Opening Day!

I was determined to attend the White Sox opening day game this year, and I did!  My husband, my sister and I braved the 37 degree temperature, warmly bundled, and we were rewarded with a Sox win - over Kansas City!!  Even better!  Looking forward to many more games this year.

On the Red Line, I sketched a little with ballpoint pen in a sketchbook I made with grey pastel paper.  I increased the contrast at home with a Micron pen.

At the ballpark, I sketched in my S&B Beta book with pencil, since my ballpoint decided it was a little too cold to release its ink.  Added the color and darker lines at home with Micron pen, water soluble Staedtler pens, and watercolor.

Passing Wrigley Field on the Way to Sox game

My husband, Rick

Opening day montage

Urban sketching as evidence?

Chicago suburbs: Sometimes the act of urban sketching puts the artist in a real life situation where it is tough to decide when to jump in and help and when to capture the event. The action may happen so fast that the only way to capture the event is by taking a photograph or to have the scene so clearly etched in the mind (such as this one). This sketch was created in 1977 when I used to live on a busy street in the suburbs, at the bottom of a hill where drivers often stop and turn into the subdivision. Often I would hear screeching of tires, slamming on the brakes, and the more rare collisions.  This accident was captured after all of the first responders had arrived and the situation was under the control of the incident commander. I became one of the many witnesses standing across the street to see how the rescue mission would play out and I could then focus on contrast of shapes and the lighting for the nighttime event. Sometimes what the urban sketcher captures may be useful to the police because our observational skills can help piece together the puzzle.