Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Downtown Stables

My neighbor and fellow urban sketcher Stuart Lacey has been suggesting we go draw at the stable that houses the carriage horses just north of downtown. I finally got it together to join her yesterday, and it was fabulous. Fortunately, we showed up just as the owner dropped in, and he very hospitably gave us the run of the place and told us to come back when more was going on and bring a group. It would be a great group outing sometime.

Stuart watched the farrier shoeing a younger horse, but I was drawn to the whole line of stalls and settled down almost immediately to do the above watercolor.

It was getting noticeably colder by the time I finished, so I didn't start another one. Instead I did several quick pencil sketches waiting for Stuart to get done, and then we headed home for a little warmth. I definitely want to go back and paint more, though. What a fun afternoon.




Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Sketching at the Peabody




We had a great February gathering of the Memphis Urban Sketchers. It was a rainy day, so we were grateful that an indoor location was already planned. Because of the recent newspaper profile of the group, we had a huge number of first timers, and everyone enjoyed connecting with other artists, comparing our traveling art kits, and talking about our work habits and hopes for our art.

We had about 21 people overall, and it was a far more rewarding session than the last one I facilitated (where exactly two people showed up in 99 degree temperatures at Overton Park). Lots of people lingered for a good while to talk even after we'd compared our sketches and wound down on the actual drawing.






Saturday, January 28, 2012

February Sketch Group at the Peabody Hotel


Next sketch group
Saturday, February 4th
Peabody Hotel Lobby
10:00 AM - Meet at the fountain
You'll want to have a good sketching spot picked out before the Peabody Ducks come out at 11:00 AM!

Please comment here or on our Facebook page if you plan to attend. 

Hope to see you there!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Overton Park

I've been having a great time lately walking my dog over to the park and letting him enjoy the nice weather while I draw. Overton Park, our large, Central Park-inspired landscape is one of the very best things about living in my neighborhood, and I'm there almost every day.
Today it was both late and cloudy when I got there, so I just did a pencil sketch of one of my favorite trees.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Mary K VanGieson's Sketches from the Brooks



 This was Mary K's first time sketching with us, and we are happy to have her! She did the first two sketches here in pencil, and the helmet is in mixed media.


Sunday, January 8, 2012

Greg Larson's Sketches from the Brooks



These sketches are by Greg Larson, who is fairly new to the group. He likes sketching large-scale, and these were done on 18" x 24" paper, with pencil. These are from the Armed + Dangerous exhibit currently at the Brooks Museum of Art.


(click on the images to see more detail)

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Sketching at the Brooks Museum Today

Here are a few sketches from our gathering at the Brooks Museum today. Thanks to everyone for coming out today, especially all of the new folks! A big thank you to Martha Kelly for the free passes, and a super big thank you to Brooks Museum and their wonderful staff. Everyone was so accommodating and so patient with us, and the show Armed and Dangerous was awesome! We can't wait to come back!








Saturday, December 31, 2011

Next Sketch Group - Brooks Museum of Art










Next sketch group, Saturday, January 7th, 11:00 AM at the
1934 Poplar Avenue in Overton Park

Please comment here or on our Facebook page if you plan to attend. We'd like to let the Brooks know how many people are attending.

Hope to see you there!

On-site painting of the Brooks, above, by our own Martha Kelly!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011