James and State + Coffee and Fair

At the intersection of James St. and State St. in Syracuse, just past 81 overhead is a small lot with a building about 3 feet from the edge of the the raised highway, in the background is the tower of a local closed church (turned Stained glass studio). This sketch is awaiting a watercolour (I will post it when complete) The square is clearly seen in the background and a few sketches are awaiting the church from different vantage points.

For fun I thought it would be neat to do a whole series of the state fair. So my goal was to do at least one sketch per visit. We went six times. This is the only sketch I completed. go figure.

The other sketch is a compound drawing of a coffee cup. On the left the perspective can be seen, on the bottom right is the elevation with a small hint of a section of the saucer. On the top right is the plan of the cup which then extends into the other views, unifying the composition as a whole.

Two cups and Lecture Notes

School Started last week and with it comes a series of meetings and lectures. Talking to Daniel Lim in Singapore, he shared on his site sketches of his meetings. This one is for him. The subject is obvious. What is not so obvious is the "signature stance" that many people take. Consider watching people around you and see that the way they stand is a part of their persona/identity. Here are four people in the upper admin of Syracuse University...despite their names being present...can you recognize them by the positioning of their feet?

The Next two postcards return to my joy of Coffee sketching. The first one is a recent sketch from a local cafe: "Stronghearts Cafe" on E. Genessee St. Very college culture interior, all vegan...which adds to the "complexity" of the cappucino illustrated. The second sketch is for Kiersten at Cafe Kubal on James st. I have owed her one for some time now. Neither really show a strong experimentation with composition...nor development in illustration...but they serve more of keeping in practice of reading lines, form and light on surfaces. There is even a small sketch on the kiersten's card that just focuses on the negative space of the containers. It's the in between that can often go unrecognized.

Stronghearts

Kiersten's Sketch

Border Crossing

My wife and i went up to Toronto, Ontario last weekend to celebrate our 5th anniversary. We stayed with my Uncle and his wife and had a great time. While on the move, we didn't get much down time to sketch, but I was able to get the following views out:

La Societe Bistro
There is a new restaurant on Bloor street where my uncle and I collaborated on the 20'x30' glass ceiling. It opened in April 2011 to much acclaim and I thought it would be a perfect place to celebrate our anniversary. This is the sketch from dessert and an image of the ceiling.

And if you are interested in seeing the scope of my uncle's work here is his site: http://www.solariumglassdomes.com/

The next morning we woke to a wonderful breakfast with fruit in a glass container and a bowl-o-latte

after running about town we finally left for home. What a dream! the QEW was accident and backup free. We zoomed all the way into Lewistown to cross back over the border when...all came to a halt. For 2.5 hours we sat at the border crawling the final 1/4 mile to the States. This sketch (done in our final minutes in que) was executed more out of frustration then inspiration...and when I was finally getting into it...of course we get up to the border gate. ugh. Has anyone experienced this?



Albany, NY Sketching

I attended a conference in Albany, NY this week. The city is amazing. The collection of architecture in downtown is a living museum of styles and scales: from monumental government buildings to pedestrian brownstones and storefronts - all within comfortable walking distance. Taking little excursions between conference talks, I explored bits of the city.

The first one documents the collage of signage projecting, clinging and hanging outside of Lodge's, Albany's oldest store. The seam of the book plays as corner/edge to the building.

The second sketch is the view from my hotel room window. In the foreground is the (relatively) recently renovated St. Peter's Church. Directly behind it is the NY state Capitol building undergoing a facade restoration. To the right of the crane is H.H. Richardson's City hall. To the left the tall linear tower is Corning tower. At it's base in the distance is the Cathedral.

The final pages of this little sojourn is an analysis of the "Million Dollar Stair" in the state capitol Building. Designed by H.H. Richardson, this stair connects four floors with 139 steps through some of the most Piranessian style arches and columns. The scale is monumental in size, but personal in detail. AmAzing!

The sketch on the left is a partial section attempting to figure out the spatial interchanges between the levels. Partial plans parrallel the section on the right of the page (and the steps are counted in between)

The sketch on the right attempts to be an experiential perspective through the diagonal of the space...but seriously, nothing can capture that experience! Worth a visit and climb if ever in Albany! Cheers!

NYC post #3 06-29-2011 : subway back to Times Square

To end the day, we hopped on the Q line express back to Times square to pick up the car. We started from Syracuse at 10:30 am and were about to face a 6 hour drive back (unknowingly due to one missed off ramp). To end the sketching of the day...a quick sketch to capture the view of the transit car...not the strongest result...Its flattness and obvious struggle with line selection...shows how out of practice I am with the immediate sketch...but what a day, and what a time...captured here...captured in Line.

NYC post #2 06-29-2011 : MESA Grill for Dinner

After the show we took the subway down to Union Square to take in Mesa Grill (the famous restaraunt by that well know Iron Chef Bobby Flay) It was AMAZING!!! These are a little rough again...because the colors and obviously, the tastes, could not be reproduced. But for kicks its fun to attemt it!

Here is the Dinner card:

Have you ever had fried Zuchinni Blossoms? unbelievable (bottom left hand corner), spinach, Tuna, Pork loins, jalapeno bread, and a tamale. Phenomenal!

For Dessert: Cappucino and a blueberry/key lime tart.

NYC post #1 06-29-2011 : URBAN SKETCHER ON NATIONAL TV!!

My wife and I were fortunate enough to get tickets to the final studio audience of Glenn Beck (thanks Mollie). While some readers of this may not agree with his political perspective, it shouldn't take away from the challenge and joy of the urban experience...the experience of being in a TV studio and one with the exposure of Beck's broadcast! It was really something to behold. We are big fans and it was a unique opportunity to be a part of something as significant as this...and get filmed sketching!! Go Urban Sketchers!

Here I am next to my wife (bottom left hand corner) sketching on a pad of Strathmore 6x4 watercolor postcards:

Here is the sketch completed (Oscar is the Camera Man):

Fathers Day Scene ... twice

So for Mothers Day, I attempt a water colour of the flowers my boy and I gathered for my wife (see earlier post).

For Fathers day, I worked on a composition that has intrigued me for awhile. Waking up each morning, especially now that the sun is at this summer angle, the morning light strikes our new swing set in the back yard casting this displaced shadow while the greens of our view are magnified. The structure of the swing set acts as a framing device against two datums, a vertical in the ash tree, and a horizontal of the old barn wall. They are the same tone which is a very nice offset to the lush greens around.

For me what makes the composition are the punctuations of primary colors. The slide and swing set the yellow. The baby swing is a striking blue (offset by the broad sky beyond) and in the lower back ground, bold pink piannese (sp?) pattern the wall. Each morning it calls for a sketch. This weekend I had the chance. Here is the literal version:

To understand how the composition is organized...or better yet how I was actually "deliniating" the scene I also sketched analytical view...editing out textures and descriptors, leaving the page to the basic organizing linear arrangments and color fields.

It was a great Fathers day. These were done in the morning...leaving the rest of the day to play with the kids and utilize the view for its true intention: running, swinging and sliding.

Kubal Coffee Sketch

This is the latest in a series of sketches celebrating my friend, Matt's coffee shop. Cafe Kubal here in Syracuse NY. It is a common habit of mine (see earlier posts) but it is one I truly enjoy and I can share with Matt as sketches of his coffee or shop usually end up at his shop on James St. He has a new stand at the Farmers Market on Tuesday and will be opening up a few counters around town. I am really excited for him, so this one is for him.

Recent sketches

It has been noted to me, nore then once, that nothing new has been posted since Mothers Day. We are now in June and something has to go up. A small glass, a milkshake with my boy and view of Westcot street for Mike Ma.

The small glass contained an iced espresso from Cafe Express in Syracuse. SO GOOD.

The little combination of containers is just a record of a day with my 3 yr. old boy and sharing our first Milkshake. Chocolate. It was served to us at the Solvay Diner in Syracuse where the space is craving to be drawn some more.

This one is for Mike Ma, checkout his blog "booksketchin". This is a view down Westcott st. near the Syracuse Campus. I'm sitting in fromt of an amazing Latin restaurant, alto Cinqo. The sun was sharp the air hot but the shade provided just enough cover to enjoy the fare.