Friday, November 27, 2009

Things and Stuff and Shadows


The Miami Book Fair International: I don't know if you have anything like this near you, but if you do, and you don't go, you are cheating yourself. If you are a reader, of course, you will be close to heaven - guaranteed.

But you don't have to be a reader to enjoy the fair.

Authors speak about their books, and they write about things that interest them. So if you are interested in things, the book fair is for you.

Then there are many, many booths where you can buy books for cheap! Cheap, of course, is good. And books can be about all kinds of stuff. So if you are interested in stuff, then the book fair is for you too.

And then there are the people - everywhere the people - fun to watch, fun to draw, and the fair food and the bands. What more can I say?

It seems like I've been sketching in public forever but in fact this is the first year that I even thought to sketch at the fair. I drew the panel of authors above in my Moleskine in the morning. It was my first drawing of the day. [Since the blog does not show two-page spreads well, double-click on the image to see it clearly.]

I drew the authors as each of them spoke in turn. They spoke in this order (from left to right, 1, 2, 4, 3). My hand was kind of tight on number 1, but by the time I got to 3 and 4 I was cookin'! It may just be me, but I think the drawing reflects this.

For those Everyday Matters folks that sketch in church (at their blog here) and claim to hear the sermon: I listened to each of the panelists. I laughed at their jokes in the right places, and I heard what they said. But now I can't remember a darned thing. I suspect it was because I was so busy drawing that my brain can't quite split in two like that to retain the information. It might just be my brain - all the filing cabinets may be full. Or the difference may be this: you never expect to have to (or sometimes even want to) remember a sermon afterwards, right? Or at least I don't.

There is more about the book fair - another sketch and a tale of loneliness, that will be the subject of a third fair post. That tale is the story that I spoke about in my last post. So for Martine, who said, "What about telling us more... soon?", and all of the others waiting for a story, patience .. patience. (Man, I hope it's good!)

In the meantime, though, here is my entry for Shadow Shot Sunday. It's a little early I know, but the blog is from Down Under. For Australia, this Sunday probably happened last Tuesday anyway. Besides, I will be visiting with family over the next two days and won't have time to post this weekend.

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

24 comments:

  1. Good for you! I find it intimidating to sketch in public like that - it sounds like a really good time.

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  2. This is an amazing drawing and a very interesting post. I would LOVE, love, love the book fair.
    And yes, I can see the tightness and then the loosening up, although I would not have noticed it if you hadn't told me - again amazing work!

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  3. Your book fair does sound like heaven. We have one here in my hometown but yours sounds like a true FAIR! We just get the mountains and mountains of cheap, beautiful books...which is, don't get me wrong, sheer bliss. I might just keel over if there were panels of authors AND food AND bands...sigh.

    Love the shadow shot, too. It's fun, isn't it?

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  4. On another note, I love the church sketch blog. I'm not a sketcher, but I am a preacher's kid, so this really hits home. You can learn a lot about people by sitting on the back row, silently observing.

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  5. I love this because they all look so believable human! Did you do the table and back ground first? Or the surroundings?

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  6. Great sketch, Dan! You really captured the "feeling" of a panel of authors very well. Their individual expressions say it all! Too bad you don't remember what they said - maybe next time you'll have to take a tape recorder ;-)

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  7. I find that by sketching (or for me attempting to sketch) people that I pay much closer attention to what their saying - even if I don't necessarily remember what they say afterward. ;-)

    Did you paint this on site as well or after the fair? I'm curious to know if you had your watercolors with you and how you managed that during the event? Regardless, I think the drawing turned out nicely!

    And a belated thank you for your kind comments on my blog regarding losing my dog. That was a really tough one that I am not quite over yet...

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  8. Bravo Dan! I love everything bookish and I wish they had these around here. Maybe they do, I just haven't seen the advertisements. Very well done! I probably wouldn't have noticed, but yes, three and four do look more natural in their gestures.

    BTW, I finally got the art exchange piece done, two weeks late, but finally done! Huge relief!

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  9. I love your drawings, Dan! I do so admire anyone who can draw/paint as I can't even draw a straight line without a ruler and even that is no guarantee. And your shadow shot is lovely because it has "sun" shadows and we haven't had any sun to speak of in a while. Terrific post! Thanks for sharing!

    Enjoy your weekend!

    Sylvia

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  10. The book fair sounds like a great event - I would love to go to one! I like your drawing too - lots of personality in those faces.

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  11. You have captured the mood of the panel quite nicely! I does not matter if you remember much of the discussion, we viewers don't either since we weren't there ourselves - but the four of them look quite engaging up there. A wonderful shadow of fauna on the fence, too!

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  12. I agree, the picture is great (nice shadow picture, too!)

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  13. Lovely photo. Looks like a beautiful backyard.

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  14. I'll take any sunny shadow capture, we seldom see it all winter long in Iowa...enjoy!

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  15. I know what you mean - when I'm drawing/painting, I don't hear a darn thing going on around me either. I always love to hear your commentary, Dan, about whatever you are focused on at that moment.

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  16. Thank you so much everyone! Your comments are so encouraging - and I very much appreciate it! Peachtreeart: I painted the people first, then the table, then the background. Trish: I drew at the event and painted afterwards. I have painted in public before but I had too much to do, not enough time, and lacked a good spot. I have painted in public many times before using the Sakura Koi Watercolor Field Box Set - it is small enough to fit in my pocket. But now I am in a transition of sorts: I have bought better quality W&N paints. The paintbox I have is not so convenient. Still working it out. Still using the Sakura's in public. Great colors, I think. Sylvia K: I feel for you folks without sun shadows - come to Florida! ;)

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  17. Nice shadow shot! I hope you have a great Thanksgiving too:D

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  18. {LUV} the Shadow Shot!
    ...I want summer back...

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  19. Nice shadows! & I like your paintings as well. I can see your nephew has been inspired by your work. I think he is quite a talent as well.

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  20. What a wonderful post. The book fair sounds fun and I wish I could have gone along. I love your painting!!! Oh and your shadow shot is lovely too. I giggled at your time zone comments :)

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  21. You are so good at capturing body language...positions. They all look so natural and so much like people we've all seen before. This is great!

    And as always, wonderful reading for us too!

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  22. You're very funny, I really like your blog and artwork. You've captured those author's personalities so well. Great shadow too :)

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  23. Wow!! Great sketch!
    I love to draw..but the humans I do not do!
    Shadows are very dreamy in your shot...I imagine sitting in a lounge chair(with a fur parka!)
    KK

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