sketchbookfactory

I’ve been to NYC four times, and on each trip I’ve taken a midnight ride on the Staten Island Ferry and sketched the Statue of Liberty. The first time was in 1999 when I had just started carrying a sketchbook. As bad as this sketch looks, it was actually the gem of the trip. All the others I did back then were atrocious. I’ll put them in the next post, just for laughs.

1999

The second one was from a year later. A lot less ink on this page which means I had gained some confidence in my line.

2000

The third trip was in 2005, but I can’t find the Statue of Liberty sketch from that year. I think I may have given it away.

And here is number four, June of 2013. I often use a couple different gray markers as a quick and dirty way to give the effect of a wash. On this occasion the markers were running dry, which is why I didn’t do anything with the background to indicate that it was night.

2013

If I could go back in time I would eliminate or diminish the black outline on that island in the lower left. That line confuses the background and makes me wince every time I look at it. I’m also not so crazy about the “windows” on her podium thing. Not so much because they are misshapen, but because there are no shadows in there, so it makes it look totally empty or something. The reason I didn’t put any shadow in there was because there was actually a bright light coming from inside, but since this drawing doesn’t indicate that it is nighttime, that part looks weird.

Anyway, I guess my point is that even after 14 years of carrying a sketchbook, I still have a lot to learn. I guess I’ll just have to keep going back to NYC.