More Concert Sketching Questions

Aria from Met Opera’s Le comte Ory, Supracolor II pencil

The new issue of International Artist (#107) answers lots of your questions about sketching in live concerts. Here are a couple more:

Corin: How long does it take to draw a portrait in a concert? 
Corin, I take as long as the opportunity gives me. The program usually gives me a pretty good idea of how much time I have for a given sketch opportunity. For example, opera arias last only a few minutes, so in the little sketch Aria from the Metropolitan Opera’s Le comte Ory, I limited my ambitions just to getting the basic silhouette of the singers in their costume.

For some concerts I might have the luxury of 90 minutes or more to work with. If I’m not sure how much time I have, I might start with one performer and build out.


Pierre Fontaine: Have you ever had any mishaps while sketching at a concert?
Pierre, yes, one time at the opera, I was all dressed up in my suit and I was sketching with the ink brush. And then I dropped the cap.

That left the inky tip exposed right near my white shirt. Where was the cap? It must have hit the floor! As the grand arias continued, I reached around with my foot until I put a toe on it under the seat of the lady in front of me. When the intermission came around, I got down on my hands and knees between the rows of seats until I got that cap back.
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 International Artist (#107)