The Memphis Urban Sketchers participated officially in the International Sketch Crawl this past Saturday for the first time. We met downtown in the South Main arts district, which has a lovely mix of old buildings to draw.
I love everything about the Memphis Urban Sketchers.
I love going out with a group to draw (and not be the only one huddled
on the sidewalk). I love the folks in our group. And I love learning new
ways of drawing. Today, inspired by a couple of people in our group, I
tried drawing with a fountain pen and using plain water to make washes
in the ink. I couldn't find my water brush (an all-in-one, pen-looking
contraption), so I just used a regular watercolor brush instead, and I
do like the softness of it.
Above is my first attempt, with
a little blue watercolor added in. It's a quick method, and I did a
whole series this morning, enjoying the brain fizz of trying something
new.
After meeting up to compare sketches, five of us hung around to have
lunch in the famous Arcade restaurant and keep on sketching. I enjoyed
the camaraderie, the sweet potato pancakes, and (once again) sketching
in company.
I added extra watercolor to this one, but I wish I'd left it a little more simple. It's easy to overshoot the mark.
