Buttnekkiddoodles

 

The work continues. I didn’t want it but that’s besides the point now. It is fascinating to watch a construction site from such a vantage point. I haven’t asked for permission, and doubt that I’d get it, to don a hard hat and get on site to draw. There’s been such an array of Earth moving equipment and now as you can see from the sixth image below, they have started building the central tower for the main crane.

All drawings are with Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens on either Tomoe River Paper, in a Moleskine Watercolor sketchbook, or in a Stillman & Birn watercolor sketchbook, or a Hahnemule sketchbook.

 

I’ve had an unusual and superb vantage point of a demolition and construction site which is directly across the street from my apartment. Never having watched a site from start to finish before I have been surprised by some of the developments. Upon demolishing the existing structure seen above in a snowstorm and just below that at night, the rubble was separated into different materials, i.e. bricks, the reusable ones were stacked on pallets and wrapped, banded and carted away for reuse. Metal materials were hauled away then general rubble was removed. But one of the biggest eye openers was the digging of roughly twenty 25-30’ cylindrical holes that had rebar cages inserted before being filled with concrete. Then, these concrete columns were covered up with the heavy equipment moving to dig the next holes.

       U   

drawings executed with Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens and graphite on Stillman & Birn Nova Series Toned sketchbook, Tomoe River Paper.

 

For such an unstructured lad as myself, annual events and the observing of rituals play an important role in accomplishments. Three times a year for the past decade, I have gone to The Palette & Chisel to draw from live models for as close to 12 hours as I can push. I’ve had sessions where I took awhile to get started, some days where I never quite put it together. There were days however where I walked in relaxed but fired up, able to see clearly, having clear objectives yet attentive enough to change course should alternative solutions hold more promise. My ability to hit contours and proportions were prime indicators that things were going well and that the day may be fruitful. Fruitful in so much that I might have learned something if not come away with a satisfying sketch.

      

  

  

  

  

  

 

 

Spent a solid month trekkin about the West coast and sat on my duff for a goodly number of hours. It’s the sort of thing that puts demands onyer fashion choices, ie comfy britches with a properly deep inseam and good travel shoes.

  

 

The lanscapes below were draw from a bus. The one with the birds on the telephone lines was a 15 minute sketch at a rest stop in southern Oregon, the others were enroute at 60 mph.

 

All drawings executed with ink, fountain pens, Pitt Artist Brush Pens, Platinum Carbon Ink, in various hbooks, Rhodia, Moleskine, Stillman & Birn, Tomoe River Paper.

 

Spent half a day in the much, and justifiably, heralded Museum of WWII in New Orleans. Managed this sketch of a B17 Flying Fortress from a cat walk about 5 stories above the exhibit floor.

Next to my hotel in Metairie was a construction site where men were driving wood poles into the ground. On Sunday, when they took the day off, I ambled over to draw the site, only to have to seek shelter at the adjacent grocery store when the clouds let loose a soaking downpour. After waiting out the storm by having lunch, I returned to the same spot and finished the drawing of the now gooey site.

F-C Coconut barrel Ambition fountain pen, Platinum Carbon ink,  Pitt Artist Pens