Saturday, October 15, 2011

Friday Drawing: Kreober Hall and Triple Rock Brewery!

Drawing From the Model - The last of the evening. 5 min

20 minutes.

The best face in the bar walked out before I could draw him!  I had to improvise from memory. 

The right hand companion piece.

The scene to my left...
The scene to my right. 

Inky Blackness, from the Kroeber Session before, Sept 23rd.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Bumbershoot 2011

Drawing on Friday, Sept 2 with the Seattle Sketch Pistols!  We met up at the Elysian Brewpub on Capitol Hill and drew for about 4 hours.  It was a grand time spend sketching, drinking great beer and meeting some great new people!

Bumbershoot Day 1: Saturday. Noted with all the bands, events seen that day. The head deep in shadow on the left was from the previous nights event at the Elysian.
Bumbershoot Day 2: Sunday. Noted with all the bands seen that day.
More day 2 drawings. 
Some random scribblings from the grounds of the Seattle center.
Bumbershoot day 3: With more bands, films, puppet shows, etc!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Thursday, Aug 18th, 2011. Drawing at the Academy of Science, SF, Nightlife.

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011.  I met with Melissa and Jason at the Academy of Sciences "Nightlife" to attend their special night of "Snakes and Lizards"!  I only saw them for a little while at the Snakes & Lizzies, and then lost them in the Aquarium after we were all shoo'ed out.  I'll ask them for sketches later.  I had such a good time I had to stay up late after I got home and post my results! The picture go backwards in time as you scroll down.
At Social, Brewery and Kitchen, 9th and Irving.
I really do like the roof structure of this place.  I only captured a portion of it.  I also really like the swoop of their balcony.

At Social, Brewery and Kitchen, 9th and Irving.
Their bar.  Not quite the drawing I intended, but then, I was a little tipsy by then.
Social is at 9th and Irving.

At Social, Brewery and Kitchen, 9th and Irving.
I had lost Melissa and Jason long before I left, so afterwards I went on to the local Brew Pub (9th and Irving) by my lonesome.  It's called SOCIAL now.  I don't even remember the other names it's had.  This is at least the third brew pub in this location.  I don't know why it's been so hard to keep a place open here.  I ordered the sampler, then wondered why they were so small and insubstantial.  Later I realized that these were free!  I no longer felt cheated...in any way!  I had a full pint of their Double Doozy IPA and an order of Calamari.  I should have drawn the Cali' too, before I consumed them, but, oh well!  

The Cal Academy African Hall
Then, on my way out for the night, I passed through the diorama section of the Academy.  


On my way out I came across this cool turtle! Ok, actually a tortoise, specifically, a  radiated tortoise.  

Biding time in the pottery section and with the fishes...

I need a nap!

This guy at least looked a little different!  I would  have loved to draw him more, I really did not get the details right.

Again, the fascinating feet and hands!

This little guy was amazing!  before him I tried two two others that failed, but here they are in their horrible glory.

Who monitors the monitors?

My first Drawing.  A Rhinoceros Iguana.  The humaneness of his  hands (claws? Feet?) both fascinated and horrified me as I drew them.  Even the anatomy of his legs and arms is startlingly familiar.
 Jason Courtney's Waxy Monkey!

Friday, August 12th, 2011, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, and the Sadies @ The Great American Music Hall.


Me, in the mirror of my Truck, as I waited to leave for the show.  One the right, the stage, as it awaited the musicians.

My sketch of a fan just before the show on the left, and Jesse Sykes during the first song of her bands set.

The Sadies!  Photo Illustration.  Live at the Great American Music Hall, August 12, 2011.  An awesome show.
On Friday, Aug 12, I went to see the Sadies play the GAMH in San Francisco.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

France Trip: The Paris Sketchbook June 12-26 2011The beginning of the book

The beginning of the book!  Sketchy, design-y attempts on the left, typical Moleskine info and sketch of our Monastery in the french countryside. 

Quick drawings of the french farmlands and our Monastery from a distance.  We had gone out for our morning painting session and found a nice little hidden area near a vineyard.  But, we were chased out when a farmer showed up to spray the vines!

Cafe au lait at an outdoor cafe in Cognac.  I liked the shapes of the chairs and the little long and thin sugar packets.

The Bridge in Cognac.  I took out one footing to make it fit!

This is a pump house, or locks control building.  It was closed, but contained some big heavy machinery of some kind relating to the water flow near the bridge.

We had dinner in the restaurant in the Hotel Heritage, Cognac. The lamp was sculpted out of a tree branch by our waiter.

Quick impressions of our waitstaff.

This was an old still, found in a local Cognac distillery in the town of Saint-Hilare, where we were painting.

Drawing at LES LAPIDIALES! This is an old Roman Quarry, where they have artists come and sculpt into the sides of the walls.  They offer several residencies at a time for 3-5 months and host artists from all over the world.

A freestanding sculpture, opposite a relief work.

Another freestanding sculpture, and another in relief.

The sculpture on the left is actually an elaborate oven, with a giant dragon head.  Unfortunately, it had just been damaged by vandals the night before and was being repaired as we watched.

Right: Spence, and a girl at the train station in La Rochelle. Left, our first dinner back in Paris was Chinese.  This Duck was hanging behind glass just past our seating. 

Left: Part of the fountain outside the Pompidou.  Right: Giant graffiti of S. Dali,  directly opposite the fountain.

Outside the Hôtel de Ville, Paris' city hall. They were housing a free exhibition of parts of the Impressionist collection from the Musée d'Orsay. I was glad of a long line, it gave me time to draw.  And I loved these Lions, which are situated around the building.  

One more lion sketch and a crib from Degas.

Sketching in the Musée Rodin.  I could have drawn here all day!

More sketching in the Musée Rodin. The museum is the house he lived and worked in at the end of his life and features both his and Camille Claudel's work.

A cafe waitress, and customers, on the left and a down the street view on the right.   

Faces in the crowds.  There was an all-over-Paris music festival going on that day, the 21st of June.  Bands everywhere!  Interesting faces too.
More music spectators on the left and some of our dinner experience on the right.  While we ate at a hotel restaurant, the Degres de Notre Dame, two bands played on the opposite corner.

Wed June 22.  The Louvre!  I did this sketch while having lunch in the Louvre cafe.  A 14 euro cheese sandwich!

We ate Mediterranean that night, at a place we called Happy Falafal!  Our  waiter here, Marc, was one of those outgoing fellows who notices everything!  He joked with me about drawing him and demanding a model's fee.  He told us he spent some time living in the states but missed his family connections to much to stay.

A quickie of our apartment...with a side sketch of one of the  allegorical sculptures outside the Musée d'Orsay

The allegorical ladies of the Musée d'Orsay. 

Some of the paintings and sculptures inside the Musée d'Orsay. 
More irresistible goodies!  Plus one of my favorites, the 

The Muse of Andre Chenier, by

Denys Puech. 1888
Another view.  

Again, I could have drawn here all day.

That night we took in a theater show,  How to become Parisian in 1 Hour! A one man show by Olivier Giraud.   

"l'Ecoute", at the church of Saint Eustache.

Drawing in one of the many gardens at the Louvre.

Monet's water lilies, at the Musée de l’Orangerie.
Napoleon's tomb and the Armory.  

A cool concept car by Citroen.  We could not figure out how it was supposed to work!  It must be carried like a litter, by the slaves of the post-civilization dystopian future.

The interior of the modest La Varangue

The Tour Eiffel! Drawn waiting in line for... 

This!  Le publique pissoir.

Drawn while in line for the Catacombs.

The Metro!  Thank the gods for the metro!  The day before we walked our feet off.

Three fellows at a table near by, having dinner.  They all  looked like Jean Luc Picard's.

A woman had her young dog with her at dinner, a Husky/German Shepard mix.  Something I had not seen before.   And a kid nearby.  Both fun to draw.

Unfinished Catacombs....

On the RER train, heading to the Airport.

Charles De Gaul Airport.

Our shuttle from the gate to our plane.