Live Sketching (Tommyboys Bar & Grill)

More practice at the local bar. It was a bit of an "off" night for me (IMO) but I drew through it and did come up with a few that I found favor with. They are rough and lack the finese of earlier attempts at the same bar. The very last session at this bar was best, but I'm not hating these. Of course, by the time I got to the bar people were fairly "happy" and moving about quite a bit. Moving people are always difficult to draw, but drunk moving people...even more difficult.














My favorite sketch of the night.
Something about her just drew me in.

Live Sketching: JJ Bankos (PA)

Sketch on paper
with Prismacolor colored pencil

It was a spur of the moment session of live sketching last night. A friend and fellow high school classmate was at one of the local bars and I decided to grab my knapsack and run to sketch. Thankfully, mom and dad were around to watch my son (who was thrilled to have a sleep over at grandmas and grandpas last night.)

The sketching was good (as was the beer and company) and so here are the sketches from last night.

I love live sketching. It really puts your skills to the test especially when people are moving. The women last night were moving around a bit too much for my tastes and were difficult to capture. The men, not so much. So the sketches of the women aren't as good. Of course I could just be going through a phase were my abilities to sketch men right now are more honed than women. Whatever the case, the best drawings, in my opinion, are of the men.





In my opinion, the very
best sketch of the night.

Bar Sketching

Big hair, up high. Loved that
her cheeks and neck became one.

So what does an artist do on a Friday night when there is no one around and her son is partying in Brooklyn? (Yes, he was at a sleep over party having a tremendous time with his cousins). We gather pencils, pens and other drawing items and hit crowded places to sketch people. The fact that I wanted a cold beer prompted my trip to the local bar.

Last night I was very interested in people's faces and capturing their features. We all have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, ears and etc., but the combination of how these elements are placed together vary greatly which make up an individual. Capturing that in live time with people moving and watching and wondering (and getting drunk) can be difficult, but very fun. Here are some of the better sketches from last night at the bar.


Tommyboy's, Nanticoke PA

Shape of his neck
was fun to draw.

Her hair and eye lashes
intrigued me and I had to draw her.

Sometimes when people
shift positions in a chair
it creates interesting lines.

Bar view.
Way too much change/movement so I
quickly bagged this idea and centered in
on just capturing faces.

He knew something was up.
He wasn't pleased and kept an eye on me.

Yeah, people sometimes get pissed about being drawn. I've never understood that, but an angry person is something I have to contend with from time to time. This guy was quickly sketched and I avoided making any more eye contact with him. Overall the bar was a very pleasant one to sketch in and no one really bothered me. A few were curious and sent a designated person over to ask what I was doing. News quickly spread throughout the bar. That happens too.

Arms crossed was
difficult to capture.

Guy with the big gold chain
knew something was up too.
He kept a close watch.

Loved how elongated his
face was. The goatee accentuated the features

Yeah, papa had a
rockin' neck!

And, that was that. I'm currently searching out for another bar to sketch in maybe next week. A bar is good since people move in and out of view, but stay long enough to be captured on paper. This was just way too fun not to do again.

Some Days

Inspired by his neck

Some days you just have to throw your hands up in the air and go out for a drink with a good friend! That is exactly what I did this past Saturday when my week turned into this tumultuous event of highs and lows. Chocolate martinis (and some vanilla ones too) turned out to be the perfect remedy for such an unpredictable week.

Odd and artist is a natural combination so when I walked into the bar (earlier than my friend) all eyes were fixated on me and of course my rhinestone tiara. My friend was recently lamenting how it is never a good time to wear a tiara unless you're getting married or are a fictional princess. Having been very inspired months ago by cousin Angela to wear my tiara often and wear it proudly, most especially when times are tough, we decided that this Saturday was the perfect day to bring out the head bling.

I hate waiting, but have learned to come prepared with a sketchbook for such times. Sitting in a bar alone as a woman is never a comfortable situation, but add a sparkly tiara to the mix and you have a delicious recipe for being super uncomfy! So, out came the sketchbook (which always raises my comfort level) and down went some fairly decent drawings....that is, until the first martini hit my lips. I could have sworn I drew more but I think they got lost between martinis, laughter and song.