Monday, March 12, 2018

Not Exactly 100 People

Last week there was an annual worldwide sketching "challenge" to draw 100 people in five days.  I hate drawing people but thought I ought to try, and since sketchers were allowed to draw from photos as well as real life, I figured I could handle it. 


At first I tried photos of people walking or standing, just as I might draw people if I were out and about in Seattle.  I did not enjoy it one little bit, and I gave up.  I told my friend Tina that people were boring.

She suggested I try people in motion instead.  She was doing the challenge, and was having a ton'o'fun drawing from photos of surfers.  She also suggested starting off with just a silhouette or simple outline to keep it easy.


So I gave it another try, and found some photos of dancers that appealed, and after starting off with simple silhouettes and outlines, I got more and more into it, and actually enjoyed drawing people!


I even tried different pens and color combinations, and did one with only watercolor. 


Next, I moved on to gymnasts.



And then I found the ice dancers -- quite complex!


I tried not to fret over faces or details--I just wanted to quickly capture form and movement.



After three days of this, I got tired of athletes, and decided to try a couple of faces with more detail.


I'm not sharing everything I drew -- by day four I had done 56 people.  Then I took my car in for service, and in the waiting room was a guy just sitting there working away on his laptop, not paying me any attention.  So I thought, "Aha!  I can sketch people now, and here is a person in real life!"  

So I sketched him.  And I did not enjoy it one bit.  He wasn't dancing or bouncing around a pommel horse or lifting an ice dancer into the air -- he was staring at a laptop.  BORING.  

I think for urban sketching, I will just stick to what I like.  Which is Scenes Without People In Them.

Like this: 

This is the steam plant in south Seattle that was built in 1907.  It's now a museum, open once a month to the public for free.  The Seattle Urban Sketcher group met there on Saturday.  Tina and I joined them.


Despite plenty of sunshine, it was COLD both inside and out at 10am when we started.  I lasted half an hour inside (for the above drawing) and then bolted outdoors.  It SLOWLY warmed up to maybe 50 degrees by the time we finished at 12:30. 

The plant is next to Boeing Field, where I had a partial view of an airplane and a full view of Mt. Rainier.


From the most sheltered, sunniest spot I could find (there was a breeze, too!), I could see more of the steam plant buildings.


Brrrrrr.  I was not a happy camper.

I was much happier on Sunday, when Tina and I went to the Magnuson Park wetlands in early afternoon, when it was not only sunny but WARM.  And there I had lovely views of ponds without any people around


I wish I had an audio recording, because the frogs were going nuts!  Hundreds and hundreds of frogs in every pond were croaking away in a glorious Spring chorus. 


It's supposed to be sunny today as well, and in the mid-60s.  I hope to get out again, slathered with sunscreen lotion.


I also took Truman and Pippin out in the glorious sunshine, on various walks hither and yon.  One day we went to Meadowbrook Pond park, where you can always see waterfowl.


Pippin was fascinated by the Canada Geese.


He ignored this lovely little Pied-billed Grebe.


Truman ignored all of the birds. 


This is a Ring-necked Duck:


Pippin discovered there were birds on the other side of the bridge, too.


Such as this female Wood Duck:


I'm not sure, but is Truman laughing at Pippin here?  We'll never know.


Happy almost Spring!

1 comment:

  1. Your drawings of people in motion are really quite lovely. If you don't like drawing people though I thoroughly understand it. Must be difficult.
    Can't wait to meet Pippin. I like his focus LOL.

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