Ails du Québec
Posted: July 25, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized 18 CommentsThe summer would not be complete without a trip to my favorite markets to sketch. I was close to Atwater and although it was tempting to put down my sketchbook and have lunch at the Satay Brothers stand, I forged ahead with my sketch. For a change of pace I used some water-soluble pencils.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
Wow! That’s intense colour. And expert handling of the medium. As always, your handling of the type is delightful! There’s already corn at the market?
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Thanks Alison! Yes, there’s corn but its expensive and tasteless. I guess you can tell I bought some.
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Nicely handled! The intensity and rawness that come with water soluble pencils really seems to suit this subject… good choice. I also like the way you blued out the background.
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Thanks Ross!
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You’re welcome. A question for you… how do you do sketches like this? You are obviously in a busy market… standing in a circulation area… lots of people around you… exactly how do you handle the practicalities of doing that?
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It’s not that difficult on a weekday morning. I was standing slightly to the side of the stand to draw (after asking the owner if she minded!) which takes a bit of juggling with sketchbook, pen, pencil, my big pink bag, etc. A few people stopped to buy vegetables but very few. Then I moved over to a picnic table nearby to add the colour from memory (which is not very hard with vegetables). I wouldn’t be able to do that on a weekend because of the crowds. I used a Koi waterbrush to to dilute the pencils.
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So you were standing while doing the linework? Sounds way too difficult for me. And is the big pink bag to help with the drawing or just for decoration? …or in case a photographer wants to take photos of you working? : )
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That big pink bag is theft-resistant for the pickpockets of Barcelona!! Of course it doesn’t really work if I leave it on the ground while I’m painting.
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Theft resistant… you mean because of the colour? : )
My suggestion (Oh no, she thinks, not another suggestion!)… is that you get a bag that has a longer strap, put the bag on the ground next to you but put your foot through the strap. That should stop someone snatching the bag and running… however, if they do try, you will probably end up flat on your face. There is no perfect solution other than getting a jacket with really big pockets… which lacks some elegance.
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I use that technique as well. When I am sitting on my folding stool the bag is around my leg so if someone takes it I will end up on the ground! And just for the record, and not that you should change your opinion about pink, the bag is red. For some reason it looked pink in the photo but that wasn’t accurate.
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I’m so glad to hear that that the bag is actually red! My personal estimation of your fashion sense with accessories has risen dramatically. : )
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Oh..que j’aime!!!!
May go to Jean -Talon market tomorrow..
I have never tried a whole painting w/ the pencils..
Not that it will make a smidge of difference in my case:)
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Have a go at it Monique. They are much easier to control than watercolour!
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Shari, How do you use watercolour pencils to get such intense colour? I haven’t had much luck with them at all. Mine don’t seem to blend very well either. Maybe it’s the brand you use?
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Hi Joan.
I was testing some new water-soluble pencils for a magazine article I was writing. As soon as it comes out I will provide a link to the product and the article. They tested very well. The colours were very saturated and they blended really well so you might like them.
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Thanks, I’ll watch for future news.
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Love how the colors pop on this sketch; the blue background makes them practically glow off the page. Also reminds me of when I did some sketching in the central market (schuk Machenei Yehuda) in Yerushaluyim in Israel – lots of colorful spice vendors.
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I can imagine that must have been incredible. I would love to draw at the market in Istanbul for that very same reason. In all the photos I have seen the colours are amazing.
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