Spring Sketches

I’ve been out and about the Twin Cities these past few weeks, and enjoyed several experiences as the “Metro Surge” has wound down a little bit. Some friends and I have sketched at immigrant-owned restaurants, to show support and sample their tasty food. In February, several sketchers and I enjoyed Dim Sum at Jade Dynasty in Minneapolis. The food was great and the atmosphere was a lot of fun.

I’ve been to Mama Thai Kitchen in St. Paul a couple times and enjoyed their food and atmosphere very much! The staff is very friendly and the food has been artistically arranged and delicious. Here are a couple sketches…

I always find it challenging to eat and sketch at the same time! I will start with a pen and ink drawing (Sailor Fude pen and Platinum Carbon Ink) of my food, then sometimes take a photo so I can add watercolor later at home. Or, in the top two sketches, I added some watercolor to the sketch in the restaurant, so I knew the basic colors, then deepened colors at home. I love the lavender-colored watercolor that adds such nice shadows!

Besides sketching food, I also sketched at the flagship No Kings Protest and Rally at the end of March, in St. Paul. This turn-out of over 100,000 people was one of the biggest I have seen. The energy was electric, as were the speakers, musicians, and especially Bruce Springsteen, whose “Streets of Minneapolis” song brought tears to my eyes. I stood several hours, surrounded by people at the rally, and did a sketch of the stage and part of the Capitol. This is a very memorable sketch to me, as Minnesota was highlighted that day across the nation.

And, on a more recent note, some friends from Urban Sketchers Twin Cities and I went to the Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing in South St. Paul to sketch World War II planes and museum artifacts. The volunteers were restoring several planes and they were friendly and welcoming to our group. We watched them work and captured many sketches. I first did a sketch of a mannequin in uniform, to just warm up. I reflected on how different this uniform looks from that of our current aviators.

I also had time to sketch one of the volunteers, Doug, who was doing restoration work. The plane near him is a Navion L-17B from the Korean War, 1951. I liked sketching all the mechanical pieces, wires, and hoses in the front of it.

As spring moves into summer, I’m excited about the many other opportunities I’ll have to sketch with friends, and the new places I’ll see. I am taking an online class to sketch birds, and hope to share more about that in a future post. Thank you for checking out my blog, and I wish you a happy spring!