Snowy Morning

Snowy morning - Click image for larger view

So it was cold this morning - about 5 degrees when I sketched this, and no I did not sit outside but rather in my car, running, with the heater on. I only had about a half an hour and scribbled this down as I listened to the final minutes of a book I had playing from my iPhone. --and it was likely the worst book ever - Hazardous Duty by W.E.B. Griffin - in the 'afterward' the author say it was supposed to be a comedy - go figure - it was just plain poorly written, and the reader -Dick Hill- was up to the task of reading it as poorly as it was written. Anyway, my drawing this morning lives up to the quality of the book I was listing to as I realized I didn't have my glasses on until the last minute..but the day wasn't a loss as I did get the chance to sketch. Good bad or indifferent just the act of sketching makes the minutes worth while.

A couple in ink only

The Cumberland Foundry - Click image for larger view

This morning I was at a foundry in northern Rhode Island to do some video and photo work and arrived a bit early to get this sketch in. It was a cool place to visit, I wish I had all day there just to hang out and absorb all that was going on.

Sunday morning I drove into Providence and parked on a side street and sketched this grand looking house. I liked the way it arranged on the hillside.

Hillside house, Providence - Click image for larger view

Crane on a barge

Crane & Washington Bridge, East Providence, RI - Click image for larger view

I got out for a little while today and went back down to the waterfront and attempted this crane again - getting in some of the location as well. It was a bit warmer than it has been, almost 55 degrees. I spent about an hour and 10 minutes smearing paint and ink in my sketchbook and this is the result. Should have started with the sky as it seems fairly blank. . . but am pretty happy with it regardless. I need to do some better planning to get the whole crane in the frame but I think the composition works pretty well -- I was actually trying to draw the eye into the area under the bridge and the building in the distance. And I realize now that I have completely left off a small house on top of the crane.. where the operator controls the crane..

A page of things

Page of sketches - Click image for larger view

I though I would publish this page so you can see just how much the weather has had an impact on my style.  And not just the weather but that astronomical thing called sunrise, which I think is getting a bit better but still way too late in the day for my sketching habits. So my time is limited and the mornings are cold and maybe just maybe I'm getting a bit lazy… but I do know that my sketches have been getting smaller. This page has generated a lot of chatter when I posted it elsewhere, so I thought I would share it here too. This is kind of a parking lot tour…starting in the upper left is the insurance company that is in the post below, a trash bin at the McDonalds in Wyoming (looking toward the Wendy's) where I parked one day, a funeral home in East Providence and another parking lot in Wyoming where the snow is piled up. These sketches were each done in about 15 minutes or less. The sunrise isn't until 7:15 and I am typically walking in the door at work by 7:30 so there isn't much light to sketch by and certainly no good shadow action going on. I will keep pushing forward and eagerly awaiting the earth swing around the sun to set the timing right. . .

Happy New Year

Quick sketch - Click image for larger view

Starting the year off in a small way. . . this morning I dashed off this little sketch of the Allstate Insurance office in Wyoming. I was in the car- it was about 20 degrees out - no ink this time just a bit of pencil to lay out the general shapes and then I dropped in some color. We had a light coating of snow and are expecting a lot more. So this is my first sketch of 2014 and I wish all of you a very Happy New Year and a warm thanks for stopping by my blog.

By The Way, I have a few copies of 'Morning Sketches' that I will sell directly for $15, FREE shipping. I will sign and personalize each copy. Contact me by email and we can work out the particulars: edhuff@gmail.com