#oneweek100people2021 day5

#oneweek100people2021 #81-85

100 people sketched !!! I am happy with my efforts this year.  I am more confident in my sketching, faster in getting the shapes and lines down, and also have managed to fill in the gaps when the subject moves on. 

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I still take and keep photos handy to refer and check. It is fun when the sketching goes smoothly :) 

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It took me about 30-40 minutes to sketch these people at the dealership finalizing the purchase of a car. I was sitting far enough to watch them and sketch leisurely as I knew they would be there a while filling out forms etc.  I even managed to include the desk, computer, and a bottle sanitizer :) 

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Icing on the cake was sighting a Penny Farthing bike on the trail on my walk. I sketched that mostly from memory as the photo I took was blurry. I was confused to see the small wheel in the back - so I googled  images and  discovered this bicycle is different from a unicycle ! 

The trail we walked circles a golf course and there were many golfers out enjoying the day. 

On the whole I feel a sense of accomplishment. Next time I hope to use watercolors . 

 

Sketching on the Go

Unisphere, Queens NY watercolor and pen sketch 5x7" by Meera Rao 

It was a beautiful sunny day after the snowfall from the first day of spring Nor'easter.  But it was too cold  for me to sketch outside so I resorted to taking photos with my phone and did this much later.  I plan to paint another larger one that has big vast  sky and smaller Unisphere because thats what I was attracted to in the first place. 

I recently bought Escoda Versatil #8  and a set of unknown brand #4,8,12 synthetic sable (this is a set that also came with a bamboo brush holder that was a surprise! ) watercolor travel brushes that I am very happy with.  I have ruined a couple of brushes that were in my travel kit when I lost the plastic brush protectors very early on and wanted these brushes whose caps act as long handles when screwed on :)  I still like my waterbrushes best for sketching away from home - no water containers to juggle!

Coffee Shop  Queens NY watercolor sketch 4x6"by Meera Rao 

I think this is my first sketch in a coffee shop with pen and ink and watercolor --the whole deal with no pencil sketches at all!! I realized too late the gel pen is not waterproof. It took me about 30 minutes or so to finish the sketch. I also sketched the barista on my Sketchclub app - will have to pull it out of the app one of these days :) 

Subway Commute  NY,  Gelpen 4x6" sketch by Meera Rao 

On our way to the Unisphere and the Queen's museum I sketched these two fellow passengers. This was a breakthrough for me to sketch in pen, in public and complete it before my stop came - about 15 mins or so.  I always hesitate to sketch people openly in public as I am not sure how I would feel about being sketched by someone ! But I think I am seeing the benefits of those #oneweek100people challenge - I am a bit more faster and confident in committing to mark making.  Working on more polished look of the pages is my next goal.

I have been doing more sketching these days because all the traveling means not been much studio painting time.  Hoping all this practice will show up when I take up my regular brushes again! 

#OneWeek100People

Lady Water Bugs  #oneweek100people Day 3  3-7-2018

I am trying to squeeze in time to sketch people this week.  Yesterday was day 3.  I returned from helping out with the water testing and did a quick sketch of my fellow volunteers :) 

International Women's Day #oneweek100people Day 4  3-8-2018

As today is International Women's day I decided to do a quick sketch of some notable women for day 4.  Hoping I will get some time later today to do more. 

At a Book Talk #oneweek100people Day 2  3-6-2018

At a Book Talk #oneweek100people Day 2  3-6-2018

On Day 2, I was at a Book Talk and sketched a few people from the audience.  The room was quite dark and it was challenge to see what I was sketching! 

At the Dentist Office  #oneweek100people Day 2  3-6-2018

At the Dentist's I tried to memorize the scene as I my teeth were being cleaned :) I surreptitiously took a photo in the waiting room and did the sketches at home from blurry pic -- and took my liberties with the colors ! 

  

At the Gym  #oneweek100people Day 1  3-6-2018

  

At the Gym  #oneweek100people Day 1  3-6-2018

As I worked out at the gym on day 1, I watched intensly and tried to commit to memory the scene before me. Again, I had a blurry photo to help out with some details as I sketched later at home. 

Watching Oscars -warm up for #oneweek100people   3-6-2018

So far I only have 29 sketches plus five I did as warm up watching the Oscars for an hour or so.  So this year it has been slow and I might have to take a few extra days to sketch 100 people! Anyway, I am sketching something every day :) 

#OneWeek100sketches2017

Day 1-sketches 1-7/100 by Meera Rao

I took up the challenge #Oneweek100sketches2017 organized by Marc Taro Holmes  who blogs as 'citizensketcher' and Liz Steel.  Sketches 1-32 were from my own photographs - photos that I wanted to paint and saw this as an opportunity to practice sketching before I attempted to paint them.  I could not go out and sketch people live because of lots of other things I was busy with.  These sketches were breaks I was taking from doing those other things - mostly unpacking and getting things in order after a long trip to India.  The sketching also was an opportunity for me to put my feet up and rest the slowly healing ankles from a bad fall back in October of last year!!! I also felt safe working in the privacy of my home while working on improving people sketching skills. 

Day 1-sketches 8-14/100 by Meera Rao

Day 2-sketches 15-23/100 by Meera Rao

These 9 sketches were of scenes that I had seen during my trips to India begging to be sketched! I encountered them during my daily errands and had not yet sketched them out.  

Day 2-sketches 24-32/100 by Meera Rao

Lots of people in India take public transportation --buses mainly and can be seen waiting at the bus-stand. Bus stops are like airports these days where passengers are mostly waiting, some people watching or chatting or on their digital devices :)  

Day 3-sketches 33-63/100 by Meera Rao

On this day, I received a poster in the mail from the UN Refugee agency. I was reminded of the devastation facing so many families around the world and the chances they take for a chance at safer, better life. This particular boat load had only men filled to capacity. I know for sure there are other boats filled with women and children making similar perilous journeys. Sketching them was emotionally draining making me wonder what it was like to be fleeing like that! And I stopped at 100 unable to sketch the rest of the people in the boat.

Day 4&5-sketches 64-100/100 by Meera Rao

Boat People 2-Page spread by Meera Rao

I only sketched using a #4B pencil.  I had planned on using watercolor but liked the sketches as they were. I did not time myself but did not spend more than 45 minutes at a time each day. My sketch book was 12x16" and the two page spread was 12x33" .  I am pleased with the sketches and felt sure of my lines and marks the more I drew.  I quickly learned less is more! My goal was to draw 100 people, draw without overthinking every line like I seem to do while I sketch people. I wanted to work on getting the proportions and perspectives correct, and draw people in all different angles, sitting, standing, walking, crawling, front, back and sides :) 

This was a challenge I really relished by the time I was done with 100 people!