Library branch

 
             
              Here is the most "finished" piece I have done from 2 or 3 visits to Vinland.  This is the porch of the library. One of the oldest functioning libraries west of the Mississippi I believe.   I think this was drawn before the "Vinland Caravan" that was posted earlier. The old Studebakers are just past the three buildings behind these two.  
          Mrs. Martha Smith had started tending the library in her 20's and did not quit until no longer able to sit there on weekends. .  She and here son attended the Baldwin Bible Chapel for years. The links below will give you the straight scoop. 
Obit of Mrs. Smith, Jan 24, 2014      http://www2.ljworld.com/obituaries/2014/jan/29/martha-smith/ 
Photo gallery of Martha Smith and the Coal Creek Library:
http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/galleries/2006/jul/23/martha_cutter_kelley_smith/    
  There are a number of other LJW links you can get to from these archives that tell some more of this amazing story.
This drawing was done on 9x12 inch Strathmore Sketch pad with B and or 2B lead. It was started on location, and finished up at home over the course of the following week or so. I am pretty slow, but I like to think about it and "watch" a piece develop at least when doing a somewhat detailed one.
          We are trying a new look to the blog at the suggestion of a friend to maybe make it easier to find the drawing you like from old posts.

City Slicker

          I was sitting in the parking lot of Centennial Park when I saw this character across the street.  So this quickie was done at maybe 100 yards; maybe less.  Could not pass up the chance though, as I had a few minutes to spare.  Not sure what this thing is doing in town.  Looks like it should be sitting in someones shed in the country. It really looked to me like it was still in service.
          Done with a Pentel 0.9 mm pencil in a 9x12 inch sketch pad.

Window Rubber Plant?

         Another though later drawing of the rubber plant sitting below the window at the Sr Center.  The half hour or so that we are there is long enough to get a small sketch added to my notebook if I just get with it. This is what, a rubber plant?  Not sure, but it is sure a great study of shapes and tones. Lots of negative space to help identify shapes. Done with a "Sharpie" my most recent favorite tool.

still Grampa's chair

         

           This chair has sat in front of the TV at 2716 ever since the folks moved in and shows the issues needing repair. It has not been replaced even though Grampa has been gone 10 years. This is where he would sit when watching the "tube" as we used to call it. This is also where he would receive guests like the time Phillip came in sat down across from Dad and talked for some time, and then got up and left without needing to go any further into the room. It was a big encouragement to Dad. 
        I had never before thought about this chair as a subject, but realized afterward how appropriate it is to have an "official" sketch of it.
        About the drawing:  I did this drawing recently while someone was talking to me and so I was distracted. Maybe the distraction helped.  The contrasts between different aspects of the drawing are what make this one so distinct; the right and left sides of the chair; one in light the other in shadow.  The darkness of the ink juxtaposed against what seems like extra white paper to the left and top.  This drawing was fun, and I may be wrong, but it seems to have almost a primitive or childlike quality which is refreshing. Though it may be a fairly traditional ink drawing in execution, the just off center view as well as the position in the "field of view" give it some extra interest. 

Preservation

            Stephanie went with me to Vinland one afternoon for a short sketching excursion. Ten minutes down and ten back, and about 45 minutes there.  She likes to read while I draw.  This old church was built in 1860's or '70's seems to me.  James Naismith (of basketball fame) was the pastor there for a couple years.  Might have been very interesting to hear one of his sermons, huh? Maybe I exaggerated the steeple a bit, but actually it is also overstated just a bit on the actual building. I like the way it hangs out over the end of the building.  They are doing work on the face of the building, hence the scaffold.  I put a detail of the steeple off to the side. This little study (5"x 9") was done with marker and pencil. I have hopes of getting back there soon for more drawing. 
         My understanding is that the original name of the town, Vineland, was misspelled on an early document, hence the shortened version of the name.
         
         If you have not taken a peek at the "Thumbnails" page recently, I just posted another quickie of a guy I see from time to time.           

Mail order

       

          Take a couple ol' Sharpies, and dive strait into a sheet of white paper, and something like this may be the result. For better or for worse!  I was at the new library picking up a book and had enough time to stand just inside the northeast corner windows and do this sketch of the trucks parked in line in the Post Office parking lot.  A little pattern of some kind or other can be a key to interest in a drawing.  Here the line of truck windows provides that pattern.  The trick is to not be distracted by other detail and forget the main focus of the sketch. 
          I think they are calling those corner windows in the library "the lookout" or maybe "the overlook". When I went back by there the other day the chairs were all full of people. It is about 15-20 feet above the street. There is a nice view of the park area to the west. The PO is to the north. 

Christmas Time Birthday

          Christmas Time Birthday was done on the day after one of my grandson's had his 16th birthday. The only indication it is close to Christmas is the Poinsettia on the table (and the date in the corner).  Light coming through the sun room and across the floor produced some interesting reflections. It took some time to get the original sketch done which I you can see on the "Thumbnails" page of this blog. It often takes a week or so for a sketch like this to percolate before attempting to finish the job. Then it takes another week off and on to do the final drawing. So it sits on the easel waiting most of the week while it gets evaluated from time to time with a few more scribbles added here & there and (perish the thought) some subtracting as well with the eraser!
          This image was shot with Aperture Priority setting on the Samsung, which resulted in the specific settings which you see here, and a photo with pretty good contrast using the normal light in the "studio" (which I might add makes pretty poor light for photography). These digital reproductions of full sized drawings are certainly not reproduction quality so I do not worry much about using Gimp to tweak them enough to look a little more like the original. This has been cropped of course. Also the perspective corrected some, the detail clarified and the tone returned to closer to the original drawing as best I can.

The North Windows

       I think this was the 3rd trip to Vinland to do some drawing. This is the Coal Creek Library building, it has been the longest functioning library in Kansas. You can find out some about it and the lady who kept it open for many years in the Journal World archives. Later I will put up a pencil drawing and a couple links to the history involved.  Quite a bit of history in these couple of square blocks of small town USA. The sides of this building are covered with a tin made to look like brick. The plans are someday to turn it back to the original brick. 

Stuck something different up on the Thumbnails page. Take a look & let me know what you think.

Freeze Day October 2014

          We had put off bringing in the houseplants from around the yard after summer. In the rush before the first freeze we plopped 'em down on a board on the piano bench just to get them in.  Well, they ended up staying there a bunch longer than they should'a.  Hard for the lady of the house to play the old relic when the bench is not only occupied, but way to heavy to be scooting out of the way.  Sure made a good subject for a drawing though, sitting there with the piano in the background. There is a hymn book and a finished drawing sitting there on the piano as well.  Not the first drawing with this piano in it by any means.  There is a somewhere a sketch  with our youngest beating out some Chopin while he was still in High School.  The drawing is about 10" x 12" and done mostly with the Pentel pencil and 0.9 mm 2B lead.

back of the pizzaria

       

          Done with a couple sharpie pens, this place caught my interest sometime back. It was a rainy Saturday during football season when I got around to doing a drawing. Some  families passed me headed to the pizza joint before the KU game.  I was leaning against the corner of a building across the alley. The game did not turn out so good, but I am satisfied with the drawing...

Vinland Caravan

          

          Been pokin' around some of the small towns near hear. These are the sort of things you discover. Had to call Lloyd to help me id these 2 lined up together along the "road".  40's era Studebakers.  This basic style was used by them throuout most of the 2nd world war. Makes a nice subject for a study on a cold winter day.  I stood outside leaning on my truck until my fingers would move no more.  20 deg. F is about as cold as you want it, unless you have something to warm your hands a bit.  This is done with a couple Sharpies.