Rocket Man

Posted by moonminded on April 7, 2015 in Art, Sketch, Urban Sketchers | 2 Comments

I met him because he took a picture of my drawing of his whimsical wood and metal rocket ship perched on a rusty old wheelbarrow. His name is James Todd Rouse, a sculptor in the applied crafts program. I wish I’d at least pursued the artist names of the other two pieces I drew at Saturday’s Pacific Northwest College of Art open house. The impromptu Urban Sketchers Meet Up was a perfect excuse to see the incredible transformation of the turn-of-the-century Federal Building – It’s a seamless blend of ornate ceilings and airy modernity. I look forward to taking another continuing education class in such an inspiring atmosphere (Build your own ukulele, anyone? Electronics for artists?). Or just having access to the amazing library.  

Afterward, we grabbed lunch and lingered for 30-40 minutes to draw the sweet, tiny orb-vases that a fellow Urban Sketcher makes and sells locally. The vase with the pansies captures the shape and scale, but the one with the fuchsia flower, striking in its contrasting size, misses the mark: my dirty yellow brush turned the turquoise to a copper patina verdigris and the vase is misshapen – I tried unsuccessfully to “fix it” by adding a foot to it, but then had to let it go.   What I DO like is how the granularity of Cerulean Blue paint gives the vase an almost ceramic texture. Watercolors feel unforgiving, but I love the happy accidents inherent in the medium!