Watercolor Sketch weekend

The image above can be viewed much larger by clicking here.

A Sketchcrawl in the new year. Saturdays are for drawing. You look forward to it (feel the fates are keeping you from it) until the day of and then you're thinking Saturdays are for sleeping in. After you push yourself out the door it's all momentum. I had a great time. Enrico and I had a relaxing afternoon with about 60 other people in the city. Jamie Baker and Matt Jones joined us for coffee at Japantown's New People building.

I was lazy and didn't start drawing until way past lunch. This was a lady who was seated two tables away and did not deserve to be bothered by my gaze. I hope I didn't ruin her afternoon--much. There's no way to ignore the fact that I was drawing her and she endured my attention with grace. She was a lovely subject.

I love the grain of watercolor washes seen up close. To view her larger click on the link below the image. Oh, heck do this right here.

Skethcrawl

Sketchcrawl 18

Pencil and watercolor on Moleskine cahier. Both images link to full spread pics.

Ghirardelli Square. It started out a gloomy morning last Saturday, March 29. The night before it rained. Enrico and I always remark, tempting fate, that it's never rained on a Sketchcrawl. Well, a sketchcrawler's luck is hard to beat--no rain. It was cold, but no rain.

Parked at Fort Mason, a ways from the square but the parking was free. I wandered back to that side past noon and had a serene couple of hours of sketching these two pages shown here.

The afternoon got colder but then the sun came out to warm us. Don't move into the shade if you're getting too hot 'cause it's still cold in there.



My thanks to all who stuck it out for our favorite sketchbook sharing ritual at the end of the day. There were a good number of new faces who were uncertain about handing over their drawing books over to these well-meaning strangers to peruse. But they all broke through and had a grand time with it all. You just gotta jump in. We're there for ya, you'll survive.

Thanks for all the wonderful positive energy, folks. I'll see you in two months!


Sketchcrawl 18 forum
My Flickr photos of SC18

Sketchcrawl 17: Portsmouth Square S.F.

One of my more relaxed sketches on the crawl--as in, I was calm. The drawing seems to reflect this as well somehow. A detail of the sketch is here.

Another good and relaxing Sketchcrawl. Three day weekend and a Sketchcrawl called for Saturday. I must've been a good boy. Took the Bart over and met up with everybody at Portsmouth square. There was a good sized contingent there already drawing away. Enrico took a count and we had around sixty, give or take. A good turn out for what was a cold sunny day in San Francisco.



Had a great time. Didn't draw as much but meeting all you lovely folks for a day of drawing outside sure does a mind/body good. Our subjects were the good people of Chinatown who were there going about their day of congregating with friends, family and maybe take in a rousing game of cards.


From that overpass crossing Kearny St. I drew two elder gentlemen sharing a newspaper article. Great vantage point to see all the Sketchcrawlers, too. Click image for a lager pic.

The men and ladies of the square tended to be seniors and they had such character in their faces and garb. We've been here before for a Sketchcrawl and we don't seem to tire of the place. At one point our subjects turned their curiosity on us and looked over our shoulders to see what or who we were drawing.


An army travels on its stomach. True of our corps as well. Enrico, Bolhem and I hoofed if over to the House of Nanking. The chef took care of us after we fumbled with our menus--and that he did. The food was excellent! The tea arrived and we marveled at how luscious it looks with all the leaves and colorful buds. And it tasted great. Happy and full we sauntered over to Zoetrope for an espresso drink and dessert. Now that's what I call a Sketchcrawl.

I love seeing everyone's sketches at the end of the day, always a treat. Thanks to all who participated. See you at the forums and at the next Sketchcrawl.


Portsmouth Square
House of Nanking

Sketchcrawl Forums
Paperbiscuit Flickr albums

Photo at the Met

Image links to a larger view. Just click to view

Wait for it... The last Sketchcrawl we did was at the Met in New York. Hard to believe it was just a little over a month ago and so much has happened since. This is a favorite shot I took while at the European Sculpture Court. I couldn't have staged or planned this shot if I tried. Does it feel like a fashion editorial shot for magazine? The lady on the left had just taken a photo of the Perseus statue and was framed by it's base. You breathe and count micro seconds as you bring up your camera hoping she doesn't move and yet she does. Don't walk away... please...breathe...and she stops.

Click.

I've so much time travel to make up. The trip to the Philippines yielded more to write about than the mutiny I posted below (really, that happened at the tail end of my stay). So, watch this space.


sketchcrawl.com

Lost Sketchbook

Had to happen sometime. At the last Sketchcrawl we went to the De Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, it was a real good choice. Good central location, target rich environment, free music (Jug Band that day), and the museum lunch counter was good.

The De Young Museum features a tower you can take an elevator to and enjoy a 360° view of the city. No museum fees, it's free! Wonderful! I broke out a new cahier moleskin for the occasion and started on a view towards the Golden Gate bridge. I was catching up to the group and my energies were flagging, but I managed to get one watercolor done. I took a snap of it and went down to get a bite to eat.

At the lunch area I had a thoroughly relaxed lunch and the view of the sculptures in the museum grounds was not bad either. Someone was waiting for a table and I offered mine as I was going anyway. I left and even glanced back as the bus staff swooped in to clear the table.

It would be a full hour or so before I find that the sketchbook is missing. I rush back inside and ask the staff if they noticed a little brown sketchbook. No luck. I ask lost and found and still zip. I retraced my steps all the rest of the afternoon and, needless to say, any remaining enthusiasm for drawing I may have had on reserve left me. I hung around till the end of the crawl to see everyone's work as this is my favorite part of a sketchcrawl day.


above image links to larger view. Sigh.

Everyone was shocked about my news and even offered me their spare sketchbooks. Thanks, people. Typical for me to be carrying four or five at any one time and apparently it goes for everyone at the crawl.

Let that be a lesson to you, kids. Always do a thorough check of your valuables before you leave a table. This one sketchbook had the one sketch in it, thankfully. Otherwise I would be an emotional wreck. I console myself that at least I got a picture of the work -- practicing that "half-full" point of view--and that it wasn't the book that held my Europe trip in it. That one was full...and safely inside my bag.

Sketchcrawl.com
De Young Museum
Golden Gate Park

Sketchcrawl 14 and auction a grand success!

I'm a little behind on my post but here it is. Coit Tower, Sketchcrawlers lazer sighted on their targets.

Hurrah! Congratulations to all who participated in Sketchcrawl 14 and auction benefiting Emergency. There was such an air of anticipation on the Saturday crawl, our Emergency reps were there to send us off and hand out information to all about the Emergency mission. The hike to and up the Filbert Steps is always invigorating, I love seeing the reaction of people who've not been before. It is so worth climb. The Coit Tower perch offers quite a view but as always the best targets are fellow crawlers--they stay so still as they draw.


We were over 80 strong! We looked like protest rally, all we needed were placards.

We ended up at in China town after a lunch break at Washington Square. The last hour of the crawl that afternoon is our traditional sharing of the sketchbooks. My favorite part because we see so many styles and modes of expression. It's all great. Thanks for sharing, everyone.

AUCTION TIME! Sunday. The crowd started arriving promptly at five and with the array of over 90 pieces of artwork to choose from it was tough--you can want a lot, you know. I personally bid on about ten pieces. It was fun and, as anticipated, competition was fierce.


One highlight of the night was a sketch of Carmen Ngai I did on the spot and taped next to the framed works. It immediately started getting bids! My thanks to Carmen for being such a good sport.

The frenzy kicks in as the clock is counted down to the end of bidding. Man, there was some stiff man-to-artwork guarding going on. Derek Thompson did a great job as M.C. and Mike Murnane carried it all home as auction master bringing the final bids on the most contested pieces to their final higher bids. I won master Tadahiro Uesugi's framed beauty as well as Manuel Arenas'. See my happy mug in Sho Murase's blog here.


Marshalling sketchrawlers through our whole day trek is fun, though I did do less drawings this time. I promise to get more done next time.

Our thanks to all who participated on both days as well as everyone who contributed to our fundraiser. We appreciate all your help and it sure was a fun way to help out for a good cause and we hope you had as grand a time as we had putting this all together. Special thanks to Maverix for being such a well-oiled and dedicated crew, it was so awesome to be working alongside you guys. Noelle Page and Carmen Ngai (Official Sketchcrawl Babes) for keeping us organized as well as always being there for us. Take a well deserved bow, everyone!

See you all at the next Sketchcrawl!

___________

For a full report visit Enrico's blog for more details on both days here, here, and here.

Emergency
Maverix Studios
Sketchcrawl 14 Forum

Fantastic photos by Bosco Ng here.

Sketchcrawl 14 countdown and warm up

Staying limber. Drawing whenever I find myself with a span of time where I can sit still. Last February at Union Square, always a target rich environment. Right in front of Cafe Rulli. What more can you ask for? Espresso drink, table and chair. Perfect. I need to get back to it. The next Sketchcrawl is nearly here and I've not drawn on the sketchbook much because of the crunch in making story reels. We just passed a milestone and it's time for a little exhale.



I also draw plants more now. After a trip to the jungle last year where I drew many plants and trees I am now afflicted with a need to keep drawing them. Very relaxing.



Don't forget about our Sketchcrawl event coming up. May 19, 2007, Enrico and I will be meeting everyone in San Francisco, at the Ferry Building at The Embarcadero, 11:00a.m.

See you there.

14th World Wide SketchCrawl and Emergency

Please watch Gino Strada talk about his work for Emergency in this video

Drawing with a purpose. A two-part fundraiser from your friendly neighborhood Sketchcrawl community. First, on May 19, 2007 Sketchcrawl 14 lends a hand to help Emergency with its mission around the world.

Emergency Mission Statement. In today’s conflicts 90 percent of the victims are civilians. Every year war takes the lives of millions of people worldwide. Emergency provides free of charge, high standard medical and surgical care in war-torn areas.

Emergency promotes a culture of peace, solidarity and respect of human rights.

Emergency is an independent, neutral and nonpolitical humanitarian organization established to provide care to civilian victims of war and of land mines. All Emergency facilities are designed, built and managed by specialized international staff committed to training local medical personnel.

Gabriele, is a logistician from Venice on a mission for Afghanistan with the humanitarian aid organization Emergency. After 25 years in local construction, Gabriele Gorup de Besanez from Dorsoduro, a village near Venice, has put his professional expertise to the service of Gino Strada’s organization Emergency. His quote below:

"In Kurdistan there was an old man whose arm had been torn apart by a firearm. He wanted an estimate for medical treatment costs before coming to our hospital as he didn't want to burden his family with debt. It took quite a bit to assure him that Emergency's services were free of charge. He couldn't believe it."

The Sketchcrawl 14 Mission. We have an opportunity to make a difference on our day of celebrating drawing outdoors. For one thing we do this anyway and have a jolly ol' time. But add this layer to it: We can ask people to sponsor our day of drawing by making a contribution, much like your Aids Ride or other marathons in support of a good cause. Enrico's got a form for it and everything. You can hand that to your friends and neighbors and ask them to donate how ever much they can, your goal being that you want to raise $100 in total for that day. Kinda like wishing you a good day of drawing and giving aid to people who needs our help.


Sketchcrawlers the world over love to congregate outdoors and draw the heck out of that day. Doesn't matter if you don't draw and just want to walk with us. We end up drawing people from the crawl a lot anyway. Bring a hat, they're easy to draw. Heh.

But Wait! There's more! The very next day, Sun May 20th, we have an ART AUCTION! This second part of the fundraiser, done in partnership with the marvelous folks at Maverix Studios.

where: Maverix Studios (1717 17th Street, SF)
when: 5pm to 9pm
how: silent bidding, Final bids at 7:30pm.
We will also have a benefit raffle with special prices.

A few of the confirmed artists:

Steve Purcell (author of Sam and Max)
Rhode Montijo (author of Pablo’s inferno and Cloud Boy
Pierre Alary (author of Belladonne)
Dice Tsutsumi (contributor to Out of Picture)
Ronnie del Carmen (Paper Biscuit)
Bill Presing (author of Rex Steele Nazi smasher)
Derek Thompson (of Derek Monster fame)
Scott Morse (author of Noble Boy, Souldwind, The Barefoot Serpent and more)
and many more are joining in this effort, we’ll keep you updated on this growing list of great artists.

So, remember those dates May 19, 2007 Enrico and I will be meeting all you generous sketchcrawl artists in San Francisco, at the Ferry Building at The Embarcadero, 11:00am (in front of Peet’s coffee). Sketchbook, pencils and waterbrushes on hand. A good day of drawing for a good cause. Then on May 20th it's at Maverix Studios. Have a grand time!

________________________________

Emergency
Maverix Studios
Sketchcrawl 14 Forum

Care to donate to Emergency directly? Please do so here: Emergency Paypal

Help us spread the word. Enrico's has some press releases. Good for newspapers, magazines and radio folks. You know you're out there, we can use the publicity. Press Releases

Here's what the form looks like. Hand it to your prospective sponsors so they can lend us a hand. Click on the image to get to the pdf.

Sketchcrawl 12

Driving the van and snapping a photo of the bay as I drove to the city. I'm late!

Weather Proof. That's what all the Sketchcrawls seem to be. Enrico and I don't have a crystal ball to check out the weather that far ahead. Come close to being rained out a couple of times. Come Saturday morning the low dark clouds weren't going away. But even with all the storm's hugger mugger the Sketchcrawler's luck held out, we didn't get rained on!

That is, not after all the Sketchcrawlers had done all the drawing to be had at the SF Zoo. Congratulations to all who made it! Everyone came bundled for the wind, rain and cold, clutching drawing books and drawing implements. I mean, a day like that is what sleeping in was invented for. But not us, really proud of everyone's drive to capture the day in drawing.

The highlight was the feeding of the big cats at 2 p.m. Man, those things are huge! The pictures don't communicate how massive these animals are. All that muscle and heft, scampering back and forth waiting for lunch and growling for seconds. This one was eyeing me as a snack as I drew him.


Look into my eyes. You are feeling very relaxed. So relaxed, in fact, that you want to climb into my cage after that drawing. Bring a friend or two while you're at it.

I didn't get much drawing done myself (I was an hour late. Heh, sheepish). But I was so ready for it. After all the pressures of the last few weeks I needed to get out there. This is my first time at the SF Zoo, and I must say it's a great place to visit (I made a note to come back and get sketches of those I missed). Nancy Lorenz sent us this collage she shot of these impressive specimens (the lion pic was hers, too. Thanks, Nancy!). Really good shots, the zoo should use this for a brochure or sumpin'.



Here's a few of my offerings. But do visit the Sketchcrawl forums for an update on how the whole world (seriously, I kid you not) did on the same day. Very good work, everyone!






Sketchcrawl Forum
Sketchcrawl Blog
My photo collage here.
San Francisco Zoo

Palace of Fine Arts Sketchcrawl

I survived Sketchcrawl 9. That was the t-shirt idea we came up with as we huffed and puffed our way back from the Palace of Fine Arts. We all earned it, I tell ya. And what troupers we had. No one treks up and down San Francisco streets like loyal Sketchcrawlers. And doing this on Earthday made it all the more appropriate. My thanks to all who made it and the offer still stands that if you were with me on our crawl--you know who you are--and would like to have a copy of Frogg's Lament just send me email and I'll fix you up.




I really should have drawn more people but the features of the Palace was so enticing...well, I took on too large a scope to draw and paint. Took two sittings. By the time I got to sketching people it was almost 4 p.m. Next time I'll try to limit the appetite. I'll have to come back and take those corinthian capitals on again.





Sketchcrawl Forum
Sketchcrawl Blog
Enrico's blog

Da Drawings

The Buddha at Kamakura. A train trip and a hike to visit the old boy. He is huge and quite a sight. He sat very still for this portrait.

Sketching on the trip. These are the sketches done while on our merry way. Drawing in trains is surprisingly manageable (man, most of the trains don't even make noise. We might as well have been skating on ice rather than rolling on wheels). Of course one has to be even more nimble with the drawing.


When in Economy and not in a window seat, one has to make do with the view facing front. In this case it was the small t.v. screen which shows the camera view from the front of the plane. Pretty clouds up there.


My train victims. Drawing victims, that is. They now populate my sketchbook and blog (insert stock villain laughter here). The girl at lower left was just one passenger apart from me and I was blatantly drawing her. At one point she curled her nose but did not flick me a look though I was very obviously drawing her. That's resolve, man.


More train drawings. The girl was with her boyfriend and she was obviously enamored of him because of the way she talked and looked at him. Ahhh, young love. Ain't it grand?


Clothes make the man. This guy's attire had some personality, though I had a crappy vantage point. Color would have helped but, hey, I was on a moving train, alright? One cannot be too picky in street sketching.


This girl could easily have won an asian Kate Moss contest. I didn't do her justice in the sketch but I think it's close. She was with her mom at Narita having a snack before the flight. She noticed me drawing her and I think she became more animated after that. Very charming young lady. That coat she was wearing was also quite a statement and not the usual.

Oh, and I did Sketchcrawl drawings, too. I wasn't lazy, or anything. Those images are up on the Sketchcrawl forum. Check out the bounty of drawings done on that day in Japan as well as the rest of the world.

Sketchcrawl Forum

Alcatraz Crawl sketches

Da Sketches. The payoff in these Sketchcrawls is having a gaggle of artists around you out in the sun doing our drawing thing together! A sort of momentum and goal is set, though no pressure. I can't define it yet but somehow everyone is energized--I mean, you could really do this on your own, in your own pace and likely get some drawings, but in the Sketchcrawl setting we all seem to hit a productivity surge en masse.

After the initial warm up some people really took off--you know who you are--Amelia. Jason Katz did an impressive array of impressions--if you ask to see them he'll have disclaimers or even demure. Don't let him get away with it, those drawings were heavenly. Tadahiro's sketches seemed like they were the drawing structure for the future illustration masterpiece it will be. And, yes, he did say that he intends to finish them back in Japan. I wish I can talk about everyone in the crawl but space and you all's patience will be tested. So, no further ado, the drawings:


The dock had this building that had amazing light and shadow just asking for it. So, a bunch of us drew and painted the heck out of it.


The green roofed building. That's not paint. It's moss. Great color and patina. That door on the roof drops off to...no stairs. Crafty practical jokers, these Alcatraz architects. And the inmates, they laughed and laughed...


As always, Sketchcrawlers themselves make great subjects. They hold a pose just enough time for them to finish a drawing. Consequently, that's when you finish yours.



I liked the blown up detail of that tiny drawing on the bottom. She was way above me and I had only a few seconds before she moved away. The translation up close is not bad, I think.


Another blow up of a sketch. The immediacy of the moment creates these washes that dry to a nice craggy finish. Very little touch ups after the initial lay of colors. All those chinese calligraphy classes seemed to be rubbing off. One can only hope.

Sketchcrawl with Tadahiro Uesugi! What a treat!

Sketchcrawl Alcatraz. The most prominent feature of our days, Enrico and I, recently has been how we've managed to overschedule ourselves in our extra-curricular activities. Reason dictates that one must have modest goals. Fortunately for us we don't know what "modesty" means. Not while Tadahiro Uesugi's visit seemed to scream "Sketchcrawl!" to celebrate the event. And why not do it in Alcatraz? Why not, indeed!

We had a blast going and sketching alongside Tadahiro-san. Now, I know that that is surreal and don't think I don't do a double blink just to come to grips that he's here and drawing, hiking and being a great sport about our little social drawing experience. And the weather! We easily could have had a socked in day or even rain, but lo, behold! A sunny day! Skechtcrawl in San Francisco has not had a bad day. Angels smile down on our crawlers.

Our thanks to all who showed up to the Alcatraz Crawl. Special thanks to our film crew: First Girl/producer Noelle Page, the ever golden Kathy Ringgold and sensational Suk-Won Park (filming? What's this? We'll fill you in later). It was another successful day out drawing. We didn't get together as usual to pass our sketchbooks around over dinner because of above mentioned schedule pressures but we'll make sure to do our regular sized crawl next time. Give yourselves a hand!

Enrico, Father Sketchcrawl hisself's Forum on our day at Alcatraz. Drawings! From all over the globe. While you're at it check out the other crawls this past year.

Link to Enrico's very excellent and instant blog posts of Sketchcrawl Alcatraz for more pictures. Part 1 and 2

And here is my meager photo string.