Ahhh!

Yay, our Monday Sketch Group didn't get frozen or rained out! Yesterday was a glorious day to be out sketching at Navy Pier! At long last, I traded my jacket for a hat and sunglasses! It was a three exclamation point day.

Pick Your Battles

One would think that after all these years I would pay attention to the paper! I took this sketchbook on a recent sketch outing and fought the paper with watercolors the entire time! The Lincoln Park Conservatory stick-on covers a spot where the paper won.

Actually, the paper (Hahnemüehle) has a beautiful hand and I look forward to working on it with pencil and markers. 

Donuts and Drawing = a Good Afternoon

It was a little chilly and damp today, so our Monday group met indoors. I gave a brief demonstration on seeing values and we had a great discussion. Then we sketched, chatted and ate (guess what). It was a fun afternoon. This was done in my Stillman and Birn Beta Series sketchbook, one of my favorites.

You Can See Forever!

Looking south from E Randolph 

Our Monday sketch group is back in the swing after a brief hiatus for the holidays. Last Monday we met at a member's condo and sketched the view from her 29th-floor window! What a view! We could see Lake Michigan, Adler Planetarium, the Aquarium, the Field Museum, Soldier Field, and on, and on, and on!

A Little Monday Reportage

The Thompson Center, Chicago

The Monday sketch group met at the Thompson Center. It's always a whirlwind of activity. I'm a great admirer of the art of reportage drawing and this is a great place to practice. That, along with working on sketching larger, had me lost in the process and thoroughly enjoying it. Even the challenge of the Dubuffet sculpture wasn't quite as frustrating as past attempts.

This sketch is done in my 8x8 Hand•Book sketchbook.

Who Thinks of Summer in the City as Green?

North Sculpture Garden at the Art Institute of Chicago

It's been along time since I lost a sketchbook but… 

The sketchbook I've been using strictly for urban sketching is gone. I keep hoping I've only misplaced it but I've searched high and low with no success; it's time to move on. For awhile now I've been toying around with the idea of using a square format and working larger when on location. Monday was as good a time as any. 

This is an 8 x 8 Hand•Book I bought the last time I was in San Francisco. It's now been officially designated as my urban sketching book for USk sketch crawls and the Monday Sketch Group. It's a good way to keep a record of our outings. The Monday group met this week at the Art Institute and sketched in the north sculpture garden. We've had a lot of rain lately and also some real summer heat so there were few flowers to be seen but a million lush shades of green. For me the greens even overpowered the sculpture.

Lush greens, loud cicadas, dappled shade and sketching, despite not being thrilled with the sketch, I'll smile when I look back at this page.

What Happened to May?

Riverwalk, Chicago

I don't know! Maybe I'll catch up in June but not today. Today was a glorious day sketching at the Riverwalk. It's going to be a favorite place this summer for an evening stroll and a glass of wine!

Happy Earth Day!

These are a few quick sketches I did  at the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool in Chicago a few summers ago. I like the no pencil approach in them. It's a style I rarely use but I've begun playing around with it again. 

Sketching a Bird's Eye View

What a glorious afternoon! Thanks to Carole Hennessy, the Illinois Artisans, our Monday sketching group had the opportunity to sketch in the Cook County Law Library in the Daley Center. The views were magnificent, so magnificent in fact that I abandoned my usual people mode and went for the vista. The colors of Lake Michigan were almost like the Caribbean and the variety of architecture was overwhelming. I wish I could have sketched the smell of being surrounded by books. It added a cozy feel to the wild blue yonder.

Since it was a library we curbed our usual chattiness. Interestingly, we all got a lot more sketching done. What fun a day!

Saving Summer

Lincoln Park Zoo

Today, our Monday sketch group went to the zoo. It was a perfect afternoon even though I think I spent more time soaking up the sun than sketching! It's hard to believe that summer is over. Even so sketches like this will remind me in January that the sun does shine in Chicago!

When my children were little I would read the book Fredrick by Leo Lionni. It's about a mouse that stored up memories of summer to savor when winter hit. I still love that book! I wonder if my kids remember it. 

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

The Monday sketch group that I monitor at Holy Name Cathedral was working on sketching a still life today. We did a set up from some items that people brought with them.

Because of the extreme cold in Chicago this winter the last couple of times we've met indoors at the Cathedral rectory. Today, though, is a beautiful day! Next meeting it's back to "out and about"!

Sunshine and Sketching - An Urban Sketcher's Delight

What a gorgeous day in Chicago! Our Monday sketch group chose the Lincoln Park Conservatory as our sketching destination today. We figured we'd be ready for what ever the Chicago weather had in store. It won't be long before we'll be limited to inside venues. The was a touch of fall in the air but the sun was warm. Time flew by!

I usually don't sketch the architecture. People are more likely to catch my attention. But today I decided to give it a shot. It's a little overworked but I had a good time doing it. For me, that's what urban sketching is about – enjoying sketching the moment.

I'm down to the last to pages of my Stillman and Birn hardbound Beta series sketchbook. I prefer the hardbound but no one around here carries them.

At Our Backs

It's been awhile since I've posted, not because I haven't been sketching but because I haven't been scanning. This sketch is from the backlog. It's from the recent Monday sketch outing.

Seven of us met at the south end of Belmont Harbor. We had a good discussion about painting clouds and greens as well as quiet time to paint. The winds were at our back - good fortune - the rain held off until we were packed up and leaving!

For the Birds

What a pleasant afternoon sketching outside the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago. Cool breeze, shade and silly geese and a duck for entertainment, a great way to start the week.

Evidence of why I sketch rather than take photos!

Déjà Vu

Chicago is a great city, known for it's architecture, beautiful lake front, museums and colorful neighborhoods. For me, often it's the little things that catch my eye and make me smile. They say it's the little things that make a house a home. Maybe the same holds true for cities!

I wish I had a dollar for every time I painted or sketched these lamp posts! They're all around the Chicago. 

Urban Sketching at Camp Nana

The Monday sketch group and several Urban-Sketchers Chicago met this week at the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool.  Lily Pond Park, as it's also known, is a beautiful zen-space that few people even know exists. I hate to be selfish but I'm rather glad.

This year our annual sketch outing to the pond coincided with Camp Nana. Camp Nana is the time between the end of school and the beginning of real camp when my granddaughters and I happily (well most of the time) share each other's daily adventures at work and play. On Monday the girls were introduced to urban sketching. They took to it like ducks to water. Geese and goslings, ducks and ducklings, Nana and granddaughters and Urban Sketchers, we all had a marvelous day at the pond.

Monday Sketching Outside!

Our Monday sketch group met at Nookies in Old Town then ventured out into the still-chilly Chicago spring. The temperature was in the 50s but the sun was glorious! This is a sketch of a florist on Wells Street. It expresses my sentiments after the long gray winter.

Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

A couple of years ago one of my granddaughters taught me a song with a line in it "Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me." Well yesterday I could have sung it all day!  Our Monday sketch group went to the Lincoln Park Conservatory to sketch on the off chance it might be warm and sunny enough to sketch outside. If not we could sketch the spring flower show going on inside.

This is done outside in the glorious sunshine, in my Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook. Love it! Today it's back to gray and rain. Ah, but yesterday there was sunshine and sketching!

Thar She Blows or I Should Have Seen It Coming!

Navy Pier in Chicago is a great place to sketch, great outdoor and indoor opportunities. You can choose your spot depending on the weather. Since the days of sketching outdoors this year are drawing to an end the Monday sketch group decided to brave the wind and sketch outside. 

Here's my view looking south

until this boat docked right in front of me!

So I turned to the west and did a quick sketch of the landscaping.

Much too quickly it was time to head back home. Time flies when you're battling the elements, boats and having fun!

Punt is a Fall Word

Our Monday sketch group met this week in Old Town in Chicago. It was a beautiful day in a picturesque spot! When I arrived at our designated meeting spot I was early but decided to start sketching right away. Stool? Check. Palette? Check. Brushes? Check. Sketchbook? Sketchbook? Um sketchbook? Good thing Old Town is known for its great shops as well as its charm. I ducked into a little card shop. On the door was a sign that read "Civility isn't a sign of weakness".  I knew I'd find something I'd like in there and I did.

 I picked up a pad of Italian writing paper that had a nice weight and hand but wasn't too pricey. It took the paint without too much buckling. I'll put the rest of the paper to use for some pen and ink sketches.  All in all it was a very good afternoon.