Twin Cities Sketchers

Twin Cities Sketchers Has Moved!

2009-05-31T19:38:00.000-07:00

Twin Cities Sketch Crawl Art

2009-04-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Everyone did some great sketches at Como Park. More pictures coming.

Click on pictures to make them bigger.

Laura Schmieg:

Roz Stendahl:

Roberta Avidor:

Ken Avidor:

Sarah Prentice:

Diane Wesman couldn't get to Como Park, but sent this sketch she did that day. This sketch was made on the west side of Bald Eagle Lake in White Bear Township.

SketchCrawl in the Twin Cities: Pages from Roz Stendahl

2009-04-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

Above: the is the first page spread I did at Saturday's SketchCrawl. The left hand page has a column of text written before I got to the zoo. I started with a sketch in the center of the right hand page. (There are numbers on the sketches marking the order.) When we got to the Puffins in the Aquatic building they were having a pool party, flapping and diving about. But they did settle down long enough for us to catch a few views.

(Click on any of the images in this post to view an enlargement.)

Yesterday we had a group of 12 people join together for SketchCrawl. (There was also one supportive non-sketching friend who graciously took the photo Ken posted of the group.) Our game plan was to start at 10 a.m. at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. I was getting out of my car at about 9:50 when Janice spotted me. We walked up together. At about 10:10 we were joined at the entrance by Mary. At 10:18 we decided to take off and let other people find us as they might. We headed off for the Aquatic building where of course there are PUFFINS! Hence the first page spread you see above.

I worked all day with a Staedtler Pigment Liner in my current journal which I made using Nideggen paper. This is a lightweight tan paper, which I love to paint on. I used Schmincke Gouache from a little travel palette (about 1 x 1.5 inches) that I carry around; and a Niji Waterbrush.

I was able to get 5 page spreads completed before leaving the zoo at about 3:50 p.m.
Below are the other 4 page spreads.

In this next spread I'm still working on puffins across the top of the page. I actually started the sleeping puffin sketch on the right hand page while holding up the left hand page because paint was still wet on the previous spread. Beneath the dotted line across the page you'll see PENGUIN sketches I made.

Janice and I then left the Aquatic building and caught up with Mary and bumped into PJ who had been working on her own the whole time. PJ was actually sketching zoo scenes involving people! After taking a bit of a rest and looking over everyone's sketches Janice, Mary, and I headed out to the herbivores. We split up there. Janice and I arrived late to the giraffes. The crowd, drawn by the male's amorous advances on the female, was so large we couldn't sketch. We knew we would be bumped by everyone pushing forward for a good view. We went on to the cats. We stood on one of the overlook decks and looked down into the outside enclosure where one of the male lions was sleeping 30 feet below us. (When people talked, you could see his ear move and catch their conversation.) (That's a piece of Gutenberg paper torn and pasted down into the gutter of my page spread. This is something that was done a week earlier. Something I just dealt with when I got to this spread.)

And then it was lunch time. As planned we met at the zoo's restaurant. This is when Mary, Janice and I learned there were a dozen folks participating! It was a short and funny lunch and then back to more sketching.

I made the mistake of venturing into the Primate house after lunch and it was so packed with people, and there were so many strollers clogging the halls, that I stood still for 5 minutes in one spot until I went rogue and started squeezing between strollers and other stationary folk. I didn't step on anyone's toes, and I got out of there, well, at least on to a less crowded spot where I could sketch gorillas and orangutans.

There wasn't much time left (we had all agreed to leave at 4 p.m. and reconvene at Cafe Latte to share our work). I went through the new tropics section, sketched some fish. With time to spare I had to sit down! I picked a bench that looked towards some banana trees with interesting flowers. I got out my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen for my final sketch of the day (the right hand page of this last page spread).

From the photo Ken posted you can see we all survived!

Twin Cities Sketch Crawl at Como Park

2009-04-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

Our first Twin Cities Sketch Crawl was big success. We had wonderful weather andthere was a lot to sketch at the zoo and the Conservatory.

Afterwards, we got together at Cafe Latte.

I look forward to posting the great sketches everyone did right here on this blog.

From left to right arond the table: Sara, Kathleen, Roberta, Laurice, Ken, Pam, Roz (seated), Pat (standing), Janice. Three other sketchers joined us for part of the day at Como: Laura, Carol, and Mary.

Sketch Crawl 2009 / Roberta's MCTC Sketch

2009-04-04T07:01:00.001-07:00

It's coming up, folks...

From the Roz Wound Up blog:

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2009—Rain or shine!

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (come any time during that window, see below for additional details)

Location: Como Park Zoo and Conservatory (admission donation $2 suggested) in St. Paul, MN

Wrap Up Get Together Location: Cafe Latte on the corner of Grand Ave. and Victoria St., St. Paul, at 4:30 p.m.

How it works: Show up at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory any time between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Start sketching. You can do this on your own, come with a friend, or walk around until you see a group of us sketching and just join in with us. (If you come right at 10 a.m. you'll probably see a group of us going in and you can join with us right then.)

At 1:30 p.m. (in order to miss the lunchtime rush) we will meet as a group at the Zoo's restaurant (or just outside it if we are a really large group). (The restaurant is in the main building as you enter and pass into the Zoo. It's on the right, just after the information desk and you can't miss it.) We are going to meet at this time so that people can check in and see how it's going, split into new groups, and welcome new folks just showing up.

By 2 p.m. we'll go off sketching again and continue sketching until 4 p.m.

At 4 p.m. we'll all leave the Zoo (or conservatory if you have been sketching people and flowers) and head to Cafe Latte, where we will regroup at 4:30 p.m. You'll be able to purchase an early dinner, a snack, or a delicious dessert and coffee, in short, whatever you feel like. And we will share the art we've made that day and what is sure to be some lively discussion (the people I sketch with regularly are always lively talkers when the sketching is over).

So you can come for as long as you like, stay as long as you like, meet up with us for any or all of this.

Alternative: you can sketch out anywhere in the Twin Cities you want and still show up at Cafe Latte at 4:30 and we'll be happy to see you!

Roz has more details..

Roberta is really busy, so she asked me to post this sketch for her.

She sketched it at Minnesota Community & Technical College (MCTC). She forget to bring her journal so she had to use what was available... MCTC looks like a a great place to to sketch.

Click on picture to make it bigger.

After the Allergy Shots

2009-02-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

I did this journal page just for you Ken! I'm trying to draw more buildings and it takes a pigeon to make me do so.

After my allergy shots (downtown) I went back to my car in a new ramp (new to me) with a different view. I saw this pigeon hanging out on the TCF sign. After awhile he flew up to the copper-clad roof. He wandered about for many minutes, going under the slanted overhang and coming in and out. I sat wondering what he was thinking.

What do pigeons do with all the time they have? Especially downtown pigeons? Yes, with the introduction of rehabilitated raptors in the Cities, there are some dangers, but downtown life once you get the window and car things down must seem like a stress-free vacation compared to suburban or rural life.

Then I got my journal out and started to sketch. It was warm (41 degrees) so the car was off (I know you'll appreciate that). It was amazingly dim in that ramp and that made choosing colors very difficult.

(The tab on the right side of the page is one of the pages I cut out when I start a new journal; it makes space for collaged items. People always ask me about this. There is nothing on the recto page yet, so I didn't include it in the scan; I need to go and find another pigeon!)

Since there are pigeons everywhere I think I have found the key to making myself draw more buildings!

The Metrodome Has Gone to the Dogs

2009-02-04T16:50:00.000-08:00

The Metrodome had another indoor dog run yesterday. I never saw so many happy dogs. They don't get many opportunities to run around with other dogs since it has been below zero so much this winter.

I did a bunch of action sketches of dogs, but I really wanted to sketch a bulldog named Mabel. Mabel did not want to be sketched, but I managed get two sketches of Mabel, front and back.

Click on the photo to make it bigger.

Lake Harriet Kite Festival

2009-01-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

It was 10 degrees when I sketched the Lake Harriet Kite festival. The ink in my pen froze and my fingers were numb, so I bent the rules and finished the coloring at home. Click on the picture to make it bigger.

Roz sucks it up and draws a car!

2009-01-07T17:07:00.000-08:00

O.K. So I'm out with Ken and Roberta at Wet Paint. (They said they needed paper advice, but I don't really believe that; I think they were being sociable.) After the visit at Wet Paint we went down the road to Shish where Paul (a helpful artist/staff person at Wet Paint told us there was the best coffee in the area—I mention this in case you are coffee drinkers; I'm not—but I like Gyros so that's another attraction).

There we are at Shish, at a small window table, checking over our purchases and then eating, and finally, getting out our sketchbooks and so I decide, since I am sitting there with the King and Queen of scene sketchers, to broaden my view from the crack in the sidewalk. I boldly select a damaged car across the street (front end crumpled so badly bits have fallen off the hood so you can see inside, I guess that's because we don't use metal any more?). And just when I get going the driver comes out with a couple friends, they all pile in, not hearing my pleas from across the street and inside a building, of NO, No, no. (This action on my part causes the woman wedged in next to me to scooch further and further away from me.)

Then I learn something great from Ken. When this happens, wait until another car, similar to the first, comes along and work with it. This is helpful information because I am such a literalist, always drawing only those things in front of me (I rarely draw from my imagination). This is exactly like being at the zoo (which I do all the time; so this is a transfer of practice, a using of skills in a new area; it's growth!).

Since no other car was coming along I passed the time by working on the building and the fun shadows on the snow. And so it goes. I will draw more cars in the future. It wasn't that painful. Thank-you Ken and Roberta!

Grand Avenue in St. Paul

2009-01-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

Roberta and I got paper and pen advice from our art guru Roz Stendahl at Wet Paint. Afterward's we walked down Grand Avenue a block to eat lunch at Shish. While we were digesting, we did some sketching. Roz did a great sketch of a car that moved befor she finished it. I am using my new 2009 journal (brown paper). Roberta also sketch on brown paper.

Roberta's sketch of people in Shish (click to enlarge the picture):

My sketch of a bike in snow:

The Two Weeks Before Christmas

2008-12-29T16:20:00.000-08:00

Sunday, Dec. 14th was the grayest day I think I've ever seen here. Like a thick blanket. It started to snow mid-afternoon. It was a long wait for the LRT at the Mall of America, so I started sketching the man down the platform. He didn't move much, so was a good subject. Click on picture to make larger.

Sunday, Dec. 21 (Solstice) turned out to be a sad day. Our Saturn of 13 1/2 years died on Hwy 169. Celia was driving it home from her friend Eric's house when the engine went over into the red and started knocking. She managed to get it over to the side of the expressway--- but just barely. It was about 10 below 0 out there. Fortunately, Eric came to the rescue and brought her home. Tow trucks would've taken another 2 to 3 hrs to get there. This was drawn while I was waiting in my neighbor's borrowed car for the tow truck to arrive. It's only a car, but I still feel like I've lost a part of the family!

Sketching With Andy Singer at the MoA and the Junkyard

2008-12-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

Cartoonist Andy Singer has some free tickets to Underwater Adventures® Aquarium, in the Mall of America and he invited me to sketch with him . I took the LRT to the last stop in Bloomington and met him at the entrance. Here's one of the sketches I did of the transparent tunnel through the aquarium (click the picture to enlarge it):

Andy did some fun sketches of the creatures:

Last year Andy and I did some sketching at a junkyard called U Pull R Parts in Rosemount. It was a hot day but I did a few fun sketches... here's one:

Here's three great sketches by Andy:

The Riverview Theater in Minneapolis

2008-12-08T14:32:00.000-08:00

Roberta and I sketched the Riverview Theater from the Riverview Cafe. We sketched it two weeks ago and saw "City of Ember" and returned to color the sketches on Sunday and watched "Burn After Reading". This is Roberta's sketch (click on the picture to enlarge it):

This is my sketch:

Here's a sketch I did two years ago:

Too Cold to Draw Outside, but...

2008-12-05T11:41:00.001-08:00

... I had to sketch the partial demolition of Calhoun Square.. The temperature was 19 degrees, so I used the new Sharpie pen. It didn't freeze and it didn't bleed through to the other side of the paper. I wish I could have added color, but my toes were cold and I had to get going. I don't think there's much more outdoor sketching left for this year.

Roz Raps about Pentimento

2008-12-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

Ken, it's great that you are doing this Twin Cities Sketcher blog. I wanted to post something within the rules, but I haven't been drawing anything outside the past few days; it's too cold even for me. At lunch today I made a friend draw in my journal rather than draw in it myself! (We were inside at the time.)

I talked with Roberta and she thought it was "legal" to post something from awhile back (I don't typically draw buildings and urban scenes, but I will definitely try to do so more often!). I thought this sketch of one of the lions (or is it a stylized dragon?) outside the old Minneapolis Institue of Art would work.

It was a hot day when I drew this, sketching out with friends. I was standing, craning my neck, trying to concentrate. Then two smokers came and sat down about 18 inches away from where I was standing and I had to breathe passive smoke and deal with the intense sunlight. Urban sketching is a tough business! I prefer working in the field with ticks and mosquitos.

When we all finished our sketches we sat on the steps and chatted for awhile. Pentimento came up. One of my friends asked, "What's that?" That's when, giddy perhaps from the lack of oxygen and from too much sun I sang a little rap about pentimento. I don't know if it will be visible when the image is posted. (Bottom right corner.) "First you draw it. Then you don't like it. Then you draw it again. Pentimento!" (I'll keep my day job.)

I look forward to seeing posts from the Twin Cities and am glad you are going to allow the State Fair and the Zoo!

Welcome, Roz Wound Up Readers

2008-12-04T13:19:00.000-08:00

Roz Stendahl is my journaling guru, so it's a great honor that Roz chose to mention Twin Cities Sketchers in her blog today . Now if only I can convince Roz to join us and post some of her great sketches of the State Fair....

Week of Walldogs

2008-12-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

I was a site manager for one of the murals being painted on the side of Gray's Leather on 34th St. & Nicollet Ave. It was just one of the 10 murals painted during the big Walldogs event in July (Walldogs is the term used back in the 30's & 40's for the guys that painted advertisements on the sides of buildings Here's the website ). It was loads of fun meeting all these people involved in the event. I took advantage of the periodic stretches of "down time" to do these watercolor sketches in my journal. You can click on these drawings to see them larger.

Another sketch, different day.

Sketching in Linden Hills

2008-12-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

I was bicycling back from Linden HIlls last Saturday and sketched the Holly Trolley at the Minnesota Streetcar Museum. I may go back next weekend and sketch it again. Click the picture to enlarge it.

September RNC Sketches

2008-12-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

I have a comic about the Republican National Convention in the latest issue of Minnesota Law & Politics. Here are some sketches. You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

This is what the Excel Energy Center looked like a week before they surrounded it with barriers. The inset picture is of journalist Amy Goodman who was arrested at one of the many protests.

This is a phalanx of police in riot gear in front of the Landmark Center. I sketched very quickly because it was hot and I didn't want to be arrested.

More Old Sketches From My Journal

2008-12-01T15:51:00.000-08:00

Before I add new sketches, here are some old ones from my journal. You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

This is the Cream of Wheat elevator in Northeast Minneapolis:

This is a sketch I did of the wreckage of the old 35W bridge:

This is a section of the new bridge being lifted onto a barge:

Lake Street Pictures From My Journal

2008-11-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

These sketches are from my journal. The sketch of the overturned car was around Pleasant Avenue and the other is near Bryant Avenue. Click to make them larger.