Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Saturday May 15 2010
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Jenny Lam
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Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by Jenny Lam »

Hi everyone! I hope that your SketchCrawls have been fun and fruitful, and, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, hopefully those of you who had less than… desirable… climate conditions in February (myself included!) enjoyed better weather now that Spring has sprung. Allegedly, anyway. This was my second Crawl, and it was great to meet up with fellow Chicago artists this time, although I also sketched on my own again like I did on my first Crawl. Hopefully Mary and Ted will post their contributions soon!

We began the day sitting on the steps in front of the Art Institute of Chicago and watched the world go by. Waiting to cross Michigan Avenue were pedestrians

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and a biker.

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Also sitting on the AIC steps was this fellow.

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The bottom half of one of the bronze lions guarding the museum. (I sketched the top half of the same lion during the last Crawl.)

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Behold: the Cone of Shame!

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Yep.

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While sitting on the museum steps, a peculiarly familiar face floated across my peripheral vision. I squinted and realized it belonged to a lecturer I had my freshman year at Columbia—that was four years ago and in NYC. Small world! Unfortunately, I couldn’t sketch him as 1.) he walked up the stairs too quickly; and 2.) I was too preoccupied being befuddled/bewildered/confused/amused to do so much as twitch my drawing hand. I do know, however, that I sketched him to accompany an article three years ago when I illustrated for my school’s undergraduate magazine. If I can find a copy of that issue, I’ll post it here.

Back to the present. After the sketching session at the AIC, we parted ways and I went into Chinatown to watch my mom sing Chinese opera for senior citizens as part of a church function.

My lovely grandmother as we waited for the performances to start.

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Heads bowed in prayer as the show began.

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One of the emcees, plus the piano player.

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My “9 Uncle” (my mom comes from a family of nine children—he’s the ninth, and my mother’s the seventh) was the other emcee. Included are other performers looking into their songbooks.

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More singers reading from their songbooks. One woman sported a Carol Brady mullet. I was intrigued.

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My mom performs.

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On the El back into the Loop.

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On the El up to Wicker Park.

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There, a friend and I relaxed in a Spanish restaurant and treated ourselves to tapas: one dish of lamb pops

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with polenta and one dish of garlic crusted bread with tomato sauce and goat cheese. I’m not much of a cheese person (I know, I know, I’m a freak of nature; it’s also ironic since I helmed my undergraduate art gallery for years in which I’d often entice potential opening reception attendees with the tagline, “Free wine and cheese! Wine. And cheese. FREE. Did I mention it was free?”), so I let my friend go to town with it.

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I cannot reiterate enough how wonderful of an idea SketchCrawl is and how it really does push us to truly see the world, to notice the little things that we often take for granted. I, for instance, realized that many people wear glasses. Hey, it’s an important takeaway, if you ask me!

Thanks for viewing my sketches!

Cheers,
Jenny
mhimeswc
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by mhimeswc »

I like your quick sketches of facial expressions, and that nicely detailed sketch of your meal. You made me laugh at your reason for only sketching the bottom of the lion. :-) Nice work, Jenny.
Ramon
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by Ramon »

i feel bad for missing everyone. I got there so late in the day that i had to go off on my own. Well maybe next time, everyone. Maybe we can do something before SC28. I'll post my results soon.

-R
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Jenny Lam
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by Jenny Lam »

Thanks a lot, Michelle! :mrgreen:

No worries, Ramon. Yeah, we left the AIC before 1 PM. Looking forward to seeing your results!
rozkeep
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by rozkeep »

yes I love the simple Matisse like quality of the first sketches vs the detailed pencil drawing of the meal... and I love the cheese story.
Your Mum`s Chinese Opera hands are lovely too.

Sounds like you had lots of fun!
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by meh1 »

Hi Jenny. It was fun sketching with you and Ted. I posted my sketches to flickr, but I'm not sure how to post here. If I figure it out, I will post. Love your drawing of your meal, and of course, Cone Dog!
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markfletcher
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by markfletcher »

Hi Lam Pops! (at first I thought that was a pun on your name!) :lol:
great economy of line tho, really really!
Mark Fletcher 8)
Mark Fletcher, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
"Don't Hurry, Be Happy!" = copyrighted trademark
https://sites.google.com/prod/view/mark-fletcher
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Jenny Lam
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by Jenny Lam »

Thank you so much, rozkeep and Mark! :D Haha, maybe I'll start calling myself "lam pops" now. :P

It was fun sketching with you too, Mary! It's pretty easy to post your images here from Flickr. Just type in [ img ] and [ /img ] (but get rid of the spaces) around your image url. There are also instructions here.
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by meh1 »

Thanks, Jenny! I'll try it now...
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The last two are from the Macy's Starbucks after I left the group due the chilly weather.
Last edited by meh1 on Thu May 20, 2010 5:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Joan T
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by Joan T »

Jenny - Love how you get the essence of the person with such little fuss!!! Great sketches and I just love the last one.

Meh1 - Your sketches are well done...wish they were a little larger to see the details. Nice work!
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by meh1 »

Thanks, Joan! I tried making the photos of my sketches larger. Now, I need to work on getting them in focus!
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Jenny Lam
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by Jenny Lam »

Yay! I love the "chilly" sketch--lovely perspective of the face, Mary. So great that we drew the same "cold but stylish" woman. :D Nice Starbucks sketches, too.
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by meh1 »

Thanks, Jenny!
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kumi matsukawa
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by kumi matsukawa »

Jenny - I love your quick and confident line works a lot! These are beautiful portraits and your meal is greatly rendered! I especially love the 2nd and 3rd.
meh1 - You capture people with lovely line strokes! Love your Jenny's portrait and chatting girls especially.
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Re: Chicago, USA [RESULTS]

Post by meh1 »

Thank you, Kumi!

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