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I really love how you simplify your shapes, Mr Gurney!

I hope this means we can expect sketches of lambs in about 15 days.

And I, too, learn from how you simplify shapes. My love of detail too often leads me astray...

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I'm impressed by the straight lines. Mine are always wobbly, even more when my sketchbook doesn't lie on the table, but in my lap...

oh, and do you make a sketch, then paint in the washes and go over it with pencil again?

Zeitwolf, the lines are freehanded, and for the perspective, I laid down some light perspective guidelines at the outset to establish the slopes of the shelves and the stove. And yes, in this case I used regular graphite pencil and did the pencil work first and added the washes after.

Steve, this is not the main farm we go to but another one about an hour away (where we did the fleece skirting). We hope to get up there to see and sketch the lambs. They are So Cute!

Thanks, Zishen. It's all geometry. I love to sketch in kitchens, and this one was a gracious old historic one that has hosted many warm gatherings of friends and families. That's what I wanted to capture--the smell of the potatoes in the frying pan.

Another great drawing/painting. Are the different values created with repeated layering of the washes or with different concentrations of the value?

Jim, I think I used two washes: one really light one at left and another a bit darker. I watered down one premixed gray for the light tone. As I recall I packed a little plastic analog film cannister with a wash tone--that was before I discovered brush pens.

Hi Jim,
I'm just curious of your process. You are using regular graphite, correct? Not water soluble graphite? So you are putting your washes in with those brush pens? Do you actually use ink or just water? Would you mind explaining a bit further? If you sold a book or DVD on your sketching methods I would be the first in line.

Thanks, Melissa. This one was used a couple of regular graphite pencils and some premixed diluted watercolor in a little canister applied with a watercolor brush. This was how I sometimes worked before I started using the watercolor pencils and brush pens. It would be fun to do some videos. I want to work on releasing some videos, but have to finish a couple of other projects first.

I think I can almost smell the onions w dem 'taters, and if I'm not mistakin'... I swar Ah kin smell bacon!-RQ

truyen sex

So it's a "framed narrative" not completely unlike your own Dinotopia books.

Your dedication to getting some sketching done in less than ideal lighting continues to be inspiring. I too easily allow poor conditions to keep my sketchbook closed.

In the first photo, it looks as though you were sketching a head in profile. Yes?

A really wonderful series, James, and a great idea to pursue - a backstage series. Any particular reason you didn't employ the Niji brushes this time? Speed? Minimizing gear?

Keith, Framed narrative, yes, that's the word, at least for the Dinotopia books. This is more like a show with the pretense of the antique stagecraft techniques showing in the margins of the stage. There's a great old man character with no speaking part who sits off at the edge reading the script, cranking up the backdrops, and working the thunder sound effect.

Steve, Yes, I did a couple of other sketches, including some head studies.

Tom, there's a story about the water brushes. I dropped a darn cap in the first act, so I was holding a live ink brush right next to my white shirt. I stuffed the waterbrushes back in the plastic bag I had in the seat next to me and started feeling around with my feet for the cap. During the intermission I went down on my hands and knees with a little flashlight until I could find it. No matter. It was so dark that I couldn't have seen what I was doing, so I just stuck with the black pencil.

I've noticed you use watercolor pencils as "ordinary" colored pencils - - is this due to their flexibility or do you just prefer the look and feel?

Beautiful sketches.

Loved your response about dropping the cap to your waterbrush.

Even though you waited until intermission to look for why am I envisioning a recreation of the Bugs Bunny "excuse me, pardon me" theater scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys4JFRFRkpY

I am not sure how you managed to see, but I use my phone as a torch sometimes when it is too dark to see the music I have to sing. Very discreet.

It is SO great/fun to see another sketcher tackling "sketching in the dark"!!!

I did the same thing a couple of months ago, and can whole-heartedly empathize in the feeling of sketching blind. I stuck with a fountain pen, though, and got some delightful results. Not nearly as refined as yours.

If you'd like to take a look: http://www.fruitrootleaf.com/2012/10/performance-art-sketching-opera-in-dark.html

since you must like opera , too, do you know about saturday matinees in the movie theaters? the met broadcasts live in hd, every single opera, once, on saturday afternoons. they're fantabulous. i'm in california and loving opera like i do,i get to pretend I'm in nyc at that fabulous venue…..
check into it…… "met opera live" google search

I'm sort of glad you dropped your ink brush. Sometimes it is so fun to see "just pencil". (Thanks for always telling us what materials you are using).

The Grand Central reading lady reminds me of Oriana Nascava.

Matthew

Moleskine notebook are the best ! Good job James !

A.C.

Holy Moly! Honoré Daumier had better look to his laurels!
Matthew

o much life in this sketch; the lift to the eyebrow, the downward curve at the corner of the mouth. It embodies attentiveness. It would be great if he was busy using a draw program to sketch you on his iPad but you were so busy sketching you didn't notice...

Incidentally, I recently had a Niji waterbrush leak while holding a walnut ink. Made me wonder if the ink had some slippery molecule viscosity.

That should be "So much life..."

I love when you sketch humans in the wild. I wish I could come to the PSOA convention so I could hear you speak on that subject. Will it be videotaped and available for viewing for those of us who can't make it there?

What a great thought Connie had! With all your speaking engagements, it would be great if some could be captured and available for download!

Hi, Connie and Tom,
We probably won't record or distribute the PSOA lecture, but I've been working on a bunch of videos of sketching in the field that show the techniques and tell the stories.

Meanwhile, here's a teaser video called "Portable Portraits": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3NsgtwgzuY

Both this and the chihuahua have nice deep blacks in them. Do you do any adjustments in Photoshop? I'm curious because I have a devil of a time getting graphite to scan or photograph well. It's always got some glare to it.

Do you have any advice for drawing folks "out in the wilderness"? It feels like a whole different beast compared to figure drawing sessions, where you have plenty of time to make careful measurements and observations.

The Video Guy is very vividly portrayed.
Another enjoyable entry.

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Great lines as usual. Interesting lighting. Even the camera seems to have a personality. - mp

Joshua, I shoot all my work outdoors with a digital SLR camera (or a pocket camera if that's all I've got). I usually adjust Levels or Curves or the automatic "Adjust Levels" to correct white balance and bring out the range of tones. Sometimes I edit the whites to pure white to give the feeling of a vignette on white paper.
Thanks, mp and Rich.

Anon 1: Yes, in "the wild" I can't do the length or slope measurements that I might do in a model session. And of course my subject will surely move and depart after a while. I love the sense of urgency that gives my drawings.

People dealing with technology, especially cell phones or laptops in cafes, are great subjects because they hold poses for a long time.

One tip: wear a pleasant expression rather than the grim Concentration Face in case they happen to look over. And if they do look over, hold up your book with the page toward them and smile or walk over if you can and explain what you're doing.

Two questions: 1) Did the "Video Guy" film the "Sketcher Guy" and, 2) What kind of camera is he using?

red camera
http://www.red.com/
:)

My first reaction was "He's smoking indoors?!?!"
Great drawing James!

Anonymous:
1. No, the V.G. didn't notice that the S.G. was looking at him.
2. Don't know the kind of camera. The sketch was from almost 10 years ago, so digital cameras have come a long way since then.

Qitsune, It was a big tent with open sides, and the rules were a little looser about smoking back then, so I don't think anyone complained.

I know some video folks. To get the full picture, so to speak, you have to be around for the tech build, where they are setting up the control area, laying the cables that will provide the feeds, siting the cameras that will shoot the action, and later doing the all important tech rehearsal where they do a run through with those who will be filmed to get the schedules down and the cues set so that everyone is on the same page about what will happen when. It's live, and you don't get to do a retake if there's a flub. It has to be right the first time.

And since it's not just video, the sound folks are in the mix as well, placing mikes and adjusting levels at the mixing board so people will be heard as well as seen, and the lighting folks are doing hang and focus and setting up the light plots in their controllers, putting in the cues that will let them change lighting with the touch of a button at the appropriate moment. (The staging folks have already built the risers and the framework from which lights will be hung.)

It's Putting On A Show, and I know a lot of folks who do other things for a living, but do stuff like this because it's fun. (And do it, often, better than those who do it for a living.)

But it's not man vs tech unless there's a glitch. Usually it's man and tech, and the tech is an extension of the people using it.

Great sketch, though: the video guy is totally focused on getting the shot, and it will be right.

DMcCunney, thanks for the insider's perspective. I guess it's only Man vs. Tech when I'm trying to operate the camera.

It would be the same for me if I were confronted by a brush and oils. It's not my tech, and hasn't become an extension of me.

Your challenge is to get the image right in your head. Once you know what you _want_ to paint, you won't have an issue actually doing it, because you've mastered your craft.

It's true of any endeavor.

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Wonderful sketches, and even with three hours it still looks like a lot of pipe organ rendering. "Trumpets of the period" leads me to wonder if that horn with a memorable name -- the sackbut -- was being played.

I think it's called a "natural trumpet" or a "Baroque trumpet," the valveless kind they used in Handel's period---Not easy to play. I'm no expert, but I assume that sackbut was obsolete by then. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_trumpet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_trumpet

Very impressive sketch of the orchestra, especially from so close. The angle of view is so wide and there's such a range of scales to relate to each other. The figure of the standing singer is very graceful.
The head studies are also great - they look like they could have stepped out of one of your books. You captured their essential characteristics and left out extraneous detail.

Amazing that such old instruments are still around and playable. Must have been a terrific performance at Vassar.
"The American Record Guide recently praised Mr. Bakamjian 'for playing double-stops and aggressive passagework with abundant ease...'"
The same might be said of James Gurney's delightful sketches.
Love the pipe organ as backdrop.
Your arrangement of the charming head studies intensifies the fascinating variety of character.

Very inspiring. Thanks. - mp

What an inspiration you are!

I also always take my sketchbook and draw during concerts. I know how hard it is to get the whole of the inside of a concert hall (or church, or wherever it is held) plus the organ, plus all the singers in proper relation to each other. This is beautiful.

For anyone interested in Handel's "Messiah," there is an illustrated listener's companion that would make a great addition to your library. You can order the book on Facebook or from the author directly. I illustrated it!

www.facebook.com/MessiahBook

Tricia asked: "Dear James May I ask what is a water soluble graphite pencil - I have used a graphite pencil (total lead) for life class but yours must mix with water and what sort of brush do you use to spread on the faces especially if you are in a theatre. Would appreciate a reply if possible and enjoy all your emails. regards Tricia"

Several companies make graphite pencils that dissolve in water. Derwent's Graphitint is one. Check in the store for pencils labeled "Water-soluble" or "aquarellable." http://www.dickblick.com/products/derwent-graphitint-pencils/

Thanks for your sharing, it's a good post, keep going and support you.

Thanks for your sketching videos. I enjoy them so much I have, in fact, finally though tentatively ventured into outdoor and other public watercolor sketching myself. I am loving that experience and my art shows it. Thanks!

I also like all those glossy highlights, done in such a fast sketch

Wow James, that`s amazing!

Do you have any secrets on how to capture likeness beyond practice and measurements?

I love your work and your videos man. They're so relaxingly informative! Thanks again!

Have you ever considered holding a workshop at your studio, or somewhere near by, where you demo this tech and then help students with their sketches? If not, please do.

Love this... what colors are you using for the pencils?

Great video and post James.Thanks for this blog.It's quite inspirational.Regards.

Wow, I'm sorry I missed this!

Awesome !!! Sharing on FB

Thanks for sharing. I'm loving the water soluable color pencils. Even got my sister a set for her birthday.

That Dutch show would sell well today!

As always, very striking sketches, and a good reminder that even a "simple" inanimate object can be a very satisfying subject.

Good references for another Dinotopia book

I agree with PT Waugh, I instantly had the same impression. Don't know if it's the style of painting, the style of shoe, or both :)

Thanks for bringing the Bata to our attention.

It's a common art class assignment, from elementary school on up, for students to make drawings of shoes. Here you are, decades into your practice, still finding delight, challenge, and meaning in this humble exercise. It's this spirit that makes this blog special.

Toronto is one awesome city...as is Ottawa, the countries capital....and anywhere in Quebec, and especially the Eastern Townships, Charlevois area, and Quebec City....An amazing Country...and this is just the tip of sheer stunning beauty that Canada is.

Been there done that 15 years ago I think it was.
The Inuit and the Japanese shoes were my favorite because the wild stories that came with them.
The fact that the Inuit women fashioned the shoes with their teeth. After awhile their teeth would be useless, which in their culture made the woman useless. They were then left out of the huts to become dinner for the bears. At least that’s the story I read but how much of it was true really beats me.

Oh and those poor Japanese women had to ender years of torture with their feet just because it was both tradition and fashion to make their feet tiny.

Love to look at the footwear here -perhaps putting on Bob Ross' shoes wasn't a bad idea:-)

Just a question: Suppose one has a look at those items in the museum. Three years later one tries to recall them in one's memory.
Now the same thing, recalling the items, but after having them sketched out or painted on the spot: Won't they remain much clearer in the memory?
Or in other words: all the things and people you have been drawing in your lifetime: Don't you remember them clearly and in a more distinct way?

I live here and I always wanted to go. No one wants to come with me. I guess I'll just go myself and sketch. Never thought of that till you set the example.

Jim, do you take a full set of 120 watercolour pencils with you or do you tend to use just a select few?

Another interesting thing in Toronto. I really wanted to go there when I visited but although I visited a few times, problems always came up when it came to visiting this museum.

in the end I began to think Fate didn't want me to!

But if I go back, I'll try again, even so....

Thanks, Tom and Steve. As far as humble subjects, my hero is Adolf Menzel, who painted his not-too-pretty foot. Nothing is too humble--it's all amazing.

PT and Anon, no plans to use these for anything--just a museum-going habit to get myself to slow down and look.

Susan, I just take a pencil box with a dozen different colors, but only use four or five on a given drawing.

Rich, definitely. I can call up a very specific memory of something I've sketched.

K Tigress, yes, good story. I was both fascinated and a little horrified by the traditional footbinding.

Fantastic, the Shoe Museum! I love this idea. Last year I was in Ireland as an Au Pair, in The Museum of Country Life which is located in Turlough Village, Co. Mayo, where I saw a lot of traditional dress, it was amazing. I hope I'll go to shoe also. Thanks for photos and drawings. Greetings