Zoo Do

Lincoln Park: I couldn't make it to the July sketch crawl with USk Chicagol at the Lincoln Park Zoo but I was there on Monday. School is open and the children have returned to the classroom so the zoo was almost empty! There's a lot of construction going there - big plans to make a great place even better.
Two year old Sahar's mane is just growing in and in between quick naps he proudly strutted his stuff!

Chinatown sketches, Sunday, August 18, 2013

Ink drawing

Chinatown people-Tombow markers

Pagoda-Tombow markers

Sculptures-Tombow markers

For the Birds

Peggy Notebaret Nature Museum: I couldn't make it to the USk-Chicago meet at the zoo on Sunday but did get up to that general area on Monday. Cool breeze, shade, silly geese and a duck–all in all a delightful afternoon.

This is evidence of why I sketch instead of taking photos!

Just waiting...

A quick sketch while waiting for my brother. Color added later.

Sketches from the Conservatory

I really enjoyed the day. I love sketching with markers! I used Copic markers on Render marker paper.

Can Spring Be Far Behind?

Urban Sketchers-Chicago met at the Garfield Park Conservatory yesterday. We had a good turn out – more than fourteen of us! I haven't been there since the Chihuly exhibit ten years ago! In the gray Chicago winter, enthusiastic sketchers, sun and color made for a great day!

It's a great group – all ages and levels of experience. I was using the Stillman & Birn Beta series sketchbook - just love it!

"If winter comes, can spring be far behind?"  Percy Bysshe Shelley

One perfect note

Continuing with Urban Sketchers meet at the Chicago Cultural Center...

I was already sitting at a great angle sketching the grand piano in the Music room when two ladies arrived chatting in Russian and walked to the piano. One sat down and proceeded to play a piece of Tchaikovsky intoning it in a familiar Russian manner. That was just a warm up, the concert would actually start later.

The piano in my sketch was nearly complete so I just sat the lady pianist in front of it, tiger striped outfit and all. 

I was sitting there sketching, listening to Tchaikovsky and thinking that life rarely gets better than this: beautiful room, Tiffany glass, wonderful live music, five old and new friends around me, a pen and a sketchbook. Cheers!

We took over Chicago Cultural Center

The January Urban Sketchers meet turned out a spectacular event. An unprecedented number of artists showed up. It felt like there were 30 of us, or perhaps it was only 20 and I am exaggerating in my excitement. I really could not count us all, there literally was at least one Urban Sketcher in every room, and the Cultural Center is a very large building. One of our sketchers - Lucas - invited two of his classmates from American Academy of Arts and his painting teacher! It also felt that perhaps the movement is finally making traction in Chicago and beginning to gain momentum.

The internal architecture of the building is so beautiful that it is very hard to settle down and select something one to draw. I knew I had to limit myself to something manageable. I sketched in the Cultural Center before and was aware how easy it is to be enchanted by its beauty and try to grab too much for a given amount of time. So I chose a window, just one window, looking south on Washington Ave.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

We went to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at Navy Pier yesterday. This thumbnail records a Wow moment for me. The color, the light and the shadows looked just like the temperature felt…Brrr.

A Caffeinated Mind

My last post mentioned Mandy Patinkin. His voice is incredible! That got me to thinking about some of  my favorite songs I've heard him sing. That got me to thinking about Coffee in a Cardboard Cup, a song from a musical 70, Girls, 70. That got me to thinking about Starbucks and how much time I spend there catching my breath and sketching while running errands. It's a very different take on coffee in a cardboard cup than the one presented in the song.

That got me to thinking about the song's basic premise and I still think it's a good one.

"The trouble with the world today, it seems to me,
Is coffee in a cardboard cup.
The trouble with the affluent society
Is coffee in a cardboard cup.
No one's ever casual and nonchalant,
No one waits a minute in a restaurant,
No one wants a waitress passing pleasantries
Like "How're you, Miss?"
"How're you, Sir?"
"May I take your order please?"
The trouble with the world today is plain to see,
Is everything is hurry up.
It's rush it through, and don't be slow,
And BLT on rye to go,
With coffee (I think she said)
Coffee (I know she said)
Coffee in a cardboard cup."    70, Girls, 70

My first post!

Hello!  I joined Urban Sketchers Chicago in May, and I am so happy I found them!  I love the fact that an Urban Sketcher can travel to all parts of the globe and find sketching friends everywhere.

That said, my sister and I traveled all the way to Springfield, Illinois last week.  I did not meet any urban sketchers, but I did a little sketch on the train.  Maybe next year we will go farther afield - but there are always things to sketch, even from the kitchen window!

On the train

View from kitchen

Thank Frank

These are little sketches done at our recent USk Chicago meet. So much to see and so much to take in, I opted to sketch some of the details on the Chicago Avenue side of his home and studio. The first is one of the sculptures above the walkway to the hidden door. The second  is of the tourists and the reliefs that line the walkway. The third is a detail of the reliefs – the repeated stork motif and lastly a rough rendition of the logo.

Now I must go back to Oak Park and actually sketch Wright's glorious buildings! There was so much to take in at once.  In a five block area there are about seven houses designed or remodeled by Wright. What a feast for the eyes and imagination. The overall feeling of his work is monumental but his attention to detail is what really amazed me. It was a quite a day!

And thanks to the visitor from Manchester UK who took our picture! Safe and happy travels!