ACEO 2.5 x 3.5 inches pen ink on 180lbs watercolor paper What is ACEO? It stands for Artist Cards, Editions and Originals created by a group of artists collected here on ebay.

ACEO 2.5 x 3.5 inches pen ink on 180lbs watercolor paper What is ACEO? It stands for Artist Cards, Editions and Originals created by a group of artists collected here on ebay.

ACEO 2.5 x 3.5 inches pen ink on 180lbs watercolor paper What is ACEO? It stands for Artist Cards, Editions and Originals created by a group of artists collected here on ebay.

ACEO 2.5 x 3.5 inches pen ink on 180lbs watercolor paper What is ACEO? It stands for Artist Cards, Editions and Originals created by a group of artists collected here on ebay.

ACEO 2.5 x 3.5 inches pen ink on 180lbs watercolor paper What is ACEO? It stands for Artist Cards, Editions and Originals created by a group of artists collected here on ebay.

an aceo - batz-maru marker / watercolor

Subway Sketching

I just started sketching people on the subway on my way to work. THe tools are simple just some index cards and a pen or pencil. there are pros and cons to this, the upside is that I get to improve drawing, sketching skills as well as improving my speed. Downside is that some people did not like the idea of someone else drawing them. I remember that this old lady in particular (see below) because she was trying to hide behind her magazine and hat. Of course I stopped drawing her as soon as I realized that that was what she was doing. I carefully choose my subject before drawing mostly I like doing interested faces. Obviously some common sense is needed you know like stay away from people who look like they're having a tough day, chip on thier shoulder, belligerent, angry. And being sensitive to the fact that some people will not want to be drawn .. granted some will say something and others may be too embarrased to do so and will say nothing. Either way if I noticed that they're being discomforted by my sketching them I stop and move on to sketching someone else. So far I haven't had problems yet. Though I wish I realized sooner that the old lady was that discomforted by my sketching to hide under her hat and magazine. Anyways that's life .. one more thing learned. Ok everyone I keep ya'll updated on my sketchings ..though some days will be blanks as I can only sketch when I get a seat on the subway and Provided that I am awake vs. asleep because I have a seat in an airconditioned car.

subway sketches on 3x5 index cards

subway sketches on 3x5 index cards

subway sketches on 3x5 index cards

subway sketches done in the subway on my way to and from work - rollerball pen on 3x5 index cards

subway sketches done in the subway on my way to and from work - rollerball pen on 3x5 index cards

pen on ink 3x5 index cards

cat pen on paper 3x5 index cards

subway sketches done on my way to and from work, subjects are people sitting across from me. - rollerball pen on 3x5 index cards

sleeping cat - Ink Sketch on 3x5 index cards

Bored kitty - Ink Sketch on 3x5 index cards

Going to Coney Island Beach ---> sketching

Sketching on the beach is fun and challenging at the same time. Today I went to Coney Island Beach .. a spur of the moment vacation: sun, surf, wind, and sketching. Yeip I visited Astroland, as and ate a hotdog from Nathan's Famous on corner of stillwell and surf ave.

The sketches below are ones I made between swimming and sunbathing. Oh and this is perfect place to do live sketching and the models are free too. Live sketching requires alot of speed, For my beach scenes I chose to sacrifice details in effort to capture motion and gestures. THe sketches done on the subway are more detailed as people sat still and I had at least 5-10 minuets to do them vs. a few seconds for running kids on the beach. A friend from art class later commented on sketches, "oh they're so simple" well ... I guess she's never sketch live vs. models who are paid to hold thier pose. Also next time I will bring a big hat as well as big clips to hold my papers in place as beaches are windy places. I had to run after a few of my sketches today and got sun burned while sketching.

Conclusion: This is fun! I'll do it again. Definetly very good for practicing my figure and people drawing skills.

Cute Couple

Cute Couple - location: D train in New York, NY USA. Materials: mechanical pencil on 50lbs drawing paper size 8x10. This was the last sketch of the night.

Girl Looking out of subway window -

Ebony pencil with mechanical pencil highlights. Location: D train (NYC). This one is my favorite .. the little girl is beautiful, too bad I couldn't take a picture of her .. I doubt her father would let me .. but he didn't notice me sketching her.