Antiques and more

We met to sketch at Sanford and Son Antiques today. It is jam packed, overcrowded, with interesting things to sketch. Since it didn't open until 11am, we met first at Bostwick Cafe. It has some good views out the windows but we had a back table and people just enjoyed chatting and getting caught up with each other. I did drawing of a couple sketchers, though not much of a portrait of each!



Once inside Sanford and son, I came across this medieval-style helmet but was fairly certain it is an SCA helm. I thought to combine it with the antique rocking horse behind. I wanted to find another, related, item but ran out of time.





After a bit of discussion, we decided it would be easiest to just go to McMenamins Elks Temple for lunch. I added another lamp sketch to my McMenamins lamp sketch book. Though the lamp is the least of the scene, at the very top of the sketch. I did the ink drawing in under 10 minutes, while we waited for our table. I painted it just a bit later. 





--by Kate Buike

Antiques

Tacoma Urban Sketchers had a bit of a hiccup.  We met at Tully's in the Theater & Antique district to talk and sketch prior to moving to our primary venue, Sanford and Son Antique Mall, at 11 am.  However, it didn't actually open until noon.  It was a sunny day so I decided right after our meeting at 10 to sketch near the Spanish Steps as I'd missed that outing earlier this year.

This is the former Elks Lodge.  It will one day be a McMenamins facility.  I really can't wait until they open it as their restorations are amazing.  It will have a hotel, live music venue, 3 restaurants, a brewery and a rooftop garden.  Based on my visits to other McMenamin facilities, it will provide almost unlimited sketching subjects.  But right now it is in poor shape.


It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  McMenamins is known for rescuing historic buildings.   The Elks Temple was built in 1915-16 and was designed by É. Frère Champney in the second Renaissance Revival style.

Once the antique mall opened, I made straight for the big tooth and called "dibs".  It's really rather grotesque but I like it. If you want it, it will set you back $1,655 ! Beneath it is one of two antique barber chairs that will be in the next auction run by the store. Sitting in the chair, for no apparent reason, is an "e" from a sign. They've both been there at least a year as they were there the last time we sketched in this location.



We met up in the lower level of 3 floors to share sketches.






We had lunch at DiLoreto's Downtown Cafe, also on the lower level.  Very nice people and a good lunch! 

More photos https://redharp.smugmug.com/SketchOutings/2016-1116-Antique-district/

by Kate Buike

Learning During Sketch-outs and from Blogs and Sites for Urban Sketchers

KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM HAVING A GOAL  'IN THE FIELD'

Below are my sketches done in Tacoma from the day before our First Saturday Sketch-out 2/6/16, and during the actual sketch-out. The first sketch is from Tully's Coffee Shop at Broadway and 9th, the others from inside of Sanford and Sons, both in downtown Tacoma.(The sketch of the autos was from looking out the window towards Commerce St.)  I did the first two the day before our group sketch-out...and the lower two during our sketch-out.

 

The car on the left drove away when all I had was pencil lines, so there is a lot of guessing going on here!

 

The first three sketches took at least a couple of hours...and the one below was less than 20 minutes.

 I did a fast (and not too accurate) light pencil drawing for each of these sketches (contour drawing or just plain fast scribbles to work out the shapes and composition) , then I corrected each of the sketches or fully drew the form using a Micron .005 ink pen. The pencil lines are a nice, comforting security blanket for when I begin using non-erasable ink.

In the past I almost always did linear shading for forms, which took forever (!!): hatching, cross hatching, dots...whatever a rigid ink point could offer me. I'll continue using that technique when I feel like it or have time. However, in these sketches my goal was to learn how to do my values much, much faster using Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens. I've used a couple of values for each sketch and saved the whites of the paper for the lightest value.

I discovered if I put down the lightest value everywhere except where I want to leave white, I have a bounded area or matrix upon which I can add subsequent darker values either by adding more layers of  one pen...or using a next-darker value pen. I think this is similar to how one builds up a watercolor.

KNOWLEDGE LEARNED FROM FELLOW SKETCHERS: 

Below are some blogs I presently receive in my email inbox, because I subscribe to them. My list of favorite blogs evolves from time to time, depending upon what I am interested in learning. I highly recommend every single one of these if you want to improve as an artist/sketcher!

The Craftsy blog is a bit different from the others: I sign up for online classes on this site when they are on sale...even if I don't currently have time to give them attention. Once I have paid for a class, I can take it whenever the time is right for me. It remains online, ready for my attention, indefinitely.

 

Brenda Swenson....(watercolor demos)....http://brendaswenson.blogspot.com/

Gurney Journey....(James Gurney)....http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/

Roz Wound Up....(Roz Stendahl)....http://rozwoundup.typepad.com/

The Sketchbook....(Shari Blaukopf)....http://shariblaukopf.com/

Love to Draw....(Paula Ensign)....http://love-to-draw.com/

Craftsy....(Inexpensive online classes taught by sketchers)....http://craftsy.com/

Citizen Sketcher....(Marc Taro Holmes)....http://citizensketcher.com/

Urban Sketchers Chicago...(blog)....http:urbansketchers-chicago.blogspot.com/

I love when people tell me about educational blogs for Urban Sketchers which I haven't yet discovered.(Hint!) Perhaps our other USk-Tacoma Blog Correspondents will offer their current favorites too.

Best Regards,

Frances Buckmaster 

Sanford & Son

We met for our 1st Saturday outing at an antique shop, Sanford and Son.  It was 3 floors packed with things to sketch and I was a bit on overload.  I walked all three floors and finally picked this old, curving staircase to a library balcony.



As is typical, I had about 30 minutes left.  I wandered a bit more and found this odd painted mannequin in the Vintage Record shop. 



 We gathered in the large, open bottom floor to share sketches and have our group photo. 



More photos here.