Inktober 2017 - 'Filthy'

Staedtler Pigment Liners (various) and Tombow Brushpen

in 7.5" x 7.5" Handmade Sketchbook

I resorted to using a ruler for the horizontal lines in the staves as my usual method of steadying my finger along the edge of the sketchbook was proving a little wobbly (someone's overtired!). I also did a pencil underdrawing and nowadays I no longer waste time with a pencil, preferring to dive straight in with the pen and ink.  However, it was driving me a little mad so I gave in in the end.

I Googled 'Horace Silver' and found an ancient photo of him playing, I also found an image of the 'Blue Note' 45rpm single and the sheet music. As I've used way less than 10%, I'm assuming it's OK to use it.

255. Manchester Art and Jazz - Alongside the Canal and Yummy Food

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

We decided to take an alternative route back to the hotel and discovered the Gay Village - very colourful with lots of bunting and lively people.

Later, we saw the Lauren Kinsella Ensemble - really thoughtful lyrics, beautifully sung against lovely music.

We went for quite a long walk afterwards and then sought out a vegetarian/vegan restaurant. Apparently there is an 1847 restaurant in Brighton too - will definitely be checking that out! Highly recommended! 

254. Manchester Art and Jazz - Nino De Elche

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

This was not an 'urban' sketch because I only wrote the script above while we were out. The lead musician just poured out his soul and I felt it inappropriate to sketch while he was giving such a poignant performance. I just took a sneaky photo and drew from it on my return.

This gentleman spoke only in Spanish but I was able to understand a lot of it from my little knowledge of Italian. He, too, read some poetry but mostly sang, cried, gasped, etc., throughout the concert. 

The guitarist created amazing sounds by attaching little portable fans to the guitar and varied the effects by switching them on and off and changing the speeds. Molto interessante!

253. Manchester Art and Jazz - Thankful and Pear

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen and Neocolour II wax pastels in

a re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

Love pears and these didn't disappoint. A juicy pear each morning followed by a couple of jazz concerts - great menu!

252. Manchester Art and Jazz - Turtle Bay Caribbean Food

Faber-Castell 0.7Grip Plus in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! I had Vegetarian 'Rundown' which was absolutely yum! I sketched the salt and sauce bottle while we waited for our meal.

I'm so glad I popped to the loo as the whole of the upstairs area was decked out to look like Jamaica and the loos were a tribute to Bob Marley.  It totally put me in the mood for my upcoming trip to Jamaica in mid-August.

251. Manchester Art and Jazz - Alabaster Deplume

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

OK, now this was different! Gus (in the middle) offered up very interesting poetry as well as playing the saxophone. Paddy (on the right) had various percussive instruments all of which he used.

250. Manchester Art and Jazz - James Beckwith Trio

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

Another great set and it was evident that these guys were good friends as they seemed to get on really well with each other. I was taken up with getting the piano right and also the Manchester Jazz Festival logo so didn't get around to the other two musicians.

249. Manchester Art and Jazz - At the Peveril of the Peak Pub

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

I shouldn't laugh really but the guys on the left were so drunk! The one facing us was an older gentleman in a very snazzy suit who 'danced'(!) and sang very loudly to all the songs - yep, he knew all the lyrics - all night long! The two young guys were at the bar just long enough to buy their drinks.

Everyone was sketching everything!

247. Manchester Art and Jazz - Peter Edwards Trio

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5" (x2)

This was the first concert we attended - the guys were great so we bought their CD. You can see the 'set' down the left hand side. Afterwards, the Peter (at the piano) asked if he could photograph my sketch and he also signed it - great!

246. Manchester Art and Jazz - Real Pizza

Pilot G-Tec C4 pen in

re-cased Seawhite sketchbook, 7.5" x 7.5"

 
Well, excitement on top of excitement - we went to Manchester because the annual Urban Sketchers' Symposium was being held there at the Manchester School of Art. In addition, the Jazz Festival was on at the same time, together with the Beer Festival. This meant that Manchester was buzzing and around every corner at various times of the day, there were sketchers, music lovers and beer drinkers - sometimes all three were combined!

We were amongst the many that did not have a Symposium ticket but went along (so glad I did) as there were several sketch crawls and so much to sketch in the city centre.

This is the first of a few sketches I did - mostly at the jazz concerts - it is unfinished because we wanted a front seat at the concert where I could sketch the musicians and their instruments with a clear view.

231. A Little Chamber Music at the NPG

Staedtler 0.05 pigment liner and Unipin 0.05 fine line pen

in Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5" (x2)

Last Friday evening, I popped into the 'Drop in Drawing' session at the National Portrait Gallery. The subject was supposed to be 'Striking a Pose' but a few of us followed the sound of music to another room and sketched some young and gifted musicians who had put on a little chamber music. We had a great point of view; due to the openings on either side of each gallery, we were able to congregate right behind the musicians and face the audience which (unless you are in a choir or at a bandstand) is an unusual viewpoint.

I love diving straight in with ink as you're then committed to each stroke yet I find that, if I use a fine pen, it's easy to go over it lightly again to correct/straighten if necessary.

I was fascinated by the feet of the people on the front row so started sketching them from the floor upwards but the music came to an end and, after a brief chat with a couple of the musicians, we dispersed, hence the disembodied figures in the audience. A great evening.

223. Violinist 3

Schmincke and Unison Soft Pastels plus Charcoal

on Daler Rowney Murano paper, 16" X 12"

This is the final figure drawing I did (before drawing the still life set up) and, this time, I waited for her to start a new piece of music then quickly started sketching her.

222. Violinist 1 and 2 plus a 'Shout out' for USK

Schmincke and Unison Soft Pastels plus Charcoal

on Clairefontaine Pastelmat paper

The Pastel Society had their annual Art Evening at the Mall Galleries this week and, almost at the last minute, I ordered a ticket and went along - last year, they had a classical guitarist but I spent the evening drawing Kimono instead. (See post 121 or click the 'Kimono' label.)

This year, the musician was a frantic (but oh my goodness, so skilled) violinist and there was another beautiful Kimono lady (lying down) plus, out back, a life model. I chose the violinist for two reasons: her gorgeous ultramarine blue, linen dress and the fact that she was moving all over the place. Even when she sat down, she didn't sit still! A couple of people told me they found this difficult, of course but to me it was an amusing challenge.

Something occurred to me on the way home: whenever in the past I've attended such events, I've sat an drawn (or painted) one or two pieces of art and returned another day to view the exhibition. This year, in the three hours, I did four sketches (three figure and one still life) then walked round and viewed the whole exhibition before going home. This is surely thanks to sketchcrawling with Urban Sketchers. On a sketch crawl, especially the London ones, there are people flying back and forth in front of us and so much to capture that we are forced to work rapidly. Add into the mix the fact that at 1:30pm and again at 4:00pm, we reconnect and photograph our artwork so there is a constant subliminal countdown to finish something and appear with your artwork in the group photo! However, sketchcrawls are so much fun that we are not stressed! What this amounts to is that, personally, I've become quicker and more decisive - who knew?!

So, thank you 'Urban Sketchers London' and 'Drawing Outside Northampton' - your training has been and continues to be priceless!

Schmincke and Unison Soft Pastels plus Charcoal

on Clairefontaine Pastelmat paper

Our model (Anna, I think) took a break and sat down before walking around looking at everyone's sketches.  Even as she sat, she was wriggling about so much that it was a job to even capture the violin. Had I thought of it, I'd have sketched it on both sides of her, rather than waiting for her to revert to one of her many positions. She was fantastic, playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons, amongst other lively pieces, for three hours straight minus two five minute breaks - an amazing young woman!

215. At Suzie's

Pilot C4 G-Tec pen and Winsor & Newton watercolours in

Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5" (x2)

Every so often, our friend Suzie invites some of her painting and musical friends over for an 'art and music' day. She has a collection of red and white crockery and utensils and we cheekily raided her cupboards and laid them out and painted them. I left out a few of the items as I liked this setup.

150. Musician

HB Pencil on A3 Newsprint (folded to A4)

Hi folks.  Here is a bonus sketch for you.  Last night, we had an event at church and I was able to do a couple of sketches. I was looking at the 'neck' of the instrument head on which is why you can't see it and I know I captured this guitarist's stance correctly. However, I knew the facial likeness must be slightly off when, having drawn him, another guitarist said afterwards "Oh, you drew me!" LOL!