Monday, September 8, 2008

Hi from Virginia City

I haven't been posting because there's no Internet at Yellowstone. Here's one sketch from Virginia City, an old mining town in the Rockies. This old Ford still runs, the locals told me.

The sketch is a mixed bag of watercolor, brown fountain pen, and water-soluble pencils. The original is about 3 x 4 inches in a mini Moleskine sketchbook. It's a big file if you want to click on it.

We've been enjoying the company of about 40 members of the Society of Architectural Illustrators. Members have come not only from America, but also from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. These artists have experience in both architecture and illustration, and they create artistic but accurate renderings of proposed buildings, both in digital and traditional media. They meet annually for a juried exhibition, workshops, hikes, and sketching excursions. They're amazing watercolorists and sketchers. More information here: link.

9 comments:

Tim said...

Lovely! Reminds me a little of Sargent's "wrecked oil refinery" I think you posted it somewhere here too. I find cars quite difficult to draw. Something about symmetricallity. Probably why I think faces are so hard too (even though they aren't perfectly symmetrical, I always believe them to be!)

Jen Z said...

Wow, what a great old timer! I love drawing old cars, they've got so many interesting bits! A real challenge, as Timpa said, but practise makes perfect... :]
Have fun on the rest of your trip!

Steve Downer said...

So cool.
I live quite close to Virginia City, and I've been there several times. It's a neat old town with a fascinating history.
Also, excellent sketch!

Michael Damboldt said...

Hey James, I know I've said this before, but thanks so much for sharing your art and techniques with us!

Honey P. Amplegood said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Honey P. Amplegood said...

That treehouse one is neat! And all that exacting pencil work. Mostly I like the Ferris wheels.

Which ones do you like the best?

stephen erik schirle said...

love all that gritty texture in this.

Shawn Escott said...

WOW! :O

Random York said...

That car sketch looks Great, Jim!