Many love this time of year, including me. My birthday was yesterday, boxing day in Britain. (A time in the past when the wealthy gave gifts of items and food to their staff, sharecroppers, etc.) My birthday has held an aura about it surrounded by dim lights, with colorful accent lighting, gifts colorfully decorated under a tree, the scent of cinnamon, ginger, chocolate and rich sugar cookies in the air. People talking more in hushed tones, as in collaboration on a surprise, and couples feeling romantic in the low lit atmosphere. It was like that again this year. We met friends at the Lobster Shop South on Ruston Way to watch the Tacoma Yacht Club's parade of boats decorated with lights and some had snowmen or Santas. Jim and I went 3 hours early so I could sketch. I am a glacial sketcher... if you haven't heard the term it's because I made it up... I am as slow as a glacier.
The first sketch I did was of couples seated in the bar talking softly to one another. They were dressed nicely and it looked like all were having a nice time. The parade began just before our friends came. The boats passed one at a time in front of the huge windows that face north onto Commencement Bay. I am not aware of rules regarding embellishing drawings, so the lady in the black military sweater with lots of glitter made me think of adding glitter to the drawing. So I did. I'm unsure, as I said, if that meets the USk caveats, but it is as realistic as I could do... .
I was rather stymied by the large plate glass windows. How does one make a window at night look like glass and not rain? I'm always open to help, as I need all I can get.
You will notice I'm embracing my minutiae style. It has taken me two years to address the fact that I'm not going to sketch like others in our group. If you are struggling with this, I am very empathetic. When the style on the paper isn't the one in my head that I love seeing, it was hard for me to accept. So I'd try to speedily draw something, then the darkside would merge... it would want me to add detail... more description to the picture... and I would. Before long my drawing speed was in compound low and I was hung up on details... now I draw knowing that I am that type of sketcher... perhaps sketcher is a wrong word, as I think of sketching as rapidly capturing the scene. Whereas I am more labored.
The second sketch was of the bar back and the ladies working. Sitting on my left was a single middle aged man who seemed enveloped in his thoughts. He nursed his third drink, played games on his phone, ate an appetizer and left. I hoped he was traveling to a loving family and had stopped for the night. He left me feeling a bit melancholy. BUT it is my BIRTHDAY MONTH,
so it was a short-lived feeling, as we left the lounge to our table in the dining room, where 7 of us laughed our way through dinner. It was a wonderful evening.
Since I added glitter to the sweater of the first drawing, I decided to add large glitter to the garland on top of the bar back to simulate the lights... in person it does the job, not sure it is so effective via scan. If you notice very white areas in the garland, those are the large glitter pieces meant to represent the lights. The two bartenders are Stacey on the left loading the dishwasher and Holly on the right putting away condiments.
I hope you had a great Christmas and that 2018 brings you joy, peace and prosperity.
KaCe
The first sketch I did was of couples seated in the bar talking softly to one another. They were dressed nicely and it looked like all were having a nice time. The parade began just before our friends came. The boats passed one at a time in front of the huge windows that face north onto Commencement Bay. I am not aware of rules regarding embellishing drawings, so the lady in the black military sweater with lots of glitter made me think of adding glitter to the drawing. So I did. I'm unsure, as I said, if that meets the USk caveats, but it is as realistic as I could do... .
I was rather stymied by the large plate glass windows. How does one make a window at night look like glass and not rain? I'm always open to help, as I need all I can get.
You will notice I'm embracing my minutiae style. It has taken me two years to address the fact that I'm not going to sketch like others in our group. If you are struggling with this, I am very empathetic. When the style on the paper isn't the one in my head that I love seeing, it was hard for me to accept. So I'd try to speedily draw something, then the darkside would merge... it would want me to add detail... more description to the picture... and I would. Before long my drawing speed was in compound low and I was hung up on details... now I draw knowing that I am that type of sketcher... perhaps sketcher is a wrong word, as I think of sketching as rapidly capturing the scene. Whereas I am more labored.
The second sketch was of the bar back and the ladies working. Sitting on my left was a single middle aged man who seemed enveloped in his thoughts. He nursed his third drink, played games on his phone, ate an appetizer and left. I hoped he was traveling to a loving family and had stopped for the night. He left me feeling a bit melancholy. BUT it is my BIRTHDAY MONTH,
so it was a short-lived feeling, as we left the lounge to our table in the dining room, where 7 of us laughed our way through dinner. It was a wonderful evening.Since I added glitter to the sweater of the first drawing, I decided to add large glitter to the garland on top of the bar back to simulate the lights... in person it does the job, not sure it is so effective via scan. If you notice very white areas in the garland, those are the large glitter pieces meant to represent the lights. The two bartenders are Stacey on the left loading the dishwasher and Holly on the right putting away condiments.
I hope you had a great Christmas and that 2018 brings you joy, peace and prosperity.
KaCe
Oh, I so love this blog post. Thank you for sharing your birthday adventures and your amazing sketches! Your reflections on stylistic desires versus outcomes and methods on methodology also resonated strongly with me. I LOVE the addition of the glitter and the playful joyful touch that adds to the season and birthday celebration.
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