The Marino Home

A late-night doodle in the sketchbook. I'm working on:

• perspective on buildings
• rendering credible trees
• editing out details

I think the trees are coming along nicely but the struggle with branches continues. Building perspective is still wonky and I can't let go of the details.

Sigh.

Practice, practice, practice!

Easter at the Farm

Clan Speck had a gathering at the farm today. There were lots of people to see and lots of roast beast to eat. After my turn on dish detail I escaped outside to be where other people were not.

Curled up on the truck tailgate with my new Pentalic sketchbook and got to sketching. This is the garage of the farmhouse.



A niece came running up with something cupped in her hands. She opened them to reveal this little guy. He was about an inch and a half long:
Me: Oh, what a cute little frog!

Niece: *tsk* It's a TOAD! (eyeroll)

Eyerolling runs in the family apparently.

She put him on the tailgate for me to draw. He sat amazingly still while I sketched.

Niece (looking over my elbow while I'm sketching): Don't forget the breather bumps behind his eyes.

Me: Breather bump things...done!

How did she know those were breather bumps anyway???

I moved my perch from tailgate to overturned bucket to draw this stump hole in a pecan tree. A Virginia Creeper vine (or maybe poison oak) was growing from the hole. Those spiky grass-like plants are supposed to be iris.
The farm doggies like it when I sit on a bucket. I'm at their level and gets lots of *very* helpful slobbers while I'm drawing. Ewwww!

1983 Cafe

The last of the sketching adventure sketches. Miz Dee was packing up her stuff just as I started this one, so this is a whip-n-slop kinda sketch.

I usually draw all the little ticky architectural details on buildings because that's what draws my eye to a building in the first place. Instead of drawing each brick in the soldier course here, I just wiggled the pen a little bit. Under that were intricate arches in the brickwork. They ended up being humpy gray blobs. Below that was a dentil detail. Looks like a doctor's signature instead.

Slopped on some paint with a wide waterbrush and called it done.

It looks like a stucco building somewhere in west Texas instead of a historic red brick building in Lower Arkansas.

Oh well. Such is life for the Urban Sketcher.

Courtesy Loan & Sultry's Gate

A couple of quicky, late-night doodles:

Pizza Hut House

Went to play at Miz Dee's house today. I arrived while she was out getting lunch so I sat in her driveway and sketched. Waiting is always an appropriate time to sketch.

I whipped out the little red emergency sketchbook (kept in my purse just for emergent sketching situations) and drew the odd little detached garage across the street. The house has this same roof line. Dee later told me the neighborhood refers to this house as "The Pizza Hut House."

We played in Dee's guest room closet today, cleaning things out in anticipation of swapping her office and guest bedroom. Dee was ripping and snorting, tossing and tossing and tossing. She was ready to be shed of stuff.

She tossed some vintage linens into the yard sale pile, and I, in a rare fit of retentiveness, told her she should probably keep those. Gasp!

Holy Cow! I don't know what came over me. I don't remember ever recommending somebody keep something when they were bound and determined to get rid of it. I must have been getting tired.

I could not, however, convince her to part with the seashell collection or the pile of old curtain rods. Sigh. Ya win some, ya lose some.

Final tally: Almost barren closet, one big bag of trash, HUGE pile to go to a friend's yard sale. Yay!

I started chuckling at one point and Dee asked why. I told her usually you can't beg, borrow or guilt a friend to come over and help clean out closets. I actually *volunteered* to help her do hers and enjoyed every moment immensely.

I ain't right.

Church Window

Last week I was laid low with some kind of fever-inducing microbial critter attack. Was a permanent horizontal fixture on the couch with only enough energy to punch the channel button on the TV remote. Discovered there isn't doodleysquat worth watching on cable TV. Thank goodness for PBS.

Started perking up Sunday night (finally!) and made a sketching date for today with Miz Dee.

The weather was beautiful. A nice breeze was blowing with a heat index less than 100°+. Yay! We found a deep shady spot in a meditation garden beside this fieldstone church. Lots of benches for staring at green stuff. Perhaps green stuff is helpful for meditation, I don't know. I stare at lots of green stuff most days but it doesn't seem to be meditation-inducing, at least not for me.

Anywho, after this sketch I realized I didn't want to draw any more fieldstone. Phew! That's a time eater right there, lemme tell ya what. The green stuff likewise was not attracting my attention, plus I needed to pee (TMI?) and Dee was uncomfortably hot even in the shade with a breeze.

We opted to move locations to downtown where, miraculously, it was much cooler. That doesn't seem logical since it's all asphalt and concrete, but there it was.

Sketched downtown for the next two hours. I need to do some adjusting to those sketches. Went in the weeds with color on both of them - "boffem". Will try to fix and get posted tomorrow.

After we packed it in for the day and were driving home I realized I never did get around to peeing.

Sigh.

High Rise Urban Sketching

Today Miz Dee and I got to sketch from Our Town's only skyscraper. We were at the nosebleed-inducing altitude of the third floor.

This is a view looking west:
From left to right: the hospital, a lime green apartment building, and the funeral parlor. The street doesn't really go under the hospital's portico, I gorfed the perspective on that. Oh well, I still have happiness for this sketch.

This is Our Town's City Hall:
It's a cool looking art deco building built in 1927. I've always wanted to sneak up and see what's in the tower section.

McKinney House

Went out sketching with Miz Dee all day today. We met at the Henry Crawford McKinney House in El Dorado, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a magnificent old mansion built in 1925 just after the South Arkansas oil boom. It has expansive grounds with a carriage house, pool house, reflecting pool, pergola, vineyard and stables.

It sat vacant for decades and was taken over by vegetation. In the last few years it was given to a local historical society and they are slowing bringing it back from near ruin. The grounds are still rather decrepit but I think it makes them more interesting than if it was all newly manicured.

There are still traces of its former glory here and there even though the grass has taken over the tennis courts, the fountain is growing weeds, and the swimming pool has been filled in. There are several huge outdoor tables made from a single slab of flagstone. There are enough flagstone pavers on the property to pave a Wal-Mart parking lot.

The estate must have been magnificent in its heyday with roaring parties until dawn. I can imagine F. Scott Fitzgerald driving up in his yellow Rolls Royce.

So, enough about the history. Here are the sketches:

East wing,view from the reflecting pool
I was quietly sketching away when a big ol' bullfrog croaked right next to me in the reflecting pool. Scared the peedoodle outta me.


Old fountain with vineyard behind.
The only thing growing in the vineyard now is poison oak. That little figure thingy in the top of the fountain is a pudgy little boy holding a goose. The goose's head is broken off.

Miz Dee Painting
The Ninja Sketcher strikes again. After I finished the fountain I turned to talk to Miz Dee who was, as she said, "spraddle-legged" on a bench. She thought I was sketching the pool house behind her. I was, kinda sorta, but that wild looking orange sketching hat was begging to be drawn. It had a personality all its own. I need me one of those.


This is the sketch she was working on. She had just started blocking in the first color washes in this photo.

And here is the final


Off to lunch for an hour to cool down, then one more sketch for the day.

The Pergola
I probably should have sketched this from a different angle to show the striking architecture and shadows, but in the humid Arkansas summertime you have to pick the view from under the big shade tree.

This was a wonderful, wonderful day!

More Art Supplies I Didn't Need

Journaling:

Hit yet another crap aisle at yet another Wal-Mart to buy more art supplies I didn't really need.

Found two Cachet Earthbound Recycled Sketchbooks with wonderfully toned kraft paper. I had looked for sketchbooks with toned paper on-line but couldn't find any. Whooda thunk I'd find them at Wal-Mart? Also found a top wire-bound Canson sketchbook marked way down for clearance that I couldn't pass up.

Then I went back to the art supply section to see what I couldn't live without. Found an introductory set of acrylics. I've had a hankering lately to paint with acrylics but didn't want to spend a whole lot. After 3-4 paintings my acrylic itch will probably be satisfied. Had to get some suitable acrylic paper too of course.

On a whim I also got a set of oil pastels. I'm not a big fan of pastels because of the dusty mess, but I thought the oil base in these might diminish that. They are still messy but in a gooey way.

Wow! They really lay down some intense color! They can be smudged around with my finger to make a satiny finish. These may be messy but boy will they be fun to play with!

New Roof

Journaling:

Men in large trucks showed up early this morning to install our new roof. They have been banging away non-stop for six hours now and I'm about to lose my mind.

The poor cats are having fits too.

Thankfully they finished up less than 30 minutes after this was drawn.

Showed it to my roofer dude and he said it was sweet. Not Cartman wicked sweeeeeet, but sweet as in charming, I'm-so-touched-you-thought-us-a-worthy-subject-to-draw sweet. He even asked for a copy. I was rather taken aback by that but I zipped him off a color copy.

As he was walking out looking at it he said, "I'm gonna take this home and put it in my photo album."

(big smile)

And he did a really beautiful job on my roof too.

------------------------------------
Ugh. Got the wrong year on there. Should be Jan. 05, 2010.

WIP - Oil Production Station

Work in Progress
8.5" x 11" in big sketchbook
Pigma Micron 005 pen

I'm not quite happy with this. Something is missing but I can't decide what exactly. There needs to be more contrast, more blackness.

I can't decide if I want to mess it up with more pen ink, brush pen ink, a monochromatic watercolor wash, or a full color watercolor painting. Hummm...

At this point I think I should sleep on it and view it with new eyes in the morning.

Wolfe Street

This is the inside of a beautiful old house in downtown Little Rock. In previous lives it had been a mortuary and a residential school of nursing. It was vacant for many years and fell into disrepair. A group of guys bought it, refurbished it, and gave it a second life as a community center.

It has beautiful, high coffered ceilings and transom lights over the doors. Unfortunately the gorgous woodwork has all been painted an icky shade of green.

All the furnishings are donated so the seating is a wild variety of styles and colors. See the three little pinky balls on a nest of sticks in the lower right hand corner? Those are glass apples on some weird wooden stand. It's one of the ugliest pieces of tchotcke I've ever seen. Oy. I had to include it in the sketch so I would remember it.

Nana's House

Went to Nana's house for a week-long visit to help her get her kitchen and dining room in good order before the holiday season. When I arrived she was running errands, so I plopped down on her front sidewalk and drew the front of her house.

I really meant to focus on the front door, steps, and lush hostas beside the steps, but somehow I got carried away with the turret. With that drawn first, the rest of the sketch ended up being lots and lots of brown shake roof. Oh well, at least there was a colorful tree peeking out from the back yard.

Chicago River from the Wabash St. Bridge

Because I am old and married and have no life, I have nothing better to do on Friday night than to sit at home and play Doodlypaint Urban Sketcher from 800 miles away.

I've noticed the watercolor paintings that make me purr have strong, dark, almost black elements. Somehow that gives the painting a more realistic feel rather than an illustration look. That's true even if the painting is flowy and "watercolory". It has something to do with "value" but I need to study that concept a bit more. The old brain cells aren't computing.

Thought I would give the black element thingy a shot. I like it.

Process notes:
Need to pratice painting clouds. These clouds are so cartoony I expect to see the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote running across the bridge. The building on the right, Marina Towers, looks a bit unstable. It's supposed to be a round building with balconies that bloop out like flower petals.

Need to work on water too. This is the first time I've attempted to paint water. Granted there's not a lot of wave action going on in the Chicago River but there needs to be a ripple or two here and there.

Decided to quit doing experiments in The Fail Book and do them in the big new sketchbook. It's pages are 8.5" x 11" but I ended up painting tiny because I was tense and the finished size of this (paint edge to paint edge) is 4.5" x 6.5".

Oh well, at least the paper didn't crinkle up like a Ruffles potato chip.

Photo courtesy of blogger bud Uncle Buck; taken on his morning walk to work.

St. James Episcopal Cathedral

Drawn from Google maps street view. The view of a tall building like this one warps the proportions into a fish-eye lens effect. All the buildings lean in towards the center.

My brain said to straighten them out and that's where I got into trouble...some parts are curved inward and some are straight. Arrggggh! Oh well, I'm happy with the bell tower at least (curving nicely to the right).

Drawn lead-free with a Pigma Micron 005.

Moro Bay Ferry

Hubby agreed to take me out sketching today. He let me sketch in peace for about an hour before the heat and the skeeters got to him. I wasn't quite through with all the shading, so I had to take photos and finish up the details and color at home. But hey, an hour is a *huge* sacrifice for him considering the five minutes I have been getting.

This ferry was part of Arkansas Highway 63 until October 27, 1992 when a bridge was built across the Ouachita River. After 164 years of providing an easy and wonderful way to cross the river, the Moro Bay Ferry had become obsolete. It now sits on the bank of the river as a state park attraction.

Mansion House 1 & 2

These are the first sketches in the new Hand*Book Journal. I was horrified to find that the watercolors bled through. Argghhhh! That doesn't happen with my cheapo daily journal.

These are details from a historic house here in Our Town. The fruit swag is one of a matching pair of plaques on the western wall. "Plaque" is probably not the correct architectural term for it, but it's the best I can do.

Next is a leadfree sketch of the western entrance. I'm having trouble finding the correct watercolor formula for the side of the building in the shade. Mine keep coming out waaaay too violet. Any suggestions?

Riverboat - Tight vs. Loose - Two Sketches

First sketch - Tight - Fail


Worked on this first sketch for about 45 minutes and wasn't pleased with it. The proportions were wonky (drawing lead-free) and there was too much dead space on the top deck. The only thing I liked was the contour line of the trees. I did however enjoy the zen of all that crosshatching.

What drew me to this scene was the bright red smokestacks. That's all I really wanted to capture, but two red sticks and nothing else would look funny.

Found a quote by Andrew Wyeth

"If you clean it up, get analytical, all the subtle joy and emotion you felt in the first place goes flying out the window."

Exactly! I had analyzed all the joy out of this.

Started over just trying to capture the smokestacks and the essence of the rest. The second sketch took 2-3 minutes, tops. The proportions are still wonky, but they are joyfully wonky.

Second sketch - Loose - Joy! LOL!


I can see an improvement in my watercolor sky and clouds. I didn't fight with it so much this time. Practice, practice, practice! I like the way the distant riverbank came out gray and hazy. That's just lucky happenstance.

Inside the Green Bridge

Drawing this was like drawing a plateful of agitated spaghetti worms. I kept losing my place. I was ending up with the dreaded "beams to nowhere" but that's how they are from this perspective.

After finishing I noticed it had kind of a Tommy Kane-ish flavor to it. That was entirely unintentional but I was secretly pleased because I adore Tommy's artwork.

I have two more views of these bridges I would like to draw, but not for a while. My drawing pen is all bridged out. Phew!

Lead free.

Bridges at Vicksburg

I'm a bridge geek, I admit it, and when I first glimpsed this bridge rising over the Mississippi I was enchanted. It was a beautiful, soft patina green and looked like something from a storybook fantasy. Adding to my joy was the old bridge next door which looked like a Victorian roller coaster. Squeeeee! Bridge heaven!


Process notes:

I struggled with painting the sky due to a yucky brush with too-soft bristles. (Going in the trash, that one.) When it was dry I realized I had left a margin of white around the green bridge. Rather than trying to fix it and ending up with bloom, I opted to just paint the green bridge color to the edge of the sky.


Bridge notes:

The old bridge (the black one) was built in 1930 and closed in 1998 to vehicular and pedestrian traffic, but is still used by the Kansas City Southern Railroad.

The new bridge (the green one) was build in 1973, is 60 feet wide and 13,000 feet long. It carries four lanes of traffic on I-20 and rises 116 feet from the river. It has been repainted white. What a shame.