Introduction, sketching, and general silliness.

I've been asked to introduce myself to the group, and I'm relatively certain the folks doing the asking had no idea what they were getting themselves into. I'm a generally silly person, and when I dug around for a photograph of myself to include, the image below was the most serious image I could find.

My name is Mark Anderson and I've made my living as an artist, designer, and visual art educator for over thirty-five years. My students and patrons often ask me where ideas "come from." I can't speak for anyone else, but I like to believe I'm a student of the world around me; I unconsciously doodle on any scrap of paper that happens to be at hand and I seldom feel obliged to make a "photographic" representation; rather I enjoy trying to sketch the mood or quality of the moment. With few exceptions, I use a Lamy Safari medium nib pen loaded with Noodler's; I also carry a small travel kit of watercolors. In general, I will try to keep my sketches fresh by putting pen to paper without the "safety net" of a pencil sketch.

I'm also a lot more interested in the process of drawing than in the final "finished" product. Drawing is fun, thumbing through a sketchbook is interesting, but I don't choose to dwell on my finished work. I share it and move on to something new. Because I'm interested in the process, though, I'll often capture the stages of development as I've done in the illustration above.

I enjoy simplicity and I enjoy travel - seeing the world, meeting the people who populate the world. My journeys - and thus, my sketches - are often made while I'm walking or bicycling. I find that those folks who zoom by a place in their car, maybe hopping out occasionally to snap a photograph, are missing the essence of the place. Slow exploration often yields intriguing details lost to the traveler in a hurry. 

This past weekend, for instance, I decided to explore an often overlooked - or even avoided - part of Kansas City. I love areas like this, where the signage seems to date back decades.

I'll often draw buildings or trees, but people really interest me. I seldom miss an opportunity to create likenesses of those around me, and I often will simply fill page after page with ten to fifteen second gesture sketches of people, scurrying around in the everyday hustle and bustle. The sketch above was made yesterday at Ophelia's in Independence. Restaurants are a marvelous place to draw - your subject is often relatively stationary unlike people out on the street!

I've committed to contributing at least ten posts a year, and I appreciate being asked to do so. You may see a flurry of sketches from me at some point in the year, and then things on my end my go quiet for a while as life catches up. I'm pretty active on Flickr, and manage several blogs as well - of particular interest to this group might be Just Sketching. If you are a cycling enthusiast, you may also know me as The Early Morning Cyclist, where I frequently share the results of my bike sketch outings.

OK, enough about me. Let's get out there and draw!

A lovely day for our April KC-area sketchcrawl!

We met at Belvoir Winery in Liberty, Missouri, this time...a perfect day, and a good turnout of the day before Easter Sunday!

It was sunny and mild but very windy!  We had a terrific time...

This old place has seen a number of uses over the years--a hotel, the Odd Fellows Home, and now Belvoir Winery!  It's a great place to sketch, and we've been there twice before.  You can see an earlier crawl in these posts: http://urbansketchers-midwest.blogspot.com/2012/09/september-sketchcrawl.html 
and http://urbansketchers-midwest.blogspot.com/2012/06/sketchcrawl-at-belvoir-winery-in.html

Honest, the spatter was on purpose!

Malinda Welte sketched the grounds...

Susan White chose a small vignette.  She found little little watercolor kit in Europe when she discovered she'd left her paints at home!

Susan White and Sue Shelton Habib enjoy sketching on the front patio.

Warren Ludwig takes the long view at far left, while Keith Cobb focuses on the front of the old building.

Looking for line-of-site perspective.

Keith and Malinda, hard at work...

It was SO windy we went inside...this is the view out the back window!

Yes, actually is IS real..

This gentleman donated his body to science with the understanding that his skeleton would return to the Odd Fellows Home; he's part of Belvoir's miniature museum dedicated to the building's past.

After, all but Susan met at Conrad's Restaurant and Ale House, in Liberty, for sharing and great food.

Warren posted his sketches on his blog, here: http://www.ludstuff.blogspot.com/  Wish I had more shots of other peoples' art, sorry! 

KC Area Sketchcrawl is Saturday!

Hi all...

Those of you in the Kansas City area, please feel free to join us at Belvoir Winery in Liberty, Missouri, Saturday the 19th at 12:30!

That's on Hwy 291, the old Odd Fellows Home; not sure where we'll go to meet and eat later, our favorite Mexican food place seems to be gone now, but we'll figure something out.  Conrad's hosted us, last time, and it's delightful.

Check their website, you'll find lots of inspiration! http://www.belvoirwinery.com/ 

(The above is my sketch from a year or so ago--we had a rainy day to work inside...)

Out and about this past week...Independence and Liberty, MO

I'd been wanting to sketch the old waterworks in the town I grew up in for ages--it's now their Community Center!  The original spring is just down the hill and to the left.  We parked in an awkward place, off the street and in the grass, so I worked FAST and added color from memory.

I loved the tall windows with their arched tops...later we ended up at Costco and I sketched my fellow shoppers as usual.

A day or two earlier, we were at Liberty Hospital to have J. checked out...always interesting gadgets in those places!  (The bird list it from my sketch on the facing page...)

Out and About, Home and Abroad

Sometimes I think I live in parking lots!

Trying out a new Pilot Penmanship pen from JetPens, in the neighborhood.  It came with water-soluble ink cartridges, so I went with that!

September Sketchcrawl

We were small but mighty at our September sketchcrawl at Belvoir Winery in Liberty! Vicky was the only other sketcher, but we had a wonderful time sketching, sharing art supplies, giving eachother prezzies, exploring, and having a delicious early dinner at Conrad's before she and Bill set out on their 3-hour drive home.  You saw her account in this post.  (I'm a tad slow!)

There's so MUCH to sketch there, it's hard to know where to begin.

Here's Vicky's "studio"...

And here's mine...a circular double chaise that had seen better days!  I balanced between the slats...

Joseph found a perch!

This is what I was sketching from the chaise...the ruins of a beautiful old building.  The other spread was all done at the main entrance.

Bill and Vicky--he's such a patient man!

sketchcrawl, 15 Sept., a photo by vickylw on Flickr.

Saturday we met at the Belvoir Winery in Liberty, Missouri for a sketchcrawl. The winery is located in one of the old buildings originally home to the Odd Fellows Lodge. Lots of interesting artifacts and photos are on display from the lodge days . . . including the skeleton of George, one of the lodge's early members, in his glass-topped coffin!

I did not get very much down on paper --- there's just so much to draw in this place, it was hard for me to focus. (The cup of tea and turnpike ticket were drawn during the 3-hour drive from our home in Kansas. A bit wonky in perspective).

 
Here, Kate is sketching one of the old buildings that is still in a state of decay and neglect, while sitting on what used to be a twin chaise lounge. There are so many options available to sketch here, both inside and out --- we definitely need to return on future sketch crawls.

Sketchcrawl at Belvoir Winery in Liberty, Missouri

This is at the entrance to the former Odd Fellows Home, now the prizewinning Belvoir Winery...

I knocked over my paint water, then the rains came...so I added spatter!  LOTS of spatter...

Here's Don, sketching across the courtyard...right before the skies opened!

The girls found a nice covered pergola to relax and sketch out of the wet...

We often like to sign a page when we're together...everyone signed mine of the pergola with a view of what must be the old chapel beyond it...

Malinda joined me on the porch...

Meanwhile Joseph found a dry, comfy place...

And then he got me a glass of wine...I sketched looking out the window at the back of the building...

Brown ink and wet watercolor for my view out the window...

We ALL sketched inside for a while!  Rianna's adding color...

After, we all went to Los Compas to eat and share our sketches...

 

More quick sketches while out and about...

We were out and about early yesterday, so I took the opportunity to sketch a bit on the historic Liberty square.  This is looking at the top of their museum building through the trees...

We were SO early Office Depot wasn't even open yet, so I sketched as much of the shopping center as I could while we waited...

And today a friend called and asked if we wanted to do lunch.  Um, YEAH!