Sketch Crawl # 4 : Hancock Museum

Heads (Pitt marker in A4 sketchbook)


















Greek Plate (Pitt marker in A4 sketchbook)

On Saturday, the fourth of the current season of Sketch Crawls was indoors as the weather deteriorates. The newly modernised Hancock Museum clearly does what it's meant to do - engage the attention of young children - but I was a little disappointed to find all the old gloomy galleries gone. 

As the galleries themselves had always been my interest in the museum, I now had to simply wander round the cases (with my Museum Sketchbook) drawing a selection of heads and a Greek plate. OK, but not as interesting as a building, either inside or out. I suppose one or two of them might make their way into a still life one day.

Some of our Sketch Crawlers did at least find a comfy bench to sit and draw, but my camera decided to autofocus on the furry thing in the foreground instead of the sketchers!

If I could have found a decent place to sit or even stand without fear of being trampled by running children, I'd have liked to do something with the T. Rex, but 'twas not to be. 

While I was drawing the Polynesian mask, a little Chinese girl looked up at me and asked. "Are you an artist?" She seemed to be quite overawed when I answered, "Yes."

Washed up

Washing WIP (Acrylic on board, 12 x 10 in)

I'm starting to feel like it's time to really get working again, so off I went on Friday to Gateshead Art Society, a box of acrylics and a new board in my hot little hands.

I'd made every effort the previous night to ensure I'd have all the necessary items with me, but when I unpacked my gear at the club I realised I'd left behind a worked over and squared up inkjet print essential to the new project. What I'd brought instead was an earlier reference photo which was the wrong dimensions.

Never say die, I made the best of it and got the board covered as you can see, but it's not right. Later I had to square it up using the correct reference material and now I'm ready to start again when I get to the club next week. Who said acrylics allowed you to work faster|?

Sketch Crawl Time again

Old Hancock Museum: Relic Case
(Charcoal and compressed charcoal across two pages of A4 sketchbook)

For those who might tune in here to find out news of Sketch Crawls in the north east (Unlikely, I know, but I live in hope of making contact with this blog), we have another Sketch Crawl coming up for those tempted.

This time  we'll be drawing at The Hancock Museum, Newcastle on Saturday 24th October and those interested should turn up from 1.00-1.30pm. Draw inside or outside the building, as the fancy takes you.

This one is timed to coincide with World Wide SketchCrawl 49.

Hope to see some new sketchers there.

Plantlife Madeira

Black 0.8 marker in 21 x 20 cm sketchbook

I always go on holiday with my sketchbook with the honest intention of filling it with drawings. Sadly I find that wandering about just looking at new things is an activity in itself that takes up most of my time. As a result, the opportunities for sitting and drawing are rarer than I'd like. Perhaps if I could develop a more rapid sketching style, I could get more done, but I'm afraid I'm a careful observer of fact and detail ...

Anyway, in an attempt to set aside some time purely for drawing, on Wednesday Pat and I went off to the Botanical Gardens on the hill above Funchal; she with her Kindle, I with my sketchbook. The result: three carefully observed pages of drawings of alien trees.