Sketching - My Drug of Choice

After a few days of remodel stress, shopping stress and indecision overload, I hit the wall. I needed to go sketching in the worst way. Kris and I made an evening of it at Prima Bistro and Mo's. We were all set to do an outdoor sketch of Christmas lights in downtown Langley after Mo's closed at 11, but it was pouring down rain.

Prima diner

Prima patrons sharing a bottle of red.

Half of the Jurriaans party of 4, dining at Prima.

Mo's crowd

Nosh and Sketch

nosh |nä sh | informalnounfood : filling the freezer with all kinds of nosh we bought at the Star Store.• a small item of food : "We have plenty of noshes and nibbles" said the waiter.• a light meal; a snack : in between noshes we sketched people at Prima Bistro and Mo's.verb [ intrans. ]eat food enthusiastically or greedily : there are several restaurants in Langley, so you can nosh to your heart's content | [ trans. ] there I sat, noshing my favorite food as I splashed paint on the table cloth.• eat between meals : today's grazing is different from what we used to call noshing or snacking. But noshing sounds better.ORIGIN early 20th cent. (denoting a snack bar): Yiddish.

First stop, Prima Bistro.

A local fixture at Prima

Then a portrait of Kelly at Mo's.

A pre-med student also studying spanish.

A profile at Mo's

Play That Funky Music White Boy

Who knew you could have so much fun in Langley? Three sketchers hit the town on Halloween looking for something scary to draw and stumbled upon a fabulous party at Ott & Murphy's Wine Bar. Tim Donovan rocked the house. At one point I noticed someone across the room sketching us as we were sketching them -an off-island sketcher. 

Tim Donovan

David Ossman, etal at Ott & Murphy's

Tim Donovan performing at Ott & Murphy's

Sketcher gone wild

Halloween at Mo's, where things were much tamer.

Wanings at Whidbey Island Winery

I count us lucky. The weather gods blessed us with one of our last nice days for sketching outdoors. We spent it at Whidbey Island Winery's beautiful park setting. There were peeks of sun and warmth, and with friends and wine, it made for a perfect day.
Besides the nice weather, the light is waning too. I think my Whidbey Island Winery sketch reflects it. I did a silly thing and chose a dark spot under a madrona to focus on.
Here are my sketches for the day...

After the winery Sue and I headed to Mo's for a few more sketches and a burger. I gravitated to the gentleman on the left because of his great profile. Unusual and handsome.

On the right... At times I get tired of drawing the backs of people. Oh well. It becomes more about the medium, light and composition.

 

  

Whidbey Island Winery and Mo's

Whidbey Island Winery

Yesterday's sketching was a real treat - a wonderful afternoon spent with new and old friends, a sketchbook, a glass of Whidbey Island White and even a little sunshine! We also had a watercolor demo by Phyllis which led to Mary's big breakthrough. She promised to post it as her first contribution to the blog - stay tuned!

Dahlias and nasturtiums:Whidbey Island Winery

Mos': Mr. Adams works a puzzle

Mo's: A lively conversation about flying

Sketching on Second Street

You can't beat a sunny September afternoon strolling around Langley sketching with friends. This time of year, every warm, sunny day in the Northwest is precious and not to be squandered. We made the most of it.

P.S. Suisse Bakery in Langley Village

South Whidbey Commons Garden

Mo's

Saturday Night Portraits in Langley

After First Saturday Art Walk, we had dinner at Prima Bistro. Well, everyone else had dinner while I tried to sketch them.;-) Then on to Mo's for more sketching when the music got too loud for us at Prima.

Hey, it's Corey! You know . . .  that tall, cute guy who works at Useless Bay. He stopped by Mo's after work and joined us for a sketch. He brought his sketchbook with him. On the right is James, a visitor to the island.

Mo's Pub

Prima Bistro then Mo's Portrait Party

My first sketch of the evening is of Prima Bistro as Deja Blooze played some great tunes. I tried to capture the warmth and activity of the place. Next time we'll sit in front of the band.

The backside of one third of Deja Blooze at Prima Bistro

Later Sue and I migrated to Mo's for a little portrait party. First sitter was the charming and delightful Corey of Useless Bay Coffee fame. Turns out he's a sketcher too. A talented young man so we hope to recruit him into WISk.

Corey Sketching at Mo's

Then the amicable and proud James visiting from Tucson. James finds the Island's inhabitants friendly and approachable, much like himself. He was lucky and walked away with a sketch!

James Patiently Posing

Ott and Murphy's and Mo's

A fun Sunday afternoon and evening of sketching with Sue. First at Ott and Murphy's wine tasting room in Langley then a walk down the street to Mo's for more sketching and Shepherd's Pie. Here's a couple sketches...

Ott and Murphy's rugs. As much drawing as I've been doing lately, it was a struggle to see things right that day. I felt dyslexic so concentrated on capturing the sense of light.



























Sue blocked my view so I made due. Of the number of sketches I did at Mo's this is the only one I halfway liked. The last was better but I gave it to the young man who was in the sketch.

One Mo Time at Mo's

Lots of people-sketching and fun at Mo's last night . . . The highlight of the evening was when some guy tried to buy Kris' sketch for $6.00 at the end of the evening. Very funny. Another highlight was the apple dumpling. We split one, but it was so good, we had to get a second one!

Chris disappeared so fast I had to make most of it up.

I think her gray face is a karmic punishment for leaving in the middle of my sketch.
You leave and I make you ugly.

Last call - no time to finish this one.

Mo's Again

Langley's new watering hole, Mo's Pub, is turning out to be a great place for people sketching!

I was all packed up and ready to leave when I noticed what a great subject was sitting right next to me. Pony tail and baseball hat - couldn't resist. I unpacked my art supplies and did a quick sketch of Jenne. I think she was watching a hockey game on TV. When I asked how to spell her name, she told me the story of how it changed from "Jenny" to "Jenne." In high school, she and a friend thought they would be cooler if they changed the spellings of their names to something more exotic. She changed hers to "Jenne".  Even though the new spelling did not make her any more popular among her classmates, it stuck. I thought she was super-cool!  :-)

Ron, the coolest guy in town, chats up the La Rue sisters at the end of the bar.

Ron again!

Sketching at Mo's

A burger, a couple glasses of Pinot Grigio and hours of sketching with Kris at the corner table at Mo's Pub - my kind of evening!  Mo's is such a great addition to Langley's limited roster of eating/drinking establishments. I expect to do lots more people-sketching there in the future.

Fun & Fashion Langley Style

Here are my "Langley Fashion Weekend" sketches from last Saturday. It was a fun, festive and fashionable time in the little village by the sea! Check out some video of the event here.

Roberta's Window

Roberta's Door

Chad Harding at the Celtic Viking

Kay Alsip models for "In the Country"

Stage props at the Clyde

More stage props at the Clyde

One last sketch at Mo's!