Musical sketching!!!

Aaaarrrrrgggghhh!!!! I have a pen in my kit with a great nib, but crappy ink that NEVER dries and ALWAYS smudges. But do I remember that? no And do I use it anyway? yes And does it smudge? Why, yes, yes it does. poop
But, had just a stellar day Friday sketching at Paula Pugh's fabulous Whidbey Island home above Saratoga Straits. She invited us to enjoy the weekly gathering of her "Stilton Quartet" - two violins (including hers), one viola, and one cello. 15 of us Sketchers were more than eager to accept!! Music, sketching and happy hour afterwards; in the woods overlooking the water and mountains - Pacific Northwest life at its most sublime!!

Stilton Quartet

John Berg

Another privileged day with the Sketchers!  Paula Pugh and the Stilton Quartet changed their usual practice venue to play for us this Friday.  I LOVE sketching musicians ... a simple tip I've discovered and will share with you is that tho they move constantly, musicians repeatedly return to the same movement yielding many opportunities to "get" that arm, hand, bow, or whatever.  I plopped on the floor behind John and loved this perspective of his concentration.  Fun painting his shirt ... I learned a ton from this sketch ... capturing patterns, shadows, folds quickly.