Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 12:11 pm
This was my first SketchCrawl (first of many, I hope!), and what a day it was. The weather was fantastic, the people were friendly and fascinating, and the locale was...well, the Rock!! I have really enjoyed looking over everyone's artwork from that day and I love the wide range of styles, subject matter, perspectives, etc. You guys are truly amazing!
Thank you to Enrico and all who helped think this thing up and make it real.
Here are some of my sketches from my first SketchCrawl, or "Day On The Rock":
This was my first group of images, having just stepped off the boat, and the only ones where I even attempted color. The color set I brought was too clumsy, so I decided to stick to B&W. I'll have to re-strategize for next time.
Here I started up the hill and looked back, capturing the scores of SketchCrawlers starting to fan out from the dock, much to the befuddlement of the tourists and park rangers.
I enjoyed the challenge of drawing on Alcatraz. So many buildings stacked on top of each other with all different orientations. At the base of the hill, it gives one the feeling of being an ant looking up at a wedding cake (with said cake having been hastily reassembled after an unfortunate incident involving a tipsy bridegroom and a camera tripod, but hey that's just my wedding experience...)
What struck me over and over was the contrast between freedom and imprisonment. You see these beautiful vistas of the Marin Headlands, the bay, and then concrete and iron bars. I remember from taking the tour a few years ago that back in the days of it being a prison, the inmates could hear the sounds of the parties in downtown SF on New Year's Eve. Talk about adding insult to injury!
I was fascinated by the state of advanced decay that permeates Alcatraz. Here I was looking over the side of a cliff, down a concrete stairway that seemed as though it were literally dissolving. Rusty re-bar poked out like the skeletal remains of the crumbling structures. Everywhere, architectural fossils lay heaped and broken upon the shores of the island. It's all equally hideous and beautiful.
So anyway, I really enjoyed the day, and I was glad to get a chance to meet you all, and if I didn't get a chance to meet you, I'll catch you next time!
Thank you to Enrico and all who helped think this thing up and make it real.
Here are some of my sketches from my first SketchCrawl, or "Day On The Rock":
This was my first group of images, having just stepped off the boat, and the only ones where I even attempted color. The color set I brought was too clumsy, so I decided to stick to B&W. I'll have to re-strategize for next time.
Here I started up the hill and looked back, capturing the scores of SketchCrawlers starting to fan out from the dock, much to the befuddlement of the tourists and park rangers.
I enjoyed the challenge of drawing on Alcatraz. So many buildings stacked on top of each other with all different orientations. At the base of the hill, it gives one the feeling of being an ant looking up at a wedding cake (with said cake having been hastily reassembled after an unfortunate incident involving a tipsy bridegroom and a camera tripod, but hey that's just my wedding experience...)
What struck me over and over was the contrast between freedom and imprisonment. You see these beautiful vistas of the Marin Headlands, the bay, and then concrete and iron bars. I remember from taking the tour a few years ago that back in the days of it being a prison, the inmates could hear the sounds of the parties in downtown SF on New Year's Eve. Talk about adding insult to injury!
I was fascinated by the state of advanced decay that permeates Alcatraz. Here I was looking over the side of a cliff, down a concrete stairway that seemed as though it were literally dissolving. Rusty re-bar poked out like the skeletal remains of the crumbling structures. Everywhere, architectural fossils lay heaped and broken upon the shores of the island. It's all equally hideous and beautiful.
So anyway, I really enjoyed the day, and I was glad to get a chance to meet you all, and if I didn't get a chance to meet you, I'll catch you next time!
Were those the silver painted street performers? Looks just like 'em.
