I have been wanting to visit the Architectural Heritage Center all summer, so was glad to finally manage a visit on Saturday along with the Portland Urban Sketchers. We had a large group, including a couple of new people! The AHC was very welcoming, and we were also lucky to discover that admission is free during the month of December.
I started off drawing these wooden shapes which turned out to be much trickier than they looked, and very good practice. Not sure what building they are from. (Drawn with Lamy Safari loaded with Noodler's Antietam, touched up with blue watercolors, in a small Moleskine sketchbook)
Then I moved on to this hefty item. The challenge here was that the piece was quite weather-worn. I had to look closely in order to figure out the shape of the piece past the unevenness and flaking paint of the surfaces. (Pigma Micron 05 in Sepia with watercolors on account ledger paper)
The AHC has a "Hardware Room" for doorknobs and a few knockers. (Zebra Sarasa)
After lunch, Tony and I tried to draw outside but it was cold and we rejoined the others. I was too impatient to actually plan a composition, despite having wanted to draw this building for years. (Copic brush pen in gray and some other stuff in small Moleskine)
Finally, we settled into tables at the Side Door cafe, which kept us entertained for hours. (Lamy Safari with Noodler's Antietam ink and other tools)
For a review that touches upon a couple of these pens, see my latest review for Pen Addict - Brown Pen Battle.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love doing sketchcrawls with the other urban sketchers? Meeting up with all these dedicated sketchers gets me out of the house when I otherwise wouldn't make it. It's great to have a community with whom you can get totally lost in your own head for awhile as you draw, and then balance that out by socializing as we pass around the sketchbooks and talk about materials, styles, problems, and breakthroughs. It's grand.
Kalina...I just love the composition of your pages. Besides the drawings individually the whole page tells a story. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about the pleasures of drawing with our group.
ReplyDeleteNow, about your sketches: it's clear from your drawing of the carved head that you can channel the famous sketching French rabbit.
I'm also really impressed that you could draw three wood ornaments and have them match.
I'm in awe of your skills!
Excellent sketches! I agree, sketching with the group definitely enhances the whole sketching experience. You all are very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks team! That's good to hear, I'm still in that stage where my eye automatically goes to the flaws.
ReplyDeleteWorking on ledger paper is really fun, but I feel overly conscious of it being Lapin-style. Though other options might not handle ink and water as well as this stuff, I'm thinking about doing more drawing on acrylic washes over text and textures.
I don't think you need to be overtly conscious of your work being Lapin-style. I think it's the delicate face and the blue wash that evokes his work. Your other ledger pieces have a different pallet and line. No worries. You have your own marvelous style. (I've got a ledger to try, too!)
ReplyDelete