A rainy day drawing venue
A few weeks ago I was feeling down because a sequence of rainy days was preventing me from my usual plein air sketching and painting. Because my weekly life drawing and portrait sessions were postponed until the fall I was looking for a venue where I could draw and keep up my practice. Then, it occurred to me that after a few minutes drive to the local mall I would find plenty of drawing material there.
My equipment
I decided to draw in a Daler Rowney CACHET 5 in x 7 in toned paper sketch book. I brought with me some Derwent Drawing pencils –Ivory black no 6700, Venetian Red no 63 and the Derwent Colorsoft Pimento C540.
Food court at a mall an ideal spot
I found a seat not far from a group of seniors chatting at a food court. These were great subjects to draw. When one moved, I started to draw another and so on.
Drawing card players is another option
Moving to another part of the food court I found another group, this time younger, of subjects to draw – card players. Because card players are intent in their game they are also good subjects to sketch.
My final drawing venue was at a section where two friends were intently talking to each other. Here the advantage is that they will usually maintain the same head position making it easier to capture likeness and detail.
Other subjects that can be drawn in bad weather are things around the house. You might even ask your partner to pose for you. Then, look out the window and draw what is there. Hop in your car and draw what is out the window. Take the subway if you live in a large city and draw there. These are but a few of the possibilities and I am sure you can find many more. The hardest part is to pick up pencil or pen and paper and get out of the house. The rest is pure joy. The sunshine will be within.
Raynald Murphy sca
Articles
