Street Scene

This is a sketch I did from my car on Saturday. It started to get misty and the windshield was starting to get all wet, so I had to stop.

About Town

Inspired by the penciling from the hospital from the other week, I went out a couple weekends ago and sketched these. While I was at the river a wedding party came up and took photos with the river as a backdrop.

 

I took this panorama photo with my phone while down at the river. I ended up taking more pictures than sketching (still not sure if that's good or bad).

The View From Above

Here's some sketches from this past Tuesday. I was up in the sixth floor of Lutheran Hospital. On one side of the building was an incredible view looking up Franklin Ave. What a great view!! On the other side was an equally nice view looking toward downtown. I wanted to put some more details in the downtown view, but it was time to go.

Parent Teacher Conferences

 

Here are some sketches made while waiting to meet with my son's teachers the other day. One of the joys of parenting is sketching during school events! Over the years I've tried to get less deterministic with my line and let it wander a bit more. It makes for a much more interesting drawing.

Berea

 

 Here's a demo I did last weekend at the Berea Arts Fest. It was cloudy when it was started, then the clouds broke and a nice shadow pattern appeared on the gazebo.

Emerald Necklace Marina

Summer at the Emerald Necklace Marina in the Rocky River MetroParks, 

right behind Sweetwater Cafe.

Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival Sketchcrawl

Our next sketchcrawl will be at the Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday, September 15th, 2012 from 10am to Noon.  We will meet on the EAST BANK of the flats (most of the activity will be on the west bank, but we will be able to set up and see the boats clearer without the crowds). 

For those of you who don't know the Flats, here are some directions.  Travel westbound on St. Clair from East 9th street (a left if you are going north, right if you are going south).  Near West 9th, you will go down a steep hill.  At the bottom of the hill, turn left.  After you cross the rapid tracks, turn right at the intersection, and immediately turn right into the parking lot.  I do not know if this parking lot is monitored on Saturdays or not, so I do advise you to pay for your spot, just in case.  It's only like $2.  :-) 

We will meet near the rapid station at 10am.  If you are late, you should be able to see us very well. 

Please post a comment here if you haev any questions.

-------updated directions 9/6/12

Ohio City

Here's a few more from Ohio City. That's St. Ignatius with the big tree in the middle. Lots of details that I sort of gave up on!

Only ONE night...... 10pm - 1am

Night Bloom Cereus..........it only bloom couple hours in only ONE night,  I have to get it in the sketch book.

Music of the Night !!

7/22 at Blossom : The Beat Goes On !!  Music of The Baby Boomers.

Wonderful Music......So much memories.

Slyman's and Corned Beef

There are tons of signs around town that point out that they have "The Best Corned Beef," but there is only one spot that can truly claim that statement.  And, they don't even need to have a big neon green poster in the window to tell people.  The lunch lines speak for themselves.  The corned beef sandwiches are HUGE to say the least. 

Ohio City

Here's a sketch I did two weekends ago in Ohio City. Some nice iron fencing in front of a friend's house. I'm fascinated by all the fencing in this neighborhood.

Euclid Ave. Steeple

I love this steeple on Euclid Avenue.  It's right behind the CVS near the Cleveland Clinic.  I wish I had a picture of what the building looked like before this was all that was left of it.  I also like how the composition turned out. Sometimes my composition is just based on how much space I have left on the page, and sometimes it is nice when things frame up nicely.

Saturday, July 14th, 2012

Join us for a sketchcrawl at Lakeview Cemetary on Saturday, July 14th, 2012 from 10am to noon (or later).  We will meet at the Garfield Monument, but from there people can scatter anywhere.  You can enter Lakeview Cemetary from Euclid Ave. and follow the directional signs to the monument.

Design reunion on the Thames

Our Central-St. Martin's Industrial Design class had a reunion hosted by successful classmate Chris Taylor. Here he is parking his boat in front of his house on the Thames near London, England. Very much a designer's house (very minimalist style) manufactured in Germany and shipped to England. We enjoyed great times with old friends, capped off with a boat ride in this very same yacht that was paraded in the Queen's regatta for the Jubilee the week before. 

Zygote Press

Zygote Press is located in a warehouse on East 30th, right near I90.  They are a co-op studio for printmakers, and there are some awesome artists that work in there. 

I find that while I am sketching, I meet so many people with their dogs.  All of the dogs are friendly and well-behaved.  This morning, I met a man who was walking is pit bull, seemed like a bit of an older dog, or a dog that was just not too happy about being out in the heat.  The dog was in the fenced area behind where I was sitting, and every so often, I kind of sensed that he was back there to see what I was doing. . . . Or, if I happened to have treats.

Another thing that I had thought about this last week was the state of Cleveland as a city.  So many people have the impression that it is run-down or unattractive or dangerous.  I just don't see that.  I see the city the way I draw it.  Sure, it maybe cutsey, but this is the way I see it.

Dr. Sketchy

 

Went to a Dr. Sketchy life drawing event last week. I won't post the drawings of the models as they're not really what this forum is about, but I did sketch a bunch of the artists before the start of posing and while the model was on break. Just trying to stay loose. 

St. Theodosius

Had an opportunity to do a sketch of this great Russian Orthodox church in Tremont on Friday.

Gardenview Horticultural Park

 

These sketches on toned paper are from the local horticultural park here in Strongsville. I go there a lot to sketch and paint, as they do a great job with different colored and textured foliage placement and it makes for fun sketching.

League Park Also

Here's my sketch of the ticket office at League Park. When the park was rebuilt in concrete and steel in 1910, this building already existed, and the rest of the park was planned around it. I only got this one sketch in, as it was the day of Parade the Circle and I didn't want to miss that.

League Park is the only existing ex major league ballpark from this era. It'll be exciting to see what they come up with for its next chapter.

League Park

This past Saturday, we met up at League Park in the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland.  It was a great morning to sketch, but I do understand that many of you were already headed to Parade the Circle that afternoon.  It was still great to see some out enjoying some sketch time in the sun.

I sketched this from the opposite side of Lexington.  This structure and the wall along East 66th are the last remaining pieces of the actual stadium.  The grounds are being kept up enough to use, but no diamond to actually play ball on.  Some pretty incredible things happened here.  I will leave that for when Jeff posts his sketches, because he's way more knowledgeable on the subject than I am.  But, there are efforts to restore the stadium, and you can read more about that here.

The area around the stadium is being revitalized through different housing programs, including the opportunity homes.  It's really starting to look pretty good around there.  With those efforts, I hope all of the new neighbors to League Park will push to bring it back to life.  It would be incredible to have some ballgames out there. 

Downtown

These are from last weekend. I had a chance to sketch one of the gargoyles in the Arcade. Cool stuff!

Historic League Park Sketchcrawl

Saturday, June 9th, 2012

10:00am-Noon

Historic League Park

Corner of East 66th & Lexington

Cleveland, OH

Join us for another sketchcrawl coming up on June 9th.  We'll be at the historic League Park in Cleveland.  This park is currently under renovations through the city of Cleveland, so there may be workers on the grounds.  When I took the picture, they were mainly working in the field and not near the structure or remaining wall.

The field opened in 1891 and sat over 20,000 fans.  A World Series was played there in 1920 by the Brooklyn Dodgers and our Cleveland Indians.  It offically closed at the end of the 1946 season.

Just a few blocks south at the corner of East 66th and Hough, there is a field of grapevines for a winery for those who may want to stray from League Park during or after the sketchcrawl.

There is little shade available at League Park, so please be sure to wear sunblock and appropriate protection.  Please read street signs as there is some street parking, but many spots, especially closest to the picture structure, where you cannot park.  Urban Sketchers Cleveland is not responsible for your parking tickets.  :-) 

The Hough neighborhood of Cleveland is currently being brought back to life by different programs within the city of Cleveland, including the Opportunity Homes and community gardens.  You will see many new and/or freshly renovated homes in the area.  This is also a neighborhood that was featured on last year's Garden Walk. 

So, let's start singing, "Take me out to the ballgame. . . . . buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks. . . . ."

As usual, questions before the event can be posted as comments here.  If you may need a contact phone number for the day of the sketchcrawl, email urbansketcherscleveland@gmail.com, and I will supply you with a contact phone number. 





Kirtland Historic Village

 

Vines growing on fence caught my eye.

10 minutes sketch of the Mills

 Idyllic setting for sketching, very enjoyable morning out in nature!

Sketchcrawl at Historic Kirtland Village

Joined other sketchers for the Historic Kirtland Village sketchrawl.  It was a great morning, very mild with a little breeze, and not many bugs around.  The Mormons founded this village almost 200 years ago, and more recently, they have restored the buildings and offered up tours.  The tours ran very consistently throughout the morning.  I must have seen 6 or 7 pass by, with the later morning tours getting larger in size. 

I stayed outside, as the only way to get into the store and some of the other buildings was to be on the tour.  Another lady drew in the sawmill, which was very interesting with a great woodshop inside.

This building was to process "hot ash."  One of the other sketchers asked the tour guide that had passed by what that was, and she was told that it was for the production of fertilizer and ceramics. 

Sketchcrawl Tomorrow!

Scroll down on this blog for more information on tomorrow's sketchcrawl at the Kirkland Historic Village.  It's from 10am to Noon, and it is rain or shine since there are interiors and exteriors to draw.

If you need a phone number to contact, please send an email to urbansketcherscleveland@gmail.com.

See you there!

West Side Market

Painted these last weekend. It was another gorgeous day in the Cleve.

The Art Gallery

The Art Gallery
wonderful show from Evergreen Artists Exhibition is going on there, many different mediums, from oil, watercolor, drawing to Chinese watercolors.

Historic Kirkland Village Sketchcrawl

Saturday, May 26th, 2012

10:00am-Noon

7800 Kirkland-Chardon Rd

Kirkland, OH

Join us for a sketchcarwl at Historic Kirland Village. This is a restored historic settlement where the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints gathered shortly after the church was founded. Between 1831 and 1838 Joseph Smith & early members of the chur...ch established the headquarters in Kirkland, Ohio, built a temple and a village. There are many restored historic buildings including a sawmill, a store, a schoolhouse, a stone quarry, and a farm. We will be giving a short introduction when we arrive, so if you'd like to hear more about the village, please be on time. There are buildings we can sketch inside and outside, so this is rain or shine. This sketchcrawl welcomes all sketching levels, all ages, and all mediums (but please be careful of your paint, ink, and water). Photographers are welcomed. BYOSS (Bring Your Own Sketching Stool). No admission fee, but I believe donations are accepted in the visitors' center. Carpooling is available, please send Maureen Ryan a private message or comment below to make arrangements. This is not far from Holden Arboretum, so if you want to continue your sketching day, that's a good spot to go to.

Art Of Watercolor: Milind Mulick`s Book

Art Of Watercolor: Milind Mulick`s Book

Milind is an inspiration to all across the glob.  One of my student said looking at Milind's work that reminded her Sargent.

Eggshelland Ant's View

Unbelievable what people do with egg shells. Here's a view from the ground.

Packard Museum Sketchcrawl

Unfortunately, this event has be canceled.  Please watch for information on the upcoming Historic Kirkland Village Sketchcrawl.  Thank you.

Oberlin and the Art Museum

I had some time to kill in Oberlin a couple weekends ago and was ecstatic to find a spot to sketch Peters Hall, which features an observatory of all things! The next day I took some time to paint "The Thinker" which is situated in front of the Art Museum.