Monday, November 06, 2006

incognito or impaired?


I'm not sure if this man was hiding from me or just had bad eyesight. Regardless, I had to draw him. One of the things I really like about sketching people are the details I notice, that otherwise I would just pass over. For instance, this man, though chubby, had really thin ankles, wrists and hands. Probably he has my problem; whenever I go on a diet, I lose weight in my wrists...go figure.

14 comments:

Karen Sandstrom said...

Suzanne - I love this sketch. I feel like I know what he would look like if he dropped the paper. Was this in a library?

Anthony said...

This is one of my favorites you've done (if I can say that). The depth of the sketch and "body language" of the guy are great! Super stuff.

Anonymous said...

I love your bookstore sketches.

Nancy Van Blaricom said...

Great job Suzanne. You really have captured the reading/hiding man.

Share with us please about how long did this take you to sketch him? and did you start out in pencil and then go to pen... or just stay with pen... what kind of pen did you use?..... Inquisitive minds want to know...............

addon said...

lovely! you are very skilled at capturing natural poses and making them look real! he's probably like me, needs new glasses. i spent some time in a library today, i bet i looked like that! 'cept i was in jeans and t-shirt.

adam

suzanne cabrera said...

Nancy- I sketched this man for about 10 minutes or so...lucky for me, he was pretty engrossed in his book. I prefer using a pen to sketch people. For me, it takes the pressure off being perfect. Moreover, I work almost in blind contour fashion, paying special attention to the shapes of my subject first, later filling in the details. Yesterday I was using a pigma micron 03 pen, though I don't highly recommend it as the tip wears out very easily. I'm constantly on the search for the perfect pen and would really like suggestions from others about their pen choice.

Ester Wilson said...

this guy looks totally ready to fall asleep. Awesome drawing :)

Ester Wilson said...

my fav pens (by far) are rapidographs filled with india ink. I don't mind taking the extra care that they require (like not letting them sit unused for over 10 days, and sitting them up straight in a jar rather than laying down, etc). They are my favorite. Second best, I've found the Koh-i-Noor Nexus pens are great for travelling with color. They are gel smooth and make a perfect line. My thought is that Koh-i-Noor pretty much is the best pen-maker around.

Terry Banderas said...

Nice sketch. The subjects are out there to draw no matter where we go. It's always fun to chose the areas in your sketch to make darker for emphasis. Your style is neat.

Jana Bouc said...

What a pleasure to see this sketch. The contour lines are so full of life and the cross-hatching is so clean and descriptive. I'm glad you had a few moments in your busy life to relax and enjoy some sketching!

hfm said...

Great!

andrea joseph's sketchblog said...

Brilliant sketch Suzanne, I can't really add anything more to that - it's just brilliant.

suzanne cabrera said...

Ester and France- Thanks so much for your pen suggestions. I think these will end up on my Christmas wish list...

melissa said...

This is a great observational drawing. Posture and body language are right on! You always give me the kick in the butt I need to crack open my sketchbook!