This is a drawing I did in Paris. I’d do a little bit and then go eat. Then Scribble again before another trip across town. After a few afternoons of here and there sketching, this is what I got to show. My favorite part is how I handled the smoke coming out of the chimneys.
Paris Street Sketch
There is nothing like being retired and waking up in Paris. I strolled to the boulevard, slumped in my chair, and drew some magical architecture. Not a care in the world. The locals chatted me up. The only hiccup of my day is finding something vegan to eat in France. Plus my bones ache a wee bit.
St. Malo
After Nantes, we spent some time in St. Malo, France. The artist, Jean-Christophe Defline and his wife Valerie hosted us. They took us to all the medieval towns and markets in the area. It was a glorious holiday. I even spent some time in Valerie’s garden drawing her flowers. One morning, they took us to their local farmer’s market. Jean-Christophe was explaining to one of the farmers that I was vegan. He pointed to me and replied in French. “You are a bad tourist for the farmers who grow pigs.” That summed me up in a single poetic sentence.
France Collage
Time management. It’s my top priority when I draw with other people. When my pals chose something for us to sketch in Nantes, I had to judge quickly what I could accomplish in my three friend’s allotted time frame. Frequently, I just draw details instead of the big picture knowing they are going to finish in a flash. Over a few days, my details page filled up nicely. This made for a real conversation piece for the locals and other artists looking over my shoulder. Didn’t seem like anyone else was moved to try it themselves though. Can’t say I blame them. It’s quite tedious.
French Crane
My cohorts chose this crane to draw which is not something I would have picked. It’s a famous landmark in Nantes, France. Such a tall structure could never fit onto my sketchbook page. Yet there I was having to draw it. I had to squish and distort it so much in order to fake it onto the paper. Somehow, I succeeded. The other sketchers were quite amazed at my nifty trick. I admit there was a bit of luck involved. The guys I was with drew so fast. This forced me to sketch at lightning speed. Exhausting to say the least at my age. All were impressed, so it was worth it for my ego. We moved to another location when we were done. I sketched that locale into this crane scene too. My pals admired my two scenes in a single drawing routine. Plus, they appreciated that I made everything look like a Mad Magazine cartoon.
Cat Crow
I thought about putting a crow’s head onto a cat’s body. That was as far as I got. Once I start writing lyrics to a song, there’s no turning back. I had to see where it was going to take me. This is how the tune evolved. It’s now pressed in vinyl and I’m sending it out to the masses.
Blunder
I made a blunder in my sketchbook which is known to happen. I drew this Greek statue in The Met. When I finished, I realized I had my book open in the wrong direction. Now as you flip through my perfect sketchbook, you come upon a page with a Greek statue drawn upside down by mistake. I laughed and flipped the sketchbook back to how it should be and continued drawing as if I meant to draw the statue upside down. If I didn’t admit to it, I’m sure no one would have thought I didn’t do it on purpose. I kind of like admitting I’m an idiot. It’s very satisfying.
Headless
When I draw at The Met, there are heads lying about everywhere. Nothing attached, just lots of heads. Then there is this nicely dressed body without, you guessed it, a head. Maybe each week they could put a different head on the headless guy’s torso. I know they can do it digitally, just like Colorforms. Young people won’t know what the hell Colorforms are. Showing my age.
I See Squirrels
Back to the Botanical Gardens to draw a cherry tree with my friend Stephen Petronis. Just like the young character, Cole, in the movie Sixth Sense, who sees dead people everywhere, I see squirrels everywhere. My friend claimed there weren’t any around but you can plainly see I must have seen something looking back at me.
Twigs
When I was recently in the Adirondacks to look up in the sky at the solar eclipse, I spent the rest of the time looking down at the ground to find stuff for this drawing. There were no flowers yet, it was the tail end of winter objects everywhere. I made do.
Cherry Bomb
I drew this cherry tree in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens before the blossoms come out. For once I didn’t make any observations that I could make witty comments about.
Met
I was drawing in The Met with my friend, Steve Petronis. A group of 7-year-old girls surrounded us. They told their parents they wanted to draw too. The parents came prepared with paper and colored pencils. Seemed they’d done this before. The five girls sat at our feet and drew. One insisted on sketching 4 inches away from me. At one point, she turned to me and asked, “how are you drawing in 3-D?” Made me laugh. She was drawing the outlines of flowers. I asked if I could draw on her sketch. She approved. So, I shaded one of her drawings and made it come to life. Her face lit up with recognition. Then she went right back to her drawing, ignoring everything I told her.
Naked Granny
Recently in life drawing class, the model was an elderly grandmother. She kept smiling at everyone like we were her grandkids. It seemed odd that such an old woman wanted to pose nude but who am I to judge. She gave me a warm feeling because she was so calm and happy every moment of the session. It sort of felt like I had gone over to a friend’s house and their grandmother just happened to be sitting nude in the living room. No one seemed to notice or care so I just went with the flow.
