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.

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.

Lawrence Sketchcrawl

I've been in a sketching slump lately. Gotta get over that. Going to a sketch crawl helps with that. We went to a local artist's farm today. She had a beautiful homestead with plenty of landscaping and neat buildings. She had a nice hospitality committee that consisted of a Great Pyrenees and another large dog and friendly cat. They would make the rounds to see everyone and steal some affection. Nice touch. I just wanted to spend the day there.

Coffee shop sketches: trying out new tools

By Marcia Milner-Brage in Cedar Falls, Iowa

I purchased a set of Derwent Inktense pencils recently. I've never been too enamored with a set of Caran d'Ache watercolor pencils I inherited from my daughter who got them as a birthday present 12 years ago. So I took my new toys to Cup of Joe coffee shop here in Cedar Falls, Iowa, to give them a test-drive.

When I'm not traveling out of town, I'm a real homebody; I rarely go to coffee shops or restaurants. So even though on home turf, I was exploring new terrain.

Cup of Joe is on the corner of Main and First Street. Trying to establish more about the venue, I put in the afternoon traffic on First Street, as seen through the front window. Aha, another for my Inside/Outside Series!

I started with a line drawing using a calligraphy pen. Oops....the ink was water soluble...adding watercolor pencils maybe not the best combination. The guy on the right got kind of mucked up. I do like the irregular line the pen makes, though. I'll have to see about loading it with permanent ink cartridges.  These two men seemed to be really enjoying each others company. Coffee shops are sure a great place to people watch!

mannequin with white sunglasses

I probably spent more time on this drawing than it was worth. Cup of Joe has a funky mid-century vibe. Mannequins with vintage clothes, formica tables, Fiestaware, and green and blue lampshades, which impart interesting colors onto people's faces. 

The juries still out on my new Derwent pencils. I do like their vibrant color, reminiscent of my wax pastels that I have used a lot for years now. I think less is more (like the first sketch versus the last).

Any thoughts?

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.

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.

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.

The Elms

Drawing from this past Saturday at The Elms Hotel in Excelsior Springs, MO.  Sat in a comfortable chair in the lobby and enjoyed drawing this wonderful fireplace.  This was my first ever attempt at using watercolor pencils.  Did my base drawing first with a fine point Sharpie in a large watercolor Moleskine and added the pencil / water over the top.  Interesting to use and I like some of the effects that resulted.  Fun afternoon with the sketchcrawl group.