(Apologies in advance if it’s hard to see some of my sketches; I often use both sides of a page, so some images might bleed through to the other side.)
All right. So I visited the Art Institute of Chicago, which provided free admission throughout the month of February (huzzah! a godsend for any recent graduate accustomed to freeloading off gratis university events). Outside, two bronze lions guard the staircase leading to the main entrance. Here's one urbanized Saharan king (I had to take off my mittens, of course—ah, the sacrifices we make for art).
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4399682563_8972705335.jpg)
Taking refuge inside, I sketched the late lunch crowd in the museum café.
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/4400451210_d6288cb033.jpg)
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Here’s a sketch of a sculpture located within an indoor courtyard.
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4399686533_eee8c43eb6.jpg)
To my amusement, a security guard approached me mid-sketch, asked me what I was sketching (to which I replied, “…the sculpture I’m sitting in front of”), asked to see my ID, and then proceeded to hand me the following form to fill out (I blocked out personal information like my home address).
![Image](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2711/4400455438_352785bc0d.jpg)
Well, I suppose they need to take any and all safety precautions in case I was a spy for a rival art museum, or was planning an elaborate heist to steal the sculpture later that night and was therefore meticulously recording the dimensions... or something. Crisis averted, in any case.
I then went into the gallery that housed the famed Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte, and did quick gesture drawings of the viewers in front of the work.
![Image](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2685/4400456388_43c6f774ef.jpg)
I did the same with viewers standing in front of another museum highlight, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. (As I grew up in Chicago and have wandered through galleries of the Art Institute countless times, I was probably the only museum visitor not paying much attention to the works, but the other visitors instead!)
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4399689331_2408fe69bb.jpg)
![Image](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2698/4400458082_96f826a2f1.jpg)
Outside was this puppet-show-on-a-bike.
![Image](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2767/4399690519_dc62ecbd9d.jpg)
It really was on a bike.
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/4399690821_be9cd0f482.jpg)
My fingers about to fall off, I then hopped onto the El. (If you are unfamiliar with Chicago’s public transit system, the “El” gets its moniker from a unique feature; it spends much of its route above ground—elevated, if you will.) I played around with a new dual-tip brush by sketching a passenger inside the train.
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4400459496_2d54eac290.jpg)
I warmed up and loaded up on caffeine (a university habit I’m afraid I won’t be able to shake for a while—or ever) at my favorite coffee shop, New Wave Coffee.
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4399692237_32a4952443.jpg)
There are many reasons why I love New Wave Coffee. Here’s one.
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4399692409_e89636ce7c.jpg)
On the El again, I realized I’d suddenly crossed international borders into iPod Nation.
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4399693577_f07070d2aa.jpg)
In a Starbucks inside the Loop (Chicago’s downtown area).
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A seat on the Metra train ride out of the city.
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After this splendid afternoon all to myself, I joined my extended family for my aunt’s birthday at her house. Now, if I had to name two things in this world that I deal very well with and can relate to on a transcendent level, they would be: children, and dogs. My three-year-old nephew (or is it cousin? He’s my cousin’s son. No matter; he calls me “Aunt Jenny” anyway, as if there needed to be any excuse to endear himself to me even more) was apparently afraid of the dog at that house. So, naturally, I helped the two become acquainted. Success!
![Image](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4399697401_5d6238f13c.jpg)
Thanks for looking through my sketches, and a huge thanks to those who created the worldwide SketchCrawl! Here’s to successful Crawls in the future.
Cheers,
Jenny