A quick commuter sketch

Friday, January 30, 2009

Had to stand on the Metro-North this morning on my way to Harlem, so I took advantage of my vantage point in the train vestibule.

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Sleeping while it snows

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Quick iPhone sketch of another commuter. The train wasn't very full -- surprising because the roads are rather icy this morning.

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One from the Archive

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Here's one from a few years ago -- drew this in June of 2007 while waiting for the M4 bus in Manhattan to go back downtown after visiting the Cloisters.

(Pentel brush pen in Moleskine watercolor sketchbook, with watercolors.)

Sledders at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Went on a drive to look for a snowy scene to sketch. Drove all over town before settling on Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in New York. There were lots of sledders on a big hill inside the park. It was a little hard to see from the parking lot, but it was warmer to sit in the car, so I tried my best to do what I could. It's not so easy to draw a snowy landscape in watercolor when the sky is completely overcast -- it's very hard to see any shadows at all. I even used white for what I hoped would be a gouache-y look, but no such luck. Had to pick out the details of the branches with a white colored pencil later.


(Winsor & Newton Artists watercolors in Cotman cold-pressed watercolor pad; details added in Berol Verithin white pencil.)

Sketching the view outside my office window

Wednesday, January 14, 2009














It was nice and warm in the office, but bitterly cold outside today in New York -- felt as if I'd gone through a wormhole and ended up in Quebec City again!

(Venus Velvet pencil, watercolors, and Lamy Safari pen with Noodler's ink in Lexington Gray, in Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.)

Eos in Stamford, CT

Saturday, January 10, 2009













Went to dinner at Eos, a fairly new Greek restaurant in Stamford that we really like, last night. Sat at the bar, so I had a chance to do a quick sketch of the bartender and a few patrons.

(Pitt Artists pen, Superfine black and other colors, and Stabilo point 88 pens, in small Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.)

Another in the iPhone commuter series

Friday, January 09, 2009

Still getting used to drawing with my finger on a tiny screen, but it's getting easier. The nice thing is that the subject thinks you're playing a handheld electronic game or texting or something!

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Sketchcrawl Kit

Thursday, January 08, 2009






















Here's what I'm thinking of taking along on Saturday's crawl:

  • Winsor & Newton Artists watercolor metal sketching box
  • Large Moleskine watercolor sketchbook
  • Small Hand*Book sketchbook
  • Lamy Safari pen, extra-fine nib, with Noodler's ink in Lexington Gray
  • Black Pentel brush pen and Pentel Aquash waterbrushes
  • Pitt Artists pens, superfine nib, in black, brown
  • Derwent pencil box with assorted pencils
  • Akashiya Sai watercolor brush pen set with carrying case, newly acquired at Kinokuniya
  • Large green International Arrivals case to hold everything else
  • camera
  • folding stool, if I can
Hopefully all of it (except the folding stool) will fit into my waterproof shoulder bag, as the weather forecast is calling for an inch or more of the fluffy white stuff that day.

(Drawn in Fabriano Quadrato Artist's Journal with black Stabilo point 88 pen; colored with Sai watercolor brush pens.)

Sketchcrawl #21 is this Saturday!

Thursday, January 08, 2009

If you draw, paint, sketch, doodle, or whatever, come crawl with us! A bunch of us are meeting up at Grand Central Terminal in NYC at 11 AM at the big round information desk in the main hall. Yes, it's supposed to snow, but we won't let that stop us.

Trip to Quebec City

Friday, January 02, 2009

Got back yesterday from a whirlwind trip to Quebec City. It was much too cold to sketch a whole lot, but I did manage to get a few drawings in along the way. We spent a night at Dowds' Country Inn in Lyme, NH, on the way up, and had dinner in Norwich, VT, at Carpenter & Main:















Here's a sketch of one of the little pubs on Rue St-Jean in Quebec City, drawn from the cozy confines of the Mikes restaurant across the street:

















And here's a quick impression of Interstate 91, which we drove the entire length of each way -- (and through a snowstorm going up):

Christmas Eve Mass

Friday, January 02, 2009

It's become a Christmas tradition -- when M's family goes to Christmas Eve mass at St. Patrick in Mystic, CT, I take my sketchbook along. The past two years, I did small watercolors of the stained-glass windows. This year, I tried my hand at the Madonna statue, among other subjects. Think I'll have to try again for a better likeness next year.

















































(Lamy Safari pen with Noodler's Ink in Beaver and Pitt artists pens in Moleskine sketchbook.)

Madison Square Garden

Friday, January 02, 2009

Took M. to see Cirque du Soleil's "Wintuk" at Madison Square Garden last Sunday. We got there early, so I sketched the audience and curtain while we waited. The show was lots of fun -- with a lot of "bike-robatics," which M. loved.
















(Lamy Safari with Noodler's Ink in Beaver in Moleksine watercolor sketchbook; color added later with Faber-Castell Pitt artists' pens.)