Pub Sketching

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Pub sketching is not usually my thing, but Scottish Dave's Pub is right next door to the Clinton Art Gallery, the home of the Shoreline Sketchers, so a night sketching at the pub seemed a natural thing to do.

Working quick among noise, music, food, drink , bagpipes and kilts yielded some interesting results.

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People are a challenge for me, yet once I begin and get comfortable I get addicted. I'm working here with a Lamy Joy fountain pen and some watercolors in a Stillman & Birn Zeta 9x12 sketchbook. I've cropped the images so you can get a good look at them.

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I love the sketch on the left the best. the over the shoulder glance, and the solidity of the body posture capture the gesture of the piper as I saw it.

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Colorful costumes are fun to sketch no matter what the setting or context.

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Simple shapes and lines are always best when sketching a subject that's likely to move any second.  It's so important to trust your eyes and hands. Sometimes scenes are so confusing that we really don;t even know what we are seeing. At that point it's important to stop and ask yourself  "What do I actually see?", and then record that, however unlikely the shape seems. That is infinitely preferable to making up something or putting down what you "think" should be there.

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Here's one of the pages I completed during the evening.