Sketching to Music

More sketches from music performances. When in an auditorium, with the lights dimmed and not too much space, I try to keep my sketch tools simple. That’s one time the waterbrush is handy.  Pick one that works for you. Painting with a waterbrush never feels like painting with a regular brush, but it has it’s uses. It lets you smear and darken watersoluble graphite pencil.  Also really handy is a rainbow pencil: One pencil, so many colors. Need I say more?

Sketching like this is what my friend Liz Steel calls reflex sketching. Unlike her, though, there’s zero planning involved here. I am here to listen to the music. Putting pen to paper actually makes me listen better and hear things I wouldn’t otherwise. Plus, I come home with a book full of memories.

It was a weekend filled with music. From the same day, later in the evening. At Kuumbwa Jazz in Santa Cruz, this is Alice Smith. Painting in the dark (there’s a few ambient lights that change colors between blue, purple and red) means you’re not only guessing on color but also on your values. When I painted, I thought these looked a lot darker, less defined and more mysterious. The image below left (color corrected in photoshop) is what I thought I painted. The image on the right is what my piece looked like when I stepped outside into the light.

Here’s a second one I liked better. It captured her easy, languid pose. Her powerhouse voice is in sharp contrast to her pose.

Here’s a song by her.