I'm an urban sketcher
Yay! I'm official! :)
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Random Sketches
After spending the last 12 years or so in the health care industry, studying sciences, I decided it was time to get back into the sketching. Below are some of my attempts at sketching with any dedicated regularity. I'm hoping that I will look back on these and see how much I've grown and how much better I've become :\
Latest "sketch book" is a case for an ipad mini (maybe?) That I found for $3 at the thrift store. It holds paper that's 4.5" by 6" or so. I filled it with all sorts of scrap paper and watercolor paper and this way, I can pull the sheets out if they don't turn out, and so far, this freedom keeps me from being too puckered-up when drawing. The ability to pull sheets out and throw them out paradoxically keeps me from having to do this--because I'm more free and unconcerned with how the drawing turns out, I can loosen up and just sketch. So far, I see a slight improvement each day, and that's all this exercise was intended to do.
Here you can see some pages pulled out of the speck case
Latest "sketch book" is a case for an ipad mini (maybe?) That I found for $3 at the thrift store. It holds paper that's 4.5" by 6" or so. I filled it with all sorts of scrap paper and watercolor paper and this way, I can pull the sheets out if they don't turn out, and so far, this freedom keeps me from being too puckered-up when drawing. The ability to pull sheets out and throw them out paradoxically keeps me from having to do this--because I'm more free and unconcerned with how the drawing turns out, I can loosen up and just sketch. So far, I see a slight improvement each day, and that's all this exercise was intended to do.
Here you can see some pages pulled out of the speck case
Castiglion Fiorentino
I studied in Castiglion Fiorentino with the Cal Poly Landscapers for a semester--it was a way to get back to Italy after I had come home and finished up my thesis project in architecture. I had spent my 3rd year studying in Florence, and going back to the So. Cal. area was bloody torture. I had some remaining elective units I needed to complete my B. Arch, so I opted for taking the entire curriculum the landscapers were offering and calling them electives. Here are some of the sketches I found in the book I was toting around in my purse during that academic semester. This book is obviously bound, but I obviously didn't care much about it because the paper quality was pretty bad, and I only seemed to write/draw on the right hand page. These are sketches made in Montepulciano, Ravello, Pompei, Positano, San Gimignano, Vicenza, Cortona, Fiesole and Firenze.
Check it out! There's more info about some of this area here, if you're interested
HIDEOUS! Trip to Vicenza to see Palladio's Villa Rotunda, and I had to break out the pastel pencils...dummy.
The cover of this sketchbook was my favorite--I wrote the poem "Last Laugh" by the author Sir John Betjemen and a bit of grafitti carved into a park bench outside San Gimignano which reads "if the sky were a canvas, and the ocean were ink, they would not suffice to write down in words, how much I love you." My people are hella romantic ;)
Finally, I was cleaning out some papers and found this folder with a few drawings and renderings that were part of a presentation I did for the final project of that academic semester. While I was with the landscape architecture group, I designed a small museum to be inserted into a nook next to the library, accessible from the inside. There was a huge load-bearing wall, and behind it a small courtyard that I intended to access. The museum would hover in the corner, without touching down on the ground, and would offer a view to the small courtyard in front of the library. Here are a few renderings and sketches
and here is proof I have never been fond of rendering trees...
Small church in the Valley below Castiglion Fno.
This is a very quick sketch of the main piazza in Castiglion Fno. This was the view from the proposed museum site.
A watercolor sketch I was going to render over (using trace) depicting the wall where the library was and where I proposed the museum
And, if you're interested in the lovely little walled city of Castiglion Fiorentino, you can look here at some lovely views around town
Check it out! There's more info about some of this area here, if you're interested
HIDEOUS! Trip to Vicenza to see Palladio's Villa Rotunda, and I had to break out the pastel pencils...dummy.
The cover of this sketchbook was my favorite--I wrote the poem "Last Laugh" by the author Sir John Betjemen and a bit of grafitti carved into a park bench outside San Gimignano which reads "if the sky were a canvas, and the ocean were ink, they would not suffice to write down in words, how much I love you." My people are hella romantic ;)
Finally, I was cleaning out some papers and found this folder with a few drawings and renderings that were part of a presentation I did for the final project of that academic semester. While I was with the landscape architecture group, I designed a small museum to be inserted into a nook next to the library, accessible from the inside. There was a huge load-bearing wall, and behind it a small courtyard that I intended to access. The museum would hover in the corner, without touching down on the ground, and would offer a view to the small courtyard in front of the library. Here are a few renderings and sketches
and here is proof I have never been fond of rendering trees...
Small church in the Valley below Castiglion Fno.
This is a very quick sketch of the main piazza in Castiglion Fno. This was the view from the proposed museum site.
A watercolor sketch I was going to render over (using trace) depicting the wall where the library was and where I proposed the museum
And, if you're interested in the lovely little walled city of Castiglion Fiorentino, you can look here at some lovely views around town
Some old sketches of Bali
So here are some old sketches.
In 2001 I took a trip with my friend Jean to Bali, Indonesia. I was between architecture firms at that time, and though I had lined up a job to come home to, I was enjoying the liberty of traveling and not having work weighing on me. But, the sketches seemed so rough to me at the time that I hated every one of them, but I kept on sketching. I'm glad I did, because now I kind of appreciate them more. When I look at them, I am back in Bali, and the memory is so vivid!
I hope you can excuse the poor quality images--I can always find an excuse for not doing something "oh, my camera needs the battery charged" and "oh, the scanner isn't hooked up to the computer" etc. In an effort to get off my rear, I just took the pics with my iphone. They're in no particular order.
Permuteran. The Balinese believe where water meets mountain there is a sacred balanced energy--yin and yang, male and female...call it what you will, the energy there was amazing and relaxing!
This one cracks me up because we went to go see this guy who was a healer. He took his time with each of us, giving us a sort of aura reading, and then, sitting at his feet, facing the same way he was facing (your back to him, sitting in a chair) he would kind of "find" these areas of pain on you--I wasn't having any pain, but he was able to find a spot under my jaw, and said something in Balinese, to which, our guide said "cavity" and I said--"Wow, yeah, it's a temporary filling!" (so creepy!) Also, there was a guy in our group who was spiritually a wreck. Was practicing paganism, and mysticism...all sorts of mumbo-jumbo (I'm open minded, but he was dabbling in anything and everything) Anyway--this dude had such weird energy...I was interested in hearing what this healer was going to say about him. He ended up touching his shoulders, his head...and then said (per the translator) "I can't read this guy...too much stuff going on." It was really weird! You can see that my sketch went unfinished because it was my turn to get read--this was the area he used to do his readings, a sort of big platform in the middle of his home compound.
While Jean was meditating, I decided to work on my inability to sketch people. As you can see, this was the first sketch on the trip (Taipei, China airport layover) and also that I didn't like the cover of the sketchbook, so I flipped the lid around and put black paper on the outside (this was probably the only reason I was able to sketch at all--that it wasn't a nicely bound book!)
Must profane the book! respect it not!! #mystyle
In 2001 I took a trip with my friend Jean to Bali, Indonesia. I was between architecture firms at that time, and though I had lined up a job to come home to, I was enjoying the liberty of traveling and not having work weighing on me. But, the sketches seemed so rough to me at the time that I hated every one of them, but I kept on sketching. I'm glad I did, because now I kind of appreciate them more. When I look at them, I am back in Bali, and the memory is so vivid!
I hope you can excuse the poor quality images--I can always find an excuse for not doing something "oh, my camera needs the battery charged" and "oh, the scanner isn't hooked up to the computer" etc. In an effort to get off my rear, I just took the pics with my iphone. They're in no particular order.
Permuteran. The Balinese believe where water meets mountain there is a sacred balanced energy--yin and yang, male and female...call it what you will, the energy there was amazing and relaxing!
This one cracks me up because we went to go see this guy who was a healer. He took his time with each of us, giving us a sort of aura reading, and then, sitting at his feet, facing the same way he was facing (your back to him, sitting in a chair) he would kind of "find" these areas of pain on you--I wasn't having any pain, but he was able to find a spot under my jaw, and said something in Balinese, to which, our guide said "cavity" and I said--"Wow, yeah, it's a temporary filling!" (so creepy!) Also, there was a guy in our group who was spiritually a wreck. Was practicing paganism, and mysticism...all sorts of mumbo-jumbo (I'm open minded, but he was dabbling in anything and everything) Anyway--this dude had such weird energy...I was interested in hearing what this healer was going to say about him. He ended up touching his shoulders, his head...and then said (per the translator) "I can't read this guy...too much stuff going on." It was really weird! You can see that my sketch went unfinished because it was my turn to get read--this was the area he used to do his readings, a sort of big platform in the middle of his home compound.
While Jean was meditating, I decided to work on my inability to sketch people. As you can see, this was the first sketch on the trip (Taipei, China airport layover) and also that I didn't like the cover of the sketchbook, so I flipped the lid around and put black paper on the outside (this was probably the only reason I was able to sketch at all--that it wasn't a nicely bound book!)
Must profane the book! respect it not!! #mystyle
Sketching Kit
I found this putter case at the thrift store for $1.39 (and...it was a half-off day, so I only ended up paying about 70 cents for it!) and decided to put it to use as my new traveling sketch kit.
I ordered a little brass plaque online and now I'm official :D
In the altoids case is my watercolor sketch box, the journal is a custom-made leather cover from an ipad case I purcased and didn't like--I've found that I can't work in a bound journal (as evidenced by the amount of shelves I have FULL of pristine bound sketchbooks with NOTHING in them!)
Also in the kit are bundles (see the red socks I knitted) of short watercolor pencils, travel brushes, and a sketching pencil and two pens. The orange thingies are two little silicone cups (intended for dipping sauce, but who eats out of silicone...seriously--ew) that I use for rinsing my watercolor brushes, and a white towel for cleaning up. There's also a small bottle for just enough water (should I need to carry my own) and the small clear plastic pocket holds a pencil sharpener, eraser and an old toothbrush head. Also, there's a little bottle of travel-sized hair spray (empty) for a little more water should I be doing a "wet on wet" technique with the watercolors.
In all, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I need to go break it in now :)
I ordered a little brass plaque online and now I'm official :D
Also in the kit are bundles (see the red socks I knitted) of short watercolor pencils, travel brushes, and a sketching pencil and two pens. The orange thingies are two little silicone cups (intended for dipping sauce, but who eats out of silicone...seriously--ew) that I use for rinsing my watercolor brushes, and a white towel for cleaning up. There's also a small bottle for just enough water (should I need to carry my own) and the small clear plastic pocket holds a pencil sharpener, eraser and an old toothbrush head. Also, there's a little bottle of travel-sized hair spray (empty) for a little more water should I be doing a "wet on wet" technique with the watercolors.
In all, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I need to go break it in now :)
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