This October, I decided to do some seasonal sketches of Halloween decorations or activities. I’ve noticed decorations in stores, in front yards, and other places around the city, and because of their shapes, colors, and unique subjects, I decided to give it a try.
A house on the trail by a lake near my house had a huge decorated front and back yard. I noticed it walking one fall day, and there were skeletons, grave stones, and other objects. So one day I brought my sketchbook and sketched a headless horseman skeleton who was on a skeleton horse.
I used a Sailor fude pen with black Platinum carbon ink and allowed my lines to be wonky and fun. Later, I decided to use a limited palette of colors to emphasize the spookiness- indigo and hermatite black, and surprisingly, Cobalt Teal Blue, which is the color of swimming pool water. It was a fun experiment! Something different than what I normally do. Here is the finished sketch:
On October 25th, my church hosted a Trunk or Treat event. We had over 600 people in attendance, and I went around with my sketchbook and captured some of the trunks I saw. Watercolors were added at home. The weather was in the 50’s and sunny, so it was comfortable out. Our high schoolers dressed up like Minions and had a game where you threw plastic bananas in the mouth of a cardboard Minion in the trunk. It was crowded but I captured a few kids as well as some participants in fun costumes.
I noticed a mini van that had a huge praying mantis inflatable on its roof. The owners were handing out candy, but I stood and sketched the inflatable. That bug was one I haven’t see before as inflatable!
An event like this wouldn’t be complete without a food component, and our Holy Smokers group likes to grill all kinds of things. They served hot dogs, chips, and drinks. One was dressed in Green Bay garb with a cheesehead hat, so I had to sketch him! We had live music in the background, so I was sure to capture some parts of the music that was playing.
On to one more Halloween event… the Halloween Sketch at Elk River, Minnesota. Our Urban Sketchers group went to the north metro to sketch this downtown decorated area. There were pumpkins, decorations, and a lot to sketch. We got an hour in, and it began to rain, so we fled to coffee shops and restaurants for lunch and indoor sketching. I went to McCoy’s Irish Pub and had a great time sketching the two ladies who worked there and their Halloween gear while they served tables and prepared our food. I particularly liked Cyn’s green Irish fairy skirt and green wings. It was a fun time!
Here is the full 2-page spread—
Sketching seasonal subjects is a lot of fun. It also helps you keep a look-out for things you don’t normally sketch and grows your powers of observation. Let’s see what we can sketch for winter holidays! Get you sketchbook and start looking around!