New (Food) Frontier

I found a 2-day book binding class offered at Print League KC this past weekend. Had to drive in from Topeka to check it out. Also found out about a new donut shop called Donutology, in the Westport area. Before class I stopped by for a pastry and coffee. No time to sketch, so I had to come back after class to sketch. The second day Wilma came along and I had to stop by again before class to show her, and eat more pastry. It's a tough life. They do a great job there.

Fountain pen, watercolor pencil and waterbrush.

Lawrence Sketch Crawl

We got out today in the snow to meet at the KU Spencer Museum of Art. I've never been here before. Plenty of nice art. I walk around to see everything and come back to this weird display of a fictional account of a lab animal that was stolen from KU back in the 1980's. It takes a while to see all the clues to understand what's going on. I like that. The museum is paranoid about water sources so we are told to keep with pencils. I made a friendly amendment to that and chose my fountain pen. The art cop making the rounds didn't catch me. I guess I like living on the edge.

USk Lawrence February Sketch Crawl

I recently found out about the Urban Sketchers Lawrence group. My second outing with them was this morning. We met at the local Lawrence bowling alley. It reminded me of the bowling alley in Topeka that I went to as a youth. Nice clean place. The bowling balls are more colorful than in my youth.

We had time to sketch and chat, and met at the donut shop in the same shopping center to share drawings. All in all . . . a great day.

I warmed up with some quick gesture sketching using my Pentel pocket brushpen (just love that pen). Then I went on to this sketch. Fountain pen, watercolor pencils and waterbursh. I love all the leading lines! The blue animal took me some time to figure out. It took some kids showing up and using them for the light bulb to come on.

Some of us talked about the upcoming USk Symposium in Chicago. Sure looks like a good time.

The Local COOP

Here's a sketch of my rural urban environment. Our local COOP is still functioning, as when I was a kid riding my uncles grain truck at harvest time. Good memories. Now the scales are linked with a satellite antenna so they must be remote now. The building is empty of all furnishings. All in the name of reducing operating expenses. It's a different world now.

Today was windy and cold. After sketching I noticed I was chilled. When you're sketching you don't notice those things. The locals were keeping an eye on me. I parked in the entrance to a private gated campground and an employee asked me to move the car (they had plenty of room!). Then a couple trucks drove by slowly and gave me the eye. I guess I'm one of those shady sketch journalers. There goes the neighborhood!

Sketchcrawl in Lawrence

I missed last month's crawl but I made this month. This time we tagged along with the official Urban Sketchers Lawrence group. We sketched along Mass Street on a cold Sunday morning. I loved it out in the cold knowing it would warm up soon. The sun was out, too, which makes an emotional difference. The amount of people along Mass Street surprised me! I had no idea they had commerce going at that hour. Luckily I could buy some coffee. I had my thermos ready but I won't pass up a chance to give some business to a coffee retailer. Only one strange character approached me. He told me I had a good seat (my 3-legged stool on the sidewalk) and then pointed to a woman friend approaching and told me that was Jesus. Oh well, he didn't ask for money. Wilma took the time to do some reading in the warm car as I sketched in the cold.

The plan was to meet up at a local bar & grill at noon to eat and chat. I'm not sure what the disconnect was but they were not welcoming. Maybe they are a closed group. They only use Facebook and I don't have an account there so I don't know how they run their show. I'm just used to these things being open and friendly. Anyway, Wilma and I decided to eat at our own table and we had a nice outing by ourselves. We like coming to Lawrence to spend time. Topeka is closer but not by much. Lawrence has the atmosphere advantage of being smaller and having a major university.

September Lawrence Sketchcrawl

This month we gathered at a farmer's field northeast of Lawrence with 40 acres of sunflowers. The locals take this seriously, with several parking lots (fields) and professional photographers, etc. The farm sells at the local farmer's market so they are well known and supported. They have free will stations for contributions, especially if you cut one to take home. It was a sunny clear day and it wasn't unusual for people to say hi and watch you for a couple minutes.

Here is the handiwork of the rest of our group:

Lawrence Sketch Crawl

We had our Lawrence Sketch Crawl this morning. This time in my area: Topeka. Kansas State Capitol building. Four of us spent time sketching, and convened at a local restaurant for lunch and a chat. It was 24 degrees outside so it was sure nice to be inside. This view is from the gallery of the House of Representatives chamber. So much to sketch! I had to simplify things. The chandelier is one of two in the chamber. This one was actually in my sketch view and in the way, so I moved it over for a showcase of its own.

Lawrence Sketch Crawl

We went to the Lawrence Sports Pavilion today for our Sketch Crawl. We didn't know it, but they are hosting the Heartland of America Volleyball Tournament this weekend. Can we say 4000 young ladies playing on twelve courts for two days? This place was busy and noisy! We stayed for an hour and that was about all the nerves could take. Sketching people is one of my weaknesses but I sketched them anyway. Can't get better if I don't put myself out there. With the time limit I stuck to fountain pen/ink. Then we skipped over to Big Biscuit for some relative quiet, conversation and food.

Pre-Xmas

Wilma and I were in Lawrence today for some fabric/fiber shopping. For Wilma, that is. That gave me time to get some sketching done. The old Granada stood out to me.  We've never been inside because the bands that play there are from another planet (spoken by an old fart). They do good work, though, promoting the music scene.

I found a new coffeehouse in Lawrence

I finally found a coffee shop that's been open a while but under my radar. Decade Coffee. A fellow sketcher mentioned it at a recent Lawrence sketch crawl but I didn't take notes. Took me a little web surfing to find it but I did. It's on the very east edge of town, down by the tracks in a mostly industrial area that's not on the way to anywhere.

Friday morning I headed out to check on it and sketch a little. It turned out to be my kind of place. With a fresh latte I sat down and took out my gear for a nice quiet sketch session. Less than a dozen fellow patrons but several come and go. A father and gradeschool age son were there, and I think it's his minivan that had the bumper sticker that I mentioned in the sketch. Brought a smile.

I used a fountain pen with Noodler's Lexington Gray ink to lay it out. Then used my watercolor pencils and waterbrush. BFK Rives 140# in my own journal. Started the text there, then took it home to finish the text and add the map.

John Payne

Lawrence Sketch Crawl

We had our second sketch crawl yesterday. This time at the Eldridge Hotel on Mass Street in Lawrence. This town has so much history, and this hotel is no exception. Wish the walls could talk. In its 150 years it had been burnt down by the sheriff (pro-slavery sheriff didn't like the free-state owner), then by Quantrill. Three different investment parties. It keeps on ticking.

There were five of us sketchers. My tools are fountain pen and watercolor pencils with waterbrush. Others either use watercolor or stick with pencil sketching. Nice variety.

Lawrence Sketch Crawl

I heard about a sketch crawl in Lawrence so this morning we drove over. We met at the Visitor's Center, which was an old train station before being refurbished. I always like trains and the facilities that support them. Union Pacific freight trains and coal trains still roll by.

More Business Travel

Had a quick trip to Oklahoma City for a technical committee meeting. Took along my sketch supplies and managed to do some on-site sketching. The rain kept me from ranging too far, but I found the American Banjo Museum! I have a soft spot for banjo. I took it up in college as a way to avoid studying and have some fun. Never stopped playing.

I took a cell phone camera picture of the museum in case the rain started back up, but managed to sketch it live. Some construction workers were close by and busy, but I managed to stay out of their way.

They had a few banjos on display that us patrons could play, so I did. I was the only patron there. Wish I had time to sketch the Deering Banjo that I played, called the Zombie Killer! It had great inlays of zombies, and metal parts with the same theme.

Sketch process: lay it out with fiber tip pen, followed by watercolor pencils and waterbrush. Text comes when I get back home.

April Sketch Crawl - kinda

Wilma and I were on our way to Case Park for the face-to-face sketch crawl but the weather just got too bad as we drove by Bonner Springs. We went to Plan B. Turned around and spent time in Bonner Springs as the rain let up. Followed Kate's advice of "sketch where you are".

The weather remained misty most of the time, but not bad enough to keep from seeing the sights. Grabbed our picnic and a sketch at the Visitor's Center, which was a restored caboose. Then we went to the Moon Marble Company.

So, did the other sketchers still meet?

Business Travel to Little Rock

Just got back from a 2.5 day meeting. With drive time that pretty much wipes out a week, but for as little as I need to do it, I don't mind. Had time to do some urban sketching, too. I packed my sketch gear and I was able to grab one night on my own. Unlike my last travel, to San Antonio, this town doesn't mind if you sit for a while. Much more convenient to sketch. Time flies too quickly, though. As soon as it was done, it was time to call it a night.

Graceful Old Lady

I had a committee meeting in San Antonio this week and took along my sketch gear. This old building caught my eye from my hotel room. Luckily I had a chance to find out her story and sketch her. Chatted with an employee there and had a run-in with a cop and pan-handled by street people. All in the day of an urban sketcher. I have more of the story on my blog post. The Hotel Robert E. Lee is now a low-income apartment complex that rents rooms for $600-$800/month. This is just a couple blocks off the River Walk, so the location is prime. The masonry and woodwork are all tight and well maintained. They restored the old signage and the old water tower on the roof, too.

Alma Visit

I love these small towns. One of the women I work with lives in Alma and another was born and raised there and lives in another small town close to Alma. Since the town comes up in conversations I decided Wilma and I needed to make a visit. Their retail stores close at noon on Saturday since they are so small so we had to get there early.

As much as I wanted to sit and sketch, it was just too cold and windy. I shot a few pictures on my cell phone and sketched at home. I focused on the hardware store because it's been in the family of one of the two coworkers I mentioned since the 1970's. My 4-H Shooting Sports kids compete here in a couple weeks for air-rifle competition. We've made it here for the last six years, so I see some of the town then, but by the time our competition is done on Saturdays, the sidewalks are rolled up.

Lunchhour Coffee

I wanted to start the new year with a work-day tradition of mine. A cup of hot coffee at a coffeeshop over lunch, with time to sketch or draw. Needed a sketch, or course. This is the closest independent coffee shop to my work location right now. These coffeeshops seem to move or go out of business. Blackbird is a change of ownership a few years ago and is a nice shop with a personable owner. Until I win the lottery I'll need to limit my time here to just the lunch hour. I could spend the whole day.

Christmas Truce

I bought tickets for the John McCutcheon concert which was to feature his song "Christmas in the Trenches", about the Christmas Truce of WWI, held at the World War I Museum in KC. We missed the concert but spent about four hours going thru the Word War I Museum. I've seen the Kansas City monument for ages but haven't taken the time to visit it. My knowledge of WWI was minimal and I wanted to change that. The history is more engaging that I thought. It's a very involved history. Wilma and I absorbed it all. At their cafe for lunch I had Trench Stew (mmm!) with carrots, turnips and corned beef.

Some coffeeshop time in Pre-Xmas Salina

I had the good fortune of having time on my hands while Wilma attended an activity of her own. That gave me the chance to find a neat little independent coffeeshop in Salina. Had some sketch time while I took in the local scene.