One Spot - Two Different Subjects

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon in the loop, riding my bike, sketching and taking photos.  One of the reasons I love living in the city is the ability to hop on Lake Shore Drive bike path and just ride and see where the day takes me.  After a recent guided kayaking tour I took with my wife on the Chicago River, I was inspired to return to one of the major stops, near Merchandise Mart and the recently finished river walkway.  I found a nice spot on the Franklin Street Bridge.  With a great view east, down the river towards Michigan Avenue, I started off with this loose ink sketch of the skyline.  I normally like to lay out my sketches in pencil, but just decided to go for it in ink with this one.  I tend to be a perfectionist.  I like to spend my time making a sketch work well, often times, too much time.  However, diving right into this ink drawing was a real nice change of pace and really freeing, creative experience.  Instead of making sure each line was completely straight, I allowed the pace of my drawing to dictate the characteristics of the sketch.  All in all, I was really pleased with how it turned out and was able to capture the essence of the skyline with gestural lines, stippling and some hatching.

The beautiful thing about being in the Loop is that there is nearly an endless supply of things to sketch.  Having finished the skyline sketch, I stayed in the same spot and sketched the Franklin Street Bridge House, which was a lot closer to me and allowed for some greater attention to material, proportion and detail.  The lighting and shadows were changing very fast so I penciled in a rough outline and indicated where the shadows were at the time.  By the time I finished the pencil sketch, the shadows had already changed and disappeared.  I then inked the drawing with a fountain pen and Faber Castell Cold Grey IV 233 PITT artist pen.



These two sketches were both done in a Stillman and Birn Epsilon sketchbook, which has become my go to sketchbook for pen and ink sketching.  For a long time, I have had a tendency to go back and forth between one sketchbook and another.  I would bounce between a sketchbook geared toward watercolor, to one with ivory colored paper to another with grey toned paper.  But, I've enjoyed this Epsilon paper so much, I've been diligent in filling it up.  This sketchbook is shaping up to be one of my favorite collections of sketches yet.   I look forward to filling it up and seeing where the rest of the pages take me.

You can see more of my work and sketches on Instagram: @abillustrator and my professional website www.AndrewBanksIllustration.com.

I am trying to savor the last precious days of nice outdoor sketching weather before Chicago winter returns.

Until next time!

Andrew

The Corner Coffee Shop, Elmhurst, IL

Well it seems as though I have lost it. 

I had one comment that has haunted me about this sketch and I can't find it. But I will never forget the basic message. It was about a year ago that I first posted this image of this Corner Coffee Shop. It is a period piece of architecture in Elmhurst and I had to capture it as a sketch. I posted it and received an appreciated number of accolades and "likes" from my fellow urban sketchers. Here was the image in question:

But then I had one comment that cut through all the clutter. Andrew Banks, a professional illustrator among us whose opinion I greatly value, had delivered the most important feedback of my time here at urban sketchers. He simply told me that he could not figure out the source of the light in my sketch because my shadows conflicted each other. He was absolutely right too. At the time I was not in the right frame of mind to truly appreciate his comment. I had fallen hopelessly in love with my own sketch.

But now, after reading Andrew's recent Tuesday Tips & Tricks about revisiting your old sketchbooks with fresh eyes, I did just that and headed straight for this sketch. I had to redo this sketch and do it the right way. Outside of adding color in this second approach, I went back to my reference photos and studied the lighting from that day.

I think I am a much better illustrator now because Andrew thought enough to call out what bothered him about my sketch and it affected me so deeply that I had to act. That is the real power of being an Urban Sketcher and belonging to this group of peers who are all interested in getting better. That is why we are here.

I encourage you to offer constructive and receive criticism in the spirit of improving your craft. Your "Andrew" is in this group and you will become a better artist because of it.

Andrew Banks

Hey guys! 

My name is Andrew Banks and I am excited to be a new member of the USk Chicago blog.  I've been a follower of the USk community for about 5 or 6 years now, but didn't really start contributing until earlier this year.  I've really enjoyed getting to know many of you.   I’m sure you can all relate, but I find it pretty awesome that I can put names to a sketch, even before seeing who posted it.   Rich’s loose portraits that capture people’s facial expressions so accurately, yet so expressively,  Adriana’s great use of bold colors, Wes’s great eye and often witty story telling through his sketches, Donald’s fascinating, and realistic ledger book art….I could go on and on.  You really get to know a lot about a person through seeing their art!  There’s such a neat variety of sketching styles in our group and I've been able to learn a lot from all the sketching and conversation that happens here.  So, thank-you everyone.

Anyway, here is a quick background to myself.  Born and raised in Boston, MA., I've always spent tons of time in, exploring and enjoying city life.  If anyone has been to the North End neighborhood of Boston, they will understand what I found so intriguing about urban life.  The food, the smells, the history, the accents, the culture, the pride, the convenience…  Needless to say, growing up a bike ride’s distance from Fenway Park, the ocean, and a beautiful urban fabric, definitely stuck with me all these years and has influenced where and how I live today.  In 2005 I moved to the Midwest to study architecture.  2011 was big year for me.  In the same year I graduated from Judson University in Elgin, IL. with a Masters of Architecture degree and married my beautiful wife, Becca.  Since then, we have moved several times, but have always lived in the Lakeview and Buena Park neighborhoods. 

Why sketching?   In 2008 I was fortunate enough to travel and study architecture in Europe for two months.  I got to visit places like Rome, Venice, Florence, Bologna, Paris, Zurich, Zell am See Austria, Copenhagen, and Stockholm.  While in Europe, our studies focused on ancient architecture and urban planning methods.  Our classrooms were the cities, streets, piazzas, buildings, market places.  We studied how urban spaces were designed and used centuries ago, and how they were and are still being used today.  But most importantly, we studied what exactly makes them such successful, and desired urban spaces.  While we went on some guided tours and were lectured here and there, the primary way we learned was through sketching.  For 8-10 hours a day, we walked the cities, sketching buildings, specific architect’s work, architectural patterns, diagramming and measuring spaces, and observing how people used public spaces.  I like to think of this as my first real introduction to urban sketching.  Five years later, much of what I learned on that trip has stuck with me and has inspired me to continue to sketch and observe urban life here in Chicago.  Comparing the sketches I made on that trip to my most recent ones, I notice where my sketching has grown and improved since, yet at the same time, I am reminded of where my interest in sketching all began and why I enjoy it so much today.

I recently made a career change and am in the process of starting my own business: Andrew Banks Illustration & Photography.  When you have a second, check out my page where I post my professional work, along with some of my urban sketches.

I look forward to contributing to this blog and meet more of you here in the near future.

Best, 

Sketching the Villa Rotunda in Vicenza, Italy, 2008.

Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy, 2008.