Sketchcrawl notes (1) – 11 July 09

Published 15 July 09 | By Aisling

My sketchcrawl day started at about 8:30 a.m. when I arrived at Alewife MBTA station. I’d been on the road for nearly two hours, so it was a relief to park the car and begin the day’s adventures.

My first sketch was on the train. I decided to take photos at each sketch location — when possible — to document the day in sketches and photos.

Also, like my travel journals, I kept my receipts in my sketchbook, as well. You can see one of them, below, on the page facing my first sketch.

(The flash increased the contrast.)

Sketch with felt-tip pens

I wasn’t entirely happy with the b&w effect of monochrome felt tip pens. So, when I arrived at the sketchcrawl meetup location (Visitors Ctr at Boston Common), I switched to pencil… and almost immediately regretted it. I didn’t finish that sketch.

Start of a pencil sketch at Bsn Visitors Ctr

After that, I returned to felt tip pen. For the line drawing, I was using the waterproof Pigma Micron pen, 08. However, even though it’s technically waterproof, I let the ink dry thoroughly before adding any color.

Man in Colonial garb on his way to work.

The next two sketches — on one page — were drawn from the same location as the previous sketch. Mostly, I was using up time in case any late arrivals for the sketchcrawl showed up.

Man on park bench; people waiting in line.

After that, I walked up towards the State House, following the Freedom Trail route. Along the way, I paused to sketch a man walking along a tree-covered path. (The photo was taken after the sketch, when the man was out of sight and a woman in yellow was strolling the same path.)

Next, I stopped at the top of the hill, where a man was setting up his beverage stand.