Costco again

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

COstco Again - 1

I went to Costco to sketch again, or did I go for the yogurt swirl? In any case I enjoyed both opportunities greatly. This is the same subject as my October 16 and October 20 posts.  I wanted this sketch to show more commotion that the October 16 post shows, but less than the October 20 post. I also wanted to include the workers as their work is what makes it possible for so many different people to enjoy the food court. This sketch is cleaner and has more differentiation of the figures, I think, but still falls short of what I want to convey about eating at Costco. I really want to show small groups relating with each other over food and a few individuals enjoying the food alone. I may need to return for further sketching- and possibly more yogurt swirls.

I used pencil, pen and watercolor.

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A lagging conversation

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Friday - 1

This is my post for Friday, October 23.

Late Friday evening is an odd time for me to be sketching. But we were with old friends and I was able to pull out my sketchbook and get several quick sketches across the last hour of the night. By then people were tired, the group was about ready to disband and conversation had come to an end.  I like this sketch because it suggests three friends in three different mental spaces. There is no eye contact among the group, no one is talking but it is comfortable and people are reluctant to leave.

Later when I went to add watercolor I found that the pen that I used to draw the figures is extremely water-soluble. I made a mess of one of the sketches and so I got out my wax color pencils and added color to this sketch. I like how it turned out and may do more with the wax pencils in the coming days.

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Focus

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

open studio - 1 (2)

At open studio today I looked up from a sketch and noticed the focus and stamina of the artists.  A few sketches later I noticed it again and decided to try to capture it. So for the last pose I sketched the sketchers. I have to admire how hard they worked through the end of the three-hour session. It is interesting how the proportion of time split between looking at the model and looking at the sketch changes across the twenty-minute pose.  At first the three artists here hardly looked at their papers. Looking at this sketch now I wonder if I should have had all three artists looking up at the model. Would this have conveyed their focus a little more?  I used pencil and watercolor.

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More homework

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Damien - 1

I had an unsuccessful day sketching at Balboa Park and was later delighted that my poor neighbor, who I tutor, had such tedious homework tonight. This gave me an opportunity for a better sketch. My neighbor was meticulous about coloring in the states and labeling each state’s name.  I wanted to convey his resigned diligence and think that the tilted down face along with the hands holding the paper and pencil combine to do this. My neighbor looks like he is getting ready for a growth spurt; his hands and arms are lengthening. It is fun trying to capture this look by exaggerating the length of his left arm and hand and then contrasting it to his still young face. Since doing homework at the kitchen table is a near universal experience, I sketched in our kitchen as well. I started with pen and some of the color pencils he was using to color, and then later added watercolor paint after he left.

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Costco food court for reals

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

costco - 1 (2)

My brother-in-law, who is an expert on all things Costco, pointed out that while my October 16 post has the word Costco in the title, that the image did not come close to capturing the spirit of  its food court. “Where is the pizza, the drinks, the people eating, the catsup?” he asked. So I went back this afternoon and did my best to capture the spirit of the Costco eating experience.

I decided to use a quick gesture style for this sketch because it conveys action. However, this is a planned sketch, a very planned sketch. I did several pre-sketches and thumbnails. I worked to include techniques from  a workshop I recently attended by Suhita Shirodkar on ‘Capturing Chaos: Drawing a Crowd’. In addition, I am taking an online Craftsy class by Stephanie Bowers, ‘Perspective for Sketchers’ which is helping me think about placing people in space.  I used pencil, pen, and watercolor.

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Windy day at the beach

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Del Coronado - 1 (2)

The weather has cooled a bit. It is overcast and the wind has picked up. I wanted to capture the change of weather by focusing on the tall grass, sand dunes and the sea. I used simple shapes, muted colors, and left a lot of white space. I suggested a few wind-blown figures along the edge of the sea. After the very busy sketch from the Hotel del Coronado, it was good to just sketch in the moment.

I keep gaining the same insight that less is better, but then it slips away and I forget to keep this key principle in mind as I work. I used pencil and watercolor.

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Hotel del Coronado

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Del Coronado - 1

The San Diego Urban Sketchers met today to sketch the historic Hotel del Coronado,  just across the bay from San Diego. There were so many possibilities for this sketch. I walked around a bit and decided to sketch a view from the north side that included both the hotel and the beach. I probably would have done better to simplify the composition. It got kind of busy and I just kept adding in more. I wanted it to convey a story and for me this means I need people, so in they went and now I can’t tell if this is a sketch about a hotel or a sketch about two people. I may go back and try again soon on a much larger size of paper. I used pen, pencil, watercolor pencil and watercolor.

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