Tree Shorthand

For Capt Elaine:

(click to embiggen, twice)

I'm thinking to only paint where the ink marks are. Where they are NOT is supposed to be the brightest highlights or sunlight and can be left white.

Now, if I can just remember this when I'm out sketching.

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.

Royal Phone Booth

From the church to the downtown drinking establishments! Miz Dee and I opted for staying outside to soak up some sunshine and atmosphere.

I've always loved these old-timey phone booths that dot the downtown area. The view I really wanted to draw of this one would have had me sketching in the middle of the street. Phooey. I'm sure the local constabulary would have frowned on that. Plus, I don't have enough life insurance to play in traffic.

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Process notes:

I need to find a different method for rendering tree canopies. Mine look like they were drawn by a second-grader. Sigh.

Church Furniture

This is the last of the church sketches. I struggled with what to call this furniture grouping. Different churches have widely varying terms for all the bits and pieces and areas in their services. I could be in religious land mine territory here if I refer to things by the wrong name.

We decided the stand-up thingy with the microphone was a pulpit and not a lectern. I would have called the table thingy an altar, but it was on the floor and not on the stage with the pulpit. Discovered this is a "communion table" for this particular church.

A few phone calls later I had even more names for the same things.

Sigh.

I guess I should just call this "church furniture."

Winged Lion Window

Found this stained glass beauty in the stairwell leading to the balcony of the church. The heavy black leading really made the warm yellow and golden orange colors pop.

The winged lion caught my eye. That's a new bit of Christian iconography for me. I have no idea what it means. Lion angels???

There was a lamb in an upper section of the window. I have a vague notion that the lion and the lamb go together somehow, but the lamb didn't have wings.

Why does the lion have wings? Can someone enlighten me?

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Update April 9, 2011

Received a booklet from the church explaining the symbols in this window. The winged lion represents the Gospel of Mark. The dove is actually a winged eagle, representing the Gospel of John. Apparently the lamb did have wings, but he wasn't a lamb, he was a calf or ox representing the Gospel of Luke. Somewhere higher up there was a winged man, representing the Gospel of Matthew.

Pipe Organ

Went out urban sketching with Miz Dee today. Went from the church to the local drinking establishments. We like to get around.

I was speed sketching. I'm so over drawing ticky little details. Just made a squiggle where a squiggle was needed and moved on. Didn't care if anything was whomperjawed. Just ran the pen across the paper, slopped on some paint, and had a good time. Got five sketches finished.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Courtesy Loan & Sultry's Gate

A couple of quicky, late-night doodles:

Spiral Staircase

Out on another sketching adventure downtown with intrepid sketching partner Miz Dee. We started rather late in the afternoon to allow the downtown traffic to clear out.

It had been a warm sunny day, but our spot in the parking lot was in the shade. The temperature dropped rapidly with the waning sunlight. The wind was whipping between the buildings. It wasn't the most ideal sketching situation. Adding to the discomfort, we had forgotten to bring folding chairs. We opted to huddle in the car and draw through the open windows.

Our original sketch target was a beautiful Gothic church, but when we got set up I spied the Urban Grunge and spiral staircase in the neighboring back alley. The church was all but forgotten.