23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl Starting Out

Read through several posts to see all the sketches that Barbara and I did for Sketch Crawl in Bryan and College Station. I hope that they are now in some sort of order. I had invited people to meet at the LaSalle Hotel in downtown Bryan and, if we had a group, we could decide where we wanted to work. Barbara met me at the coffee shop of the LaSalle, but no one else came.
I used a 5"x 7" sketchbook, a pencil, a Pitt pen, and a Winsor Newton travel set of watercolors. I also brought a small watercolor sketchbook, and a larger watercolor sketchbook, in case I might need them. Barbara used a small sketchbook, a few pens, and a small set of travel watercolors.

Hot Summer Day

Cecelia

ink and watercolors

We knew that it was going to be an extremely hot day, with temperatures topping 100 degrees, so we planned on finding a cool place to sketch for the July Sketch Crawl. Fields and lawns are burned and the dirt is either hard or sandy from the drought and heat. Some trees are beginning to die. A boat parked in a field of parched weeds caught my attention.

Orange Juice At The LaSalle

Cecelia

ink and watercolors

I'm not a coffee drinker, so, while I waited for Barbara, I ordered orange juice to drink. I picked out a table by a window overlooking the street , and got out my sketchbook. No one was just having coffee. There was a group, meeting in a corner of the room, a man with a computer, a woman with a book, groups of people walking in and out of the hotel, the people working behind the counter-all wrapped up in their own worlds.
I was fascinated by the wood work and mirrors, the art deco lights and furnishings. I had a little trouble with getting to the restroom. The rest room is downstairs. I had trouble finding the buttons in the elevator. I hate to ride elevators alone! But, the ceiling lights at the elevator in the basement, and the woodwork and mirrors in the elevator, made the wait enjoyable.
I just hoped I could find my way back!

It turned out to be a nice day.

Read on down the posts to see the rest of our sketches and adventures.

And be sure to go to http://www.sketchcrawl.com to see art work and experiences from around the world on that same day.

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23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl Beginning

Reading

Barbara

ink

Barbara sketched this woman, enjoying reading a very thick book, in the coffee shop as we started Sketch Crawl.

Computing In The Coffee Shop

Barbara

ink

Barbara sketched a man at the next table, using his lap top. She used her small travel set of watercolors, a tiny folding brush, and a film container with water to add color to her sketch.

Ladies Meeting

Barbara

ink

When we arrived at the coffee shop, a group of ladies were having a meeting under an unusual antique mirror. They kept moving, so this was particularly challenging for Barbara.

Barbara Sketching

Cecelia

ink and watercolor

Since we didn't get any photographs, I did a little drawing of Barbara, sketching, while people walked past the window. I am having trouble getting my skin tones right. The yellow is just too strong. It was nice to hear people who were walking about, and talking about shopping and making lunch plans downtown.

Ordering

Cecelia

ink and watercolors

Someone with a pony tail, hanging across their back, was ordering at the counter. I thought I would do a person, too, since Barbara was doing people. Of course, this person, too, left and I had to finish from my gesture drawing.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere at the LaSalle Hotel coffee shop, and downtown Bryan.

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23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl Morning

View From The Window

Cecelia

ink and watercolor

My view through the window of the LaSalle Hotel coffee shop window. Included is the back of the sign that hangs in the window. On the left is the Masonic Lodge and, on the right, is the restored Carnegie Library. There is a little pigeon in the round window at the top of the library. There is a garden area between the two buildings.

Masonic Lodge

Barbara

ink and watercolor

Barbara sketched her view of the Masonic Lodge through the LaSalle Hotel coffee shop window. A barber shop is on the ground floor. She used her small travel set of watercolors to add color to her work. For water, she had an empty film container with water, and a tiny folding brush.

WWoman Sitting In The Courtyard

Barbara

ink

Barbara sketched this woman, sitting in the courtyard outside the coffee shop of the LaSalle Hotel. Of course, like other subjects, she moved before Barbara was finished. Barbara enjoyed the challenge of drawing people rather than buildings, or other stationary objects, because they don't sit still and wait while they are being sketched.

Courtyard Gate

Cecelia

ink and watercolor

I don't know what happened, but this is, all of a sudden, wanting to make big spaces between lines. Sorry about that! I didn't do anything.

While Barbara was challenged by drawing moving subjects, I was looking at color, light, shadow, shapes, and that sort of thing. I liked the plantings in the little courtyard, and the iron gate beside the wide windows of the coffee shop.

These were some of our sketches for the World Wide Sketch Crawl. We failed to get any photos this time because Barbara didn't have her camera with her, and Joni didn't have batteries for her's. So, no photos to share, this time. Hopefully, our sketches will be okay to show part of our day.

Checking In

Cecelia

ink and watercolor

We left the coffee shop about noon. I had asked people to meet at the coffee shop, then, after 10 a.m., to check in at the Frame Gallery, so we would have some idea of who was sketching, and where. We seemed to be sketching alone.

We were greeted at The Frame Gallery by Sarah, the resident dog. Greta was helping customers select a frame for the portrait that she had painted of them.

We spent some time trying to decide on a place to eat. I thought of baked potatoes and atmosphere at Rudy's in College Station, so that is where we headed. Sort of. I am not a very good navigator so we got lost!

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My apologies for this double spacing. And for having to put these in several posts! But that is all I could figure out to do.

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23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl Start

Texas Rider

Cecelia

ink and watercolor

It was my job to direct Barbara to Rudy's barbeque for lunch after spending the morning sketching at the LaSalle Hotel coffee shop. I started sketching this young man, riding on a tool box in back of a pick up truck, missed the turn, and it ended up taking us an hour to find Rudy's. I couldn't have read the signs, anyway. This town is growing and changing so much that I can't find the landmarks that have always been here!

Signs

Joni and Ashton joined us for lunch. I gave them paper and pencil to draw something for Sketch Crawl and this is what they did. Joni thought this sign, admonishing people to clean up, was hilarious. It does fit, I guess, for people who are away from home for the first time, in college, etc. And for some older folks who forget the lessons they learned. Ashton did a quick No Smoking sign. The last time we were here, he laughed at the sign that said No Smoking, right next to the fireplace! And, considering that the food is smoked, I thought that was a funny sign, too.

Couple Eating Barbeque
Barbara

ink

Barbara sketched this man who was having lunch with his wife. He detected her drawing and they stopped to look at what she was doing. We told them about Sketch Crawl and gave them a flyer. I think they were impressed.

Oops!.. They Left
Barbara

ink

Barbara was sketching and her subjects left. A problem we encounter when drawing from life. Our subjects often tend to move!

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More about out Sketch Crawl Day in another post!

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23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl

Lunching At Rudy's

Cecelia

pencil

Barbara and I spent the afternoon in the air conditioning at Rudy's barbeque in College Station, sketching. The rustic surroundings with a Texas Aggie theme made a pleasant place to sketch after we had a lunch of barbeque, served on waxed paper for plates and paper towels for napkins. I sketched people eating on what was once a screened porch and is now closed in with lots of windows. In the main part of the restaurant, tables are covered with oil cloth red and white checked table cloths, while, on the porch, there are wooden picnic tables. There is a nice view of the creek behind the restaurant from the porch area.

Guys' Lunch

Barbara

ink

Barbara sketched these two men, enjoying barbeque for their lunch at Rudy's.

Guys' Lunch II

Cecelia
ink and watercolor

I sketched the same two men as Barbara was sketching. I added some watercolors to mine. I was curious about the orange t-shirt on the wall behind them, but I didn't get up to examine it. I thought it was odd to have a University of Texas symbol in this place that had an Aggie theme!

Ceiling Lights at Rudy's

Cecelia

ink and watercolor

I wanted to do a drawing that would show the whole scene at Rudy's. But I was using a small sketchbook that fit into my purse, and I just didn't feel I had enough room. I started with the ceiling lights and, by this time, Barbara was ready to leave. I did show how the lights look to me, with AMD and cataracts. I'm sure they were simple, round bulbs, but, to me, they had sort of a flowery shape.

Cleaning Up

Cecelia

ink and watercolor

This young lady caught my attention as she walked past and greeted us. A team of people, dressed in the uniform of the business, seemed to sweep across the restaurant and start to clean as we were getting ready to leave. I couldn't help but notice the clean, white, neatly folded rag that was hanging out of her back pocket.

These were the last of our drawings that we did during the 23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl Saturday July 11, 2009.

I was trying to figure out how to post these drawings and make them come out in order. I thought it would work to put the last one first, but, then, I realized that I can only add 5 at a time, after I had added these!

Hopefully, you will read the following post first, and this one last! That will work, I hope.

Go to the Sketch Crawl website to see art work and photos from all over the world. Look under Forum, 23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl.

It's very interesting to get a world tour through the eyes of many artists!

http://www.sketchcrawl.com/

I hope that we can get a group for the next one! Come join us! That should be in about October. You can check the website, and join, if you want, to get updates and notices.

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