. He was composing music on musical staff paper! Never heard of composing music in an open market. Why not?

November Sketch Crawl

I made it to this month's sketch crawl! For the longest time there were time conflicts with other things, but the last two crawls have hit the calendar well. It was way too warm by statistical standards, but we really liked being able to sketch outside one more month. The Van Till business has added more landscaping since my last time here. The outside dining area had a fabric enclosure with window so we could still eat outside, too.

I loaded up my Noodler's Ahab pen with Lexington Gray ink. A few months ago I cleaned it up and stored it away, frustrated. Initially it was a great pen, but it was having an ink flow problem, and multiple cleanings didn't solve the problem. Today I decided to put it on probation. It worked! Today the ink just flowed and I was getting a responsive thick/thin controllable width. Fiber tip pens just can't match the joy of using a fountain pen like this Ahab on this day.

Sketch Crawl Oct/2012

Our sketch crawl this month was at The Elms in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. The group has been there many times, but I don't make it as often as I'd like and it was my first trip there. I fell in love with the stone masonry on the front porch. Wish I would have fallen in love with something in the lobby, which had a big fireplace going on this cold day.  I huddled with my warm coat on my three-legged stool and sketched away.

After the masonry I looked inside and it was part of the Kitchen. The wait staff was walking briskly through the room and gave me the eye through the window, but were nice or neutral. A couple came to say hi and see what I was doing. They seemed to like the sketch. One even asked if I needed anything to stay warm! I'm not sure exactly what my options were (a coffee? a bourbon and water? a blanket?), but I declined and thanked them anyway.

Talked to an employee who was cleaning the brass on the luggage cart. He was young and we talked about the Brasso he was using and got into its uses in guns, which I found we both had an interest in. Luckily the guests weren't needing help, because I was sure slowing up their staff. They have a nice coffee shop where I bought an espresso drink to nurse as I sketched. Then we all went to a local restaurant to grab a bite and a talk and pass around sketchbooks. A good day by any measure.