Friday, March 10, 2017

Finished! 100 people in 5 days

There was no question about where I would go for some of my last sketches in the challenge to do 100 people in five days. This was Friday, I just finished teaching my morning class at Kirkland Arts Center, I was hungry and couldn't wait to have lunch at Mediterranean Kitchen. It's just a few minutes away in Totem Lake.

On the way, waiting at a traffic stop, I grabbed one of my business cards and sketched a woman across the street who was waiting for the bus and listening to her iPod.

I glued the card into an empty spot on yesterday's page. But it's #1 out of 26 needed to catch up with the final total of 100 by the end of the day!

Made it for lunch at Mediterranean Kitchen just before the afternoon rush. The food is delicious and there are always great faces and characters to observe. I found the perfect spot to enjoy lunch and sketching at a table along the banquette seating on the east wall.

I must say that the belly dancing set of music is a bit harrying and stressful when you're trying to sketch. It just makes me try to draw faster and faster.
Some people left before I could finish. I really liked my watercolor pencil drawing of the man in the lower center of the page but he left before I could do much more. The guy in the lower right corner was fixing his hair and taking selfies while waiting for his take-out order. Ahem! Missed a spot!
I could have added another dozen sketches from the car outside the cinema.
It takes about 50-60 minutes to commute home from Kirkland. I ended up going out after dinner for the last nine sketches needed to complete my 100 for the week. I knew right where to go on a Friday night---the local multi-plex cinema!

By now I've learned to check the schedules on my proposed venues. (It's very disappointing when there's nobody there to sketch!) This time I knew that a movie would let out at around 9:15 or 9:30 PM. I sketched a few people in the concession area and then had my choice of subjects coming out into the lobby as they left the auditoriums.

Meanwhile, the security guard noticed me, came over and sat down next to me on my bench, looking over my shoulder at what I was doing. Once he saw my pages from earlier in the week and learned about my project, he must have deemed it okay to bring outside sketches into the theater. Off he went to continue his rounds. (Good thing I didn't bring any outside snacks!)
This was a good place to fill up as many pages as I wanted, but it was late and I needed to go home and add color before posting my catch of the day.
So that's 27 for the day and I'm all caught up! I think my total is actually 101 for the week.

I usually include people in context as part of my urban sketches so this challenge was a bit disorienting for me at first. I panicked a bit at the prospect of having enough time to draw 20 live, bustling people a day, much less their accoutrements and surroundings! It was a marathon, but so much fun! And it got me out of the house into weather I would have avoided and at times when I normally would have stayed at home. Thanks again, Marc Taro Holmes and Liz Steel for the inspiration!

6 comments:

  1. Congrats, Michele! If anyone would finish, I knew you would! I love all the varied gestures and poses you caught, including that vane selfie snapper! :-)

    - Tina

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    1. Thanks so much, Tina, for your confidence in my perseverance. It was fun doing my usual people watching, but this time sharing what I see.

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  2. I was thinking about how the belly dancing music would make me sketch faster too. The theater was a great idea and checking the schedule is crucial...otherwise you would only have the person/s behind the food counter. Great collection of people and poses!!! Congrats on 101!

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    1. Thank you so much, Joan! I panicked a little at first, wondering where I might find enough people. It was a lot of fun!

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  3. Your sketches are amazing!! I am so glad that I am taking your classes, you make them so much fun! Thank you!

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    1. Thanks so much for your kind words, Shar. I am pleased to have you in my classes. It's fun to see your progress.

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