Hurricane Fran

It's not "urban sketching," but it was sketching on an urban facade. This is a friend's Grateful Dead-themed store boarded up for Hurricane Fran in 1996. When they saw Jim Cantore out on the street, they went out and got me some spray paint and then this happened. My artwork ended up on CNN, the Philadelphia Inquirer and I think the Charletston Post and Courier. Cool!

Firenze Vignettes

Haven't posted in a minute. Let's see if I remember how. Took my mom to Italy a few years ago. Here are a few tidbits I captured:

Adam's Store - White Springs, FL

This is such a cool old building. White Springs is a historic little town whose tourist boom faded long ago, along with the popularity of the (supposedly therapeutic) sulphur spring that gave the town its name.

Camper - White Springs, FL

This was done in Stephen Foster State Park Campground the day before the Suwannee Bicycle Association's Ididaride, so technically not "urban sketching," but done in the spirit thereof.

Chicken Bus - Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

I drew this a month after the trip, from a photo. Is that cheating? The sketch was intended as a study for a painting I still haven't done. Also to try out a big box of colored pencils I'd just bought. I sketched a lot on the trip, but they are mostly tiny vignettes (like a cartoon turkey in a burlap sack at the Chichicastenango market) and landscapes.

The Pool - Midtown ATL

I've been meaning to do this for a while - post my travel sketches. I imagine my posting schedule, like my sketches, will be sketchy at best.

The Pool - 5/31/12

This was the view from the breakroom window at my previous job, in the top floor of an office building in Midtown Atlanta. Having a breakroom was a wonderful addition; one could have lunch with a coworker, make some new friends, chat with people from other departments, or just get away from years of only eating lunch at the desk without actually taking a break from work. From the little counter, I loved the view of the pool at the W Midtown. My intent with this sketch was to capture the delightful and tantalizing view of the pool, with the green expanse of Piedmont Park in the background. What I ended up with was actually a more objective representation. Telling, no?

The W Midtown is a really pleasant place, but it's an old Sheraton, and yes, they actually painted the whole exterior of the building matte black. In Atlanta. I can't imagine what their summer electric bills must look like.