Busy Spaces - People Come and People Go

 Since October 2017, I have been drawing/painting something every day.  This began as a one month challenge, but as October 2017 finished, I realized I was NOT finished, and have continued since.  The art takes many forms, but I carry a 5 x 8" Moleskine watercolor book with me everywhere, and draw what I see.  I love capturing the busyness of the street, a restaurant, theater, stadium, park.... and it  has become a daily meditation, whether 15 minutes or several hours.  Here are some examples of these sketches.  You can follow me on Instagram at @jodypaints to see my daily work.  

"Local Restaurant" ink & marker

"Local Yarn Store Joy" ink & watercolor at Boston Fiber Company

"Company" ink & marker at the Boston Opera House

"Treasure Hunting" at Clift Rodgers Consignment Shop

"Treasure Hunting" in progress

"MLK Concert" in progress at Symphony Hall, Boston

"MLK Concert" at Boston Symphony Hall with Boston Children's Chorus

"Lunch at the Bar" at Ocho Cafe in Weymouth, MA

"Lunch at the Bar" at Ocho Cafe in Weymouth

"Coffee with a Friend" at Red Eye Roasters 

"Iowa Hawkeyes" at Rutgers with Caitlin Clark 

"Pause for a Pint" at Sam Adams Brewery

"Pre-Theater" at Sip Wine Bar, Boston

"Pause While Shopping" at Uva Wine Bar in Plymouth

Day 198 "St. Stephen & Symphony" mixed 9 x 7

I hopped into Boston recently to have dinner with my daughter.  We parked and walked through the sweet little streets behind Symphony Hall over to our favorite grill.  I love the quiet neighborhood with brownstones and interesting stoops and doorways.  When I looked over my shoulder at tone point, I saw the iconic YMCA sign above the brick houses.  When I lived in that neighborhood years ago, I used the Y as my gym.  It had a suspended wooden track above the basketball court space, a clever, and old design that maximized use of scarce city space.  I can hear it now, loud, shoes squeaking on the wooden court floor with the regular pounding of feet on the elevated track.  
This is my hundred ninety-eight daily drawing.  Thanks for looking at the world through my eyes.

"Amadeus Live" 6 x 9 mixed #dailydrawing #urbansketchers

This afternoon we went to Boston's Symphony Hall to watch the Handel and Haydn Orchestra play live to the film "Amadeus".  It was astoundingly wonderful.  The orchestra and chorale accompaniment performed beautifully with the movie.  At first, I wasn't sure whether to watch the movie, or the performance, or how to alternate back and forth, but pretty quickly it became an easy balance of back and forth.  As everyone was getting settled I did a quick sketch of people moving to their seats and the orchestra tuning their instruments.  The concertmaster moved to the front for tuning, and just as the lights went down I grabbed the slightest indication of the conductor.  When I got home I added shadow to everywhere except for a few music stands and the movie screen itself.  
I have never seen this movie, though it came out over 30 years ago. It was breathtaking. However, I DID see "Amadeus" on stage.  When I first moved to Washington DC in my early twenties, I bought a subscription to The National Theater.  I was only twenty-two, didn't know much about this new city, and I bought the ticket series thinking it would be something on my calendar, and I could invite someone to each performance.  The first play I saw was "Amadeus", with  Ian Mckellen, Tim Curry and Jane Seymour.  Wow!  Having shared a room, albeit a big room, with Ian McKellen puts me in the gallery of greats with my daughter.
"Amadeus Live" is my forty-third daily drawing.  Thank you for continuing to look.