Sea Village-4

"Sea Village #4"

28-Oct-2012

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Sea Village-3

Another sketch of Sea Village done Sat Oct 20th 2012.

"Sea Village - Sketch 3"

Building Next Door Gets Re-Paint

"Building Next Door Get's Re-Painted"
View from my studio window

Brother' Visit

"Airport - Arrival"

"Visit by my brother Keith"
Tuning my guitar

October 24, 2011

From a photo taken earlier.

"Tugboat and Logs on the Fraser River"

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October 22, 2011

This was sketched with pen and ink with watercolour of "The Coach Inn" in Lesbury, Northumberland, UK as gift for a birthday gift. The Sketch page forms a birthday card when the facing page is folded back.

"The Coach Inn" - Lesbury, Northumberland, UK.

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Something A Little Different

I decided to try sketching something in high contrast. These were the last of the local poppies before the rain washed them away.

"Last of This Years Poppies"

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September 16, 2011

BC Hydro was working on the power transformers at the back of my apartment building. I was watching out my office window and decided to sketch them hard at work. They were working further down the back lane so it was necessary for me to take in the scene in detail using binoculars. This is a new one for me sketching and flipping back and forward looking at my page and then looking out through the binoc's. Unfortunately using these binoculars flattened the focal plane so close and distance items got squished together losing some of the normal perspective. The poles and power lines were annoying as they blocked some of the view of the truck but were never-the-less part of the action so they stayed. This seems to add some of the charm - IMHO. Anyway I kept at it and here is the result. Watercolour was added after the workers had gone but they are reasonably true due to some notes.

Hmm.. some of the neighbours must think I am a peeping-Tom or peeping-Dave (peeping and sketching combo). LOL

"Our BC Hydro at Work"

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Short Break

The last few days I have taken a short break from sketching stuff for public consumption. I have been busy doing sketches and stuff for upcoming birthdays etc. Once I have done this, I will return to sketching more of the West-end.

Also am busy getting ready for Sketchcrawl 33 - coming up on October 15th 2011.

Cheers
Dave

September 14, 2011

While waiting for a response from a client today, I noticed a guy washing windows on the side of one of the high-rise apartments nearby. This one was hanging down the side of the building at the Stanley Park end of Nelson Street in Vancouver's West-end. Anyway here he was merrily wobbling back and forward with his bucket and squeegee hanging from a rope. When I first noticed him, he was doing windows on the 12th floor... yikes not my kind of job. "I don't do Windows" is a common computer joke for us types who prefer Mac's.. :-)

Anyway out came the sketchbook and pens .. I divided the sketchbook page into 6 sections so that I could force myself to keep each "window" view figure sketch the same relative size. Tried to keep things really simple, not much detail as this guy was moving pretty quickly. I had read somewhere on an Urban Sketcher Symposium site that they recommend keeping sketches simple and that it is generally okay to leave out unimportant details. They suggested that the important thing when sketching figures is to show the activity and create interest, definitely detail sketching the lint falling out of the guys pocket is not something that is needed in the drawing. :-)

Whew.. that was exhausting trying to keep up with him :-)

So here it is with a splash of watercolour...

Oops.. I used yesterdays date on the drawing.. I'll have to correct that..guess I lost a day somehow.. :-)

"Windows Professional 2011"

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September 3, 2011

I was sitting here on the couch looking out the window and checking my "eyelids for holes" when I noticed Fluffy was listening intently to two sparrows chattering away outside. This went on for about half an hour before the birds flew off. I imagined that my dear cat was catching up on the local gossip. I guess the birds knew they were safe through the window and Fluffy knew there was no chance of grabbing them, so she was content to stare and listen.

So I grabbed the first sketchbook and pencil I could find and drew this sketch. Not the best photo, as I find my camera does not pick up pencil well. Never-the-less, here it is.

"Catching Up With The Local Gossip"

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The birthday card version for my cousin in the UK

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August 22, 2011

Monday's sketches from the corner of Robson and Bute streets on a rainy afternoon.

"Rainy Day 1 on Robson Street"

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"Rainy Day 2 on Robson Street"

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August 12, 2011

Sketch du Jour.. Girl and bicycle were done as rough pencil outline as she rode by, but rest of scene and colour application completed after she had fled the scene. The sketch was done from a bench in the Chilco Street parkette just below my apartment.

"Girl on Bicycle"

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August 3rd, 2011

Sketch done of the back of the apartment building at 2044 Nelson Street, Vancouver. Sketch done from my office window.

"Shelf Life"

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July 29, 2011

Second sitting for sketch. I deliberately picked something complicated to push myself. Trying to increase my drawing speed.

Originally located on the other side of Coal Harbour, at the foot of the bluff below Hastings Street below the foot of Howe and near the Vancouver Club, the original building was floated across to the present location and rebuilt as a stationary building on pilings. The style is mock Tudor. The building was built in 1911.

"Vancouver Rowing Club" - Stanley Park

[Final]

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"Vancouver Rowing Club" - Stanley Park

[Still in Progress]

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July 28, 2011

This is going to take multiple sittings.. taking longer than I expected. I'll have to try going back tomorrow to finish. Initial pencil under-sketch before I ink it in.

"Vancouver Rowing Club" - Stanley Park, Vancouver

[In Progress]

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July 25, 2011

I am trying now to keep up one sketch a day in the effort to improve my sketching ability.

"Sad and Lonely"

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