Kirkwood Amtrak Station

Kirkwood Amtrak Station
©2015 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor in Strathmore Visual Journal (140-lb CP paper)
5" x 7" (13 x 18 cm)

I met up with the St. Louis Drawing & Painting Meetup Group at this month's Urban Sketching outing.  We sketched the historic and picturesque Amtrak train station in Kirkwood, Missouri.  There were so many people out on this beautiful early fall morning; people walking dogs, shopping, and attending a nearby farmer's market across the street.  Several trains (both freight and passenger) moved through the station area while we sketched; the freight trains operated at deafening levels and seemed to take forever to pass by.  But very cool nonetheless.

I had intended to substitute out a few paints in my kit (Quin Gold & Hematite Burnt Scarlet) before heading out to the event, but forgot in my haste to get out the door on time.  Both of these pigments work well on my larger palette, but I feel that I like the weak opacity of a true raw sienna when I'm sketching on location, as I use it a lot for rendering stone, masonry, etc.  I have been experimenting with Quin Gold as a substitute for Raw Sienna, but again, seem to be preferring the Raw Sienna.

Urban Sketching in St. Louis -- West Port Plaza

I organized an urban sketching event in St. Louis for the St. Louis Drawing and Painting Meetup Group.  We met at West Port Plaza in the morning, then spread out to sketch in the many nooks and crannies of the plaza.  We had a great turnout, and the weather cooperated; while we could have usd a little more sun (to emphasize shadows), the temperatures stayed tolerable and it didn't rain.  Everyone had a great time and we ended with eager discussions about where and when to have the next event.  I hope that some of you outside the St. Louis area will be able to join us sometime; I plan to hold these roughly at the last weekend of each month.  I'll post on this blog with notifications.  Stay tuned!

  

More info about the sketches I did at https://StevePenberthy.com

St. Charles - Main & First Capitol

St. Charles - Main & First Capitol

(c)2015 Steve Penberthy

Watercolor on Strathmore Gemini 140-lb paper in handmade sketchbook, 

6.75" x 10.25" (17 x 26 cm)

I sketched this on location while sitting in direct sun on a hot, humid day.  I'm starting to realize how much Urban Sketching can be an endurance sport!  I liked the angle from which I sketched this scene, but next time I'll scope out a shadier spot...!

Sketching the Sketchers

Sketching the Sketchers
©2015 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor and Micron pen in Moleskine sketchbook
5" x 16.5" (13 x 42 cm)

I attend life-drawing sessions every so often to work on my observational and figure-drawing skills, but I've always drawn the model--never considering that I could draw the people who are drawing the model. So, my goal was to do just one drawing during the evening and try to sketch the sketchers--to capture those who were intent on drawing the model.  At the beginning, I was unsure what sketchbook/format would work best; I finally decided on my watercolor Moleskine since I felt a panoramic format would be best.  I first roughed in the figures in pencil, then followed up with a Pigma Micron 03 pen; watercolor washes followed.

Olive Garden

Olive Garden
©2015 Steve Penberthy
Watercolor and pencil on
Strathmore 140-lb cold-press watercolor paper
in Strathmore Visual Journal sketchbook
9" x 12" (23 x 30 cm) Sketched on location in Richmond Heights, Missouri.  I sketched this scene during lunch while sitting in my car in a parking lot across the street from the restaurant.  The weather was warm but, with the windows down, there was enough of a breeze to keep things comfortable.   

West Port Plaza, St. Louis

West Port Plaza

©2015 Steve Penberthy

Watercolor and Micron pen on 

Strathmore Gemini 140-lb cold-press watercolor paper

in handmade sketchbook

6.75" x 10.25" (17 x 26 cm)

West Port Plaza is a mixed-use retail, entertainment, and office development in Maryland Heights, Missouri.  Lots of great restaurants here.  Normally, the Plaza is a busy, bustling place; however, during the hot & humid afternoon while I sketched this, the plaza was nearly empty.  Too early for evening dining, I suppose people were either out doing their back-to-school shopping or staying in where it was cool; not sitting on a park bench sweating and sloshing paint around as I was...  :)

Arctic Ice Sno-Cone Stand

Arctic Ice Sno-Cone Stand

©2015 Steve Penberthy

Watercolor & Sharpie pen in Moleskine sketchbook

5" x 16.5" (13 x 42 cm)

Sketched on location in Creve Coeur Lake Park, Maryland Heights, MO USA.  Creve Coeur Lake is the largest natural lake in Missouri.  I sketched this scene of the Arctic Ice Sno-Cone Stand while sitting at a picnic table across the bike trail from the little snow-cone building.  The park was busy with people riding their bikes, running, walking (both for exercise and walking their dogs), people sailing on the lake, and people fishing.  The snow-cone stand had lots of customers while I sketched; the warm and humid afternoon lent itself to indulging in a cold, sweet treat.

Urban Sketchers Midwest at Kansas City's First Friday/Hello Art event!

We had an amazing time at Kansas City's First Friday event; we were invited to share our sketchbooks and journals at Kendall King Group in KC's Crossroads Arts District.

I brought journals, art supplies, prints, giveaways, and signup sheets!  We gave away a Stillman & Birn Zeta journal and a copy of my book, Artist's Journal Workshop.

Here's Don Gore and his wonderful work--Don invited us to take part in the First Friday event and share our sketchbooks.  That's Don in the red shirt.

People were fascinated by his work!  (So was I.)

Joseph shared his sketchbooks and minded the store when I was out socializing, drooling over others' journals, and snapping photos.  In the foreground, you can see some of the simple travel kits I brought for inspiration.

Jeanette Sclar shared her incredible journals and field boxes, and encouraged people to make their own 5-minute journals.  Her station was really popular!

Holly Spencer had large prints and lots of interest in her work!

Steve Penberthy came from St. Louis to share...his tablet slide show was a brilliant idea, and showed his process from sketch to finished painting.

This is one of Steve's sketches...I wish I had gotten a photo of the finished painting as well.

Don invited other USk-Midwest artists to send some of their work if they couldn't be part of the First Friday event, and put it up on the wall with some of ours, too.  Very inspiring!

Ladies checking out my journals...

Jeanette sharing inspiration

Wish you could all have been there!  

(sub)Urban Sketch - McDonald's

Hi all!  This is an on-location sketch I did a while back, but wanted to get a posting up while the blog's still new!  I will be working on some new urban sketches in the very near future, and am looking forward to seeing all of the great artwork that will be on this blog--the Midwest has some awesome sketch fodder.  I, among others, will be posting sketches of the St. Louis area.  I'm excited about this blog--thanks Kate for leading the charge on this! -- Steve