art-history

Yesterday I had a course at the university, which actually has very interesting topic. But yesterday, the presentation given was...lets say, hard to listen to. So instead of doing art-history, i did some art myself.

22.4.2015 | SE: NL. KUNST (seminar: art from the netherlands) | Bruspen | ca. 20x27 cm

Thats the good thing, if you're sitting in the last row: you can do some urban (universitary?) sketching!

Sweden

I've done a little voyage in the north of europe: I went to sweden for a few days. I took a new sketchbook with me and quite a lot pencils, crayons and my watercolors, but i didn't used them a lot; i mostly drew with pencil or the brushpen. It's quicker - and captures more the moment than an actual scenery. Since i was not on my own, I didn't drew a lot of architecture - only from the warm inside of a Café. And since the landscapes were too beautiful too look at only one place, i tried to just look everywhere and save it in memory - for later.

It was a different kind of sketching; it was more a diary of moments than a studing of the foreign architecture and landscapes.

various techniques | 6.4. - 15.4 |

Titlepage

We were travelling from Zurich to Stockholm in one go: 24 hours (almost). This is where the train gets on the ferry to Denmark

And then, somewhere in the middle of sweden, we ate something, but hadn't the right tools with us...
On the ship again the next day: Vaxholm is lovely, Ramsö is the only island, where the ships goes, since "its still winter"

This is a bit mean: Marc was sleeping in the Bus back from Vaxholm

Välkommen! This is the view from a funny cafe on Djurgården Island, were we had a coffee.

Eating and drinking wonderful in the "gamla stan", the old town of Stockholm: Elk-goulash (lovely!) in the Sta. Clara Bierhaus.

Best thing at the Bierhaus: the cellar: Open Jam Session every wednesday, for the students. I had to be quick - the jazz was driving!

change of musicians

At the Restaurant in the "Skansen": Some little plants on the table and window ledge

After visiting in the morning the "Skansen" (sooo many people! No nerves for drawing) we went to drink a coffe on the Island Skeppsholmen. While the others already drank their coffee, i still had some left, before it landed on my sketch - which wasn't that bad, because i messed it up anyway!

We left Martina behind in Stockholm and took the ferry to Visby on Gotland. It was such a wonderfull day, the sky was blue and the sun was warm. We took a stroll around the old city wall, were i tried to catch the evening sun.

And again, trying to catch the shadows of the evening sun on the hilly terrain and the majestic city wall towers.

No Sketches on the 11th...An elderly couple invited us to show us around their home-island: Fårö, in the north of Gotland. Such wonderful Landscapes!! But it was a thight day, and I couldn't sketch - i did so in my mind!

A lovely little Crêperie in an wonderful little house in the old part of Visby. The inside was completly painted white/gray, everything was made of wood and the crêpes were delightfull!

 

We still had a lot of time to spend, untill we had to board the ferry back on mainland Sweden. So we were drinking another Coffee and i tried to capture the view through the window - only with b/w. It was really difficult, also because there were a lot of glassware on the table and the window ledge.

And then, at 4 P.M. the ferry MS Visby took off - the 15 minutes before i drew the view through the bended windows on to the harbour buildings.

On the train from Kalmar, where we only stayed the night, i did some color sketches of some views i encountered in sweden.

 No sketches from Copenhagen - it was much to windy and cold, and not as cosy as Sweden...

This is already in Hamburg, were we had 4 hours between trains, in the night train back to zurich...the thought bubble is an insider...

Museum Rietberg

Finally, i've got more time to draw - I have holidays! I met up with some other sketchers at the Rietberg Museum to sketch the exhibition about "the cosmos", and how it is seen in other religions. Very nice exhibition, with lots of meticoulsly drawn pictures of the cosmos!

Here are few less complicated objects!

18.1.15 - fineliner, pencil, pastels (neocolor) - sketchbook: A5

A flat astrolabe, first made in Morocco in 1323 and later modified in India around 1800. Size of the object: about 15 cm in diameter.

The gathering: there was a free tour and it had so many people. In the back a huge painting with lots of details; height about 2 meters!

a fellow sketcher - or so i thought! It turned out later that this girl was actually taking notes!

A pectorale of Pa-nehesi, made over 3000 years ago in egypt. The scarab in the middle stands for the heart, where the mind of the dead lays. height of the object: about 10 cm max!

the top of an oracle from Nigeria, cut from wood. The outer ring is supposed to be made from flies or similar, and in the middle the shaman would spread flour to read cosmological omens. Diameter about 40 to 50 cm

color

made a little sketch walk with a little booklet and neocolors (Pastels)

started at the Toni Areal, finished at the Prime Tower.

16.1.15 - Neocolors on brownish sketchpaper - each one about 5 minutes - A6

Observatory

I took advantage of the beautiful weather and 30 minutes of waiting time and drew the old observatory of the ETH Zürich: The building was completed in 1864, and used as an observatory until 1980. I discovered the building some years ago, and always liked it, finally got to draw it!

Pencil 3B

actually, its Schmelzbergstrasse 25

Nightsketching

I met up with other sketchers at 19:30 in the evening at the hardbrücke, while it rained heavily. So i searched for a dry place to sit and started with scratchboard. I haven't used since years, and this was a good occasion to try it out again. For the second one i went back to my old beloved white paper, and used a black and red marker. It was fun, but cold, and after this two sketches we went to the next bar and warmed ourself up.

15.11.14, Bhf Hardbrücke, A5

Gloria

halleluja: i've some time to draw. i got up one hour earlier than i had to for university and went to sketch a wonderful house. It's a bit shaby, but it has its charm, and probably a wonderful view over the city, since its high up over the city without any buildings right in front. The next day i went to do the colors on a wonderful sunny morning. It's quite cold already though, i couldn't sit there for more than 45 minutes...
the second one is just a quick one, about 10 minutes, as i could sit in the lectureroom anymore...

fineliner, schmincke watercolors, pencil 2B,
28./29.10.14
Zürich

Gloriastrasse 54

an old lady walked by, and asked me what i'm drawing. I showed her my drawing (she liked it) and then she said: "oh that old building. it should be torn down!" - it would be a shame!

Zürichbergstrasse 29

i really like old building and draw them a lot - and i always draw the graffitis on it too! My friends always ask, why i won't leave them out. But i think that they belong to them - one could also ask as well, why i draw the the company's name on the window. But thats how they look, and i stay true to the facts!

Oh and if you want to read my 24 hours Comic, look here: 24h Comic