#OneWeek100People2017 - Day 2

This morning I had an early appointment at Nissan to have my oil changed and tires rotated. In the past the service center has been a great place to sketch people because everyone checked in at the counter when they got there. However, they changed the process so everyone is seen in an individual cubicle. Then only the people who are waiting for their cars come in and sit down. That limits the number of models.

#OneWeek100People2017

These two men above were on the other side of the room so I did them first using my Elegant Writer pen so I could add a bit of shading. The pen wasn't writing so well so I abandoned it after a while. 

These two were in a cubicle and I could see a bit of them through the window.

After my car was finished I went over to McDonald's for breakfast and started sketching the cast of characters there. I switched to my platinum preppy pen.

I was almost ready to give up because everyone left...but in came a new group.

I will probably end up there again this week. Next time I'll just have coffee, not their egg white sandwich (which is pretty good by the way).

#OneWeek100People2017 - Day 1

I am participating in a sketching challenge by Marc Holmes and Liz Steel who have invited artists all over the world to take part. The idea is from Monday, March 6th to Friday, March 10th we sketch 100 people. It can be done from live models or photos. I gave doing live models a shot today going to Starbucks before meeting friends for lunch and then to the public library in the late afternoon. All of these sketches were done with a Pentel brush pen. I figured it would help me not do a lot of detail. lol

If you are interested in participating I have attached Liz Steel's description of the challenge below my sketches for today.

#OneWeek100People2017

Announcing a worldwide event:

#ONE WEEK 100 PEOPLE 2017
March 2017, Monday 6th – Friday 10th.

Do you want to get better at drawing portraits? Or people in action?

Every aspiring artist has heard the advice, ‘Carry a small sketchbook at all times!’ We’re all told ‘Practice drawing every day!’ This is of course great advice.

But sometimes we need a little extra motivation.

I’ve always enjoyed giving myself a playful challenge. A short-term tangible goal.

It has to be something that’s achievable – but also a bit of a stretch. We need to commit to giving a little extra effort! Plus – we need to give ourselves permission to clear our busy schedules and make time for art.

Taking inspiration from the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), this year urban sketchers Marc Taro Holmes (Montreal, CA) and Liz Steel (Sydney, AUS) invite the world to join in with ONE WEEK 100 PEOPLE 2017.

The simple goal is: Draw 100 people in one week.

You can do it any way you want. Pencil sketches, or pen and ink, maybe watercolor sketches. Whatever it is that you’d like to practice most.

We’re committing to draw about 20 people a day. We’ll be posting our work every day for the week of March 6-10. If you want to join in, use the hashtag #OneWeek100People2017 and everyone can find your work too!

Tea Time

On Wednesday the Patchogue Sketch Club met and our theme was tea time. People brought in teapots and tea cups to sketch.

This first one was brought in by my friend, Pat. It reminded all of us of a genie's lantern.

I scooped up Gina's delicate cup and saucer for my next sketch.

Here are a few of us sketching at the library. I'm over on the far right.

Two Portraits

This Tuesday was a double portrait day. One of my art groups meets in the morning and we sketched Sally who is one of our members.

Then in the evening another art group that I belong to also had their portrait night. Stephanie posed for us with her great red hair.

Beach Sketches

The other day I took a ride out to the Hamptons along the south shore of Long Island and went to Dune Road. From the parking lot of Ponquogue Beach I had a slightly raised view of the area. These were painted in my car. First I painted the dunes with a view going down Dune Road.

Then I turned the car around and faced the dunes. There were great shadows from all the dune fences.

I don't know if you've seen the drawing event/challenge that has been posted by Marc Taro Holmes and Liz Steele. It is called One Week 100 People, and the goal is to draw 100 people in one week, from March 6-10. They are doing only the weekdays, but Marc said people could use the whole week if needed. If you participate you can share your sketches on the social media of your choice using the hashtag #OneWeek100People2017.

 I am hoping to participate and am thinking about the best places to go to find lots of people and figures. It means drawing about 20 people per day...not impossible, but not easy either. It will help to use a medium that is easy to work with and fast. Hopefully at the end of the week our people sketches will have improved immensely.

The Tango Event

One of the NYC Urban Sketchers is an avid tango dancer. Often in the summer Shawne does tango dancing in Central Park with a group of people. We were invited to come and sketch at one of their indoor events held at Session 73 at which they were celebrating their founding member's birthday. So Shawne sent out the invite to us...and over 40 sketchers showed up. There were as many sketchers as their were dancers. It was held at a restaurant so we had brunch and drinks and just a fun time...but sketching people dancing the tango is NOT easy! They move and circle around, and depending on the step they are doing, their arm positions change. I did the best I could but I was concentrating too much on the positions and not the heights of the bodies.

 For my first sketch I wanted to capture Lucille (the birthday girl who does have red hair) but partway into the sketch she left and Shawne took her place dancing with Danny. So the woman in the sketch is a combination of two people which often happens when you sketch people who are moving.

This one below was done with my Elegant Writer pen because I knew I would be able to get some shading done with a water brush.

I should have stuck to the Elegant Writer because the watercolor pencils didn't work as well. It didn't help that I was working on sketch paper which didn't really take well to a lot of water.

I could have been happy just sketching some of the ladies shoes.

These dancers were relaxing a bit before they started dancing.

Sometimes I just couldn't get the whole sketch done before the dancers moved away.

These two turned so often I gave up trying to get them in an embrace where they were facing each other.

I think this was my most successful sketch of the afternoon. They danced through several songs so they were in front of me for a while.

At the end of the afternoon we try to gather and share our sketches. Some of the dancers came over to see the sketches and took photos of some of them. One of the men, Danny, spoke about the tango and showed us a bit about it. When we were done he came over and told me he was going to show me how to do a basic hold and step so I could realize why they changed arm and body positions so often.  It was really a fun event to be a part of and it gave me a new appreciation for the tango.

Grand Central Sketches

On Saturday my friend, Susan and I were meeting the NYC Urban Sketchers, but not until 1. Since it is such a long trip to Manhattan from out here on Long Island, we almost always go in so we are in the city by 9am. We took the subway from Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal to sketch there. 

My first sketch was done in the main concourse where the famous clock is located. I've sketched from this same spot several times. It is a good spot to sit on the floor against the wall and not get into anyone's way. There is always a flurry of active people passing by since the clock is a meeting place for so many people. lol

Next we headed downstairs to the food court. We sat facing the Irving Farm Coffee Roasters, which also had a good amount of business. 

By the time we finished sketching there it was time to take the subway to our main sketching location. Watch for those sketches tomorrow.