Hope Valley Fire Department

Hope Valley Fire Department - Click image for larger view

I sat across the street from the fire department in Hope Valley this morning. I should have done a double spread to get all of the building in the frame. I have a special affinity for fire fighters, especially those who volunteer. My folks had a fire many years ago and the volunteer fire department of Kenney, Illinois saved my Moms life. She was burned over 70 per cent of her body.  It took a very long time for her to recover, but thanks to those volunteers we all had an extra 20 years with Mom. Special thanks to all you fire fighters out there.

Early Morning Color

Sunrise, Hope Valley - Click image for larger view

The morning was so colorful today that I needed to do a color sketch. I found  a good place to park at the Post Office parking lot in Hope Valley with a great view of this house. Looks like a fine example of a Federal Period home to me. I love this style of architecture. The light in the sky this morning was changing so rapidly that I didn't know just how to address it. Early on there were fantastic clouds with reds and purples but by the time I had the basics sketched in it was just a clear golden morning.

The General Store

The Hack & Livery General Store - Click image for larger view

It is starting to be cold in the morning, so my sketching is now being done from the inside of my car. I was comfy this morning with my coffee, and the heater running while sketching and listening to a book playing through my iPhone. I think our civilization is getting spoiled… at least this sketcher is. This is a great country store and has the best selection of penny candy just about anywhere, but they are not open at 6:00 am. As i sketched, the sun came up and back lit this scene. I was looking almost exactly due East. The trees that still had their leaves were a beautiful golden color and the tall pines almost black against the bright sky. I am going to have to start adding color to these sketches.

Morning Sketches

I have created a small collection of my ink sketches that I do each morning before work and am offering them up for sale. This is a 50 page paperback book with sketches of Rhode Island, most of which I have done on my way to work. This is a printed version of many of the images you have seen here on the blog and likely some new ones too. There are sketches of Providence, East Providence, Cranston and Wyoming and Hope Valley - with a few other places thrown in too.

You can find it for sale here.

Ordinary places

The Post Office and Subway in Wyoming RI - Click image for larger view

It was a rainy and just plain dreary morning today - I parked in the lot of the Post Office and did a sketch of a rather mundane scene. I am thinking that most of what I sketch is just ordinary scenes, so I want to take it a step further and do even more ordinary locations, the things nobody thinks to record until they are  gone. This is a strip mall, most of the businesses have left, and I thought it might be a good thing to sketch.. while I was sketching a man from the Subway came out to my car, in the rain, to see if I had broken down and if I needed any help. It is reassuring that some people have such a good nature, even in the most ordinary of places. The other day I sketched the gas station that is next door to this Post Office. Ordinary places. . .

The Hess Station in Wyoming, RI - Click image for larger view

1930 Ford

1930 Ford - Click Image for larger view

Carol and I spent the day today going from place to place. We started off in an Asian grocery store and then to Watchemoket Square Days in East Providence where I found this old truck and a comfy place to sit. I didn't get it too centered on the page -- the perils of working in ink. I could have spent more time there but there were places to go and things to see. We made it down to a place called Festival Farm in Hope Valley and stopped in several shops there as well. We met a potter and a wood turner and did some more shopping. . .we came home and did even more shopping... ending up the day at 7:00 -- and a good supper. In all I did three sketches today, and this is the one worth sharing.

Pazi's Place and other things. . .

East Providence Diner - Pazi's Place - Click image for larger view

Kathy and I got out early again this morning and found another diner. This one is close to home and was a very comfortable diner filled with nostalgia..highly recommended.  I am guessing that the diner trend will continue into the winter as now it is dark until almost 7 and chilly too.

The Chapel at Wood River - Click image for larger view

Yesterday I sketched this chapel down near where I work. Not the best composition but a it is a charming little building. I have been told that there was one door for men and one door for women, as the women typically left the service early to cook Sunday dinner and it was less disruptive this way.

The Old Stone Dam - Click image for larger view

Another sketch from Hope Valley - this really is a pretty little village and a great area to sketch in. I have been having a good time sketching in the morning and the light is so good these days as the sun rises...

Warren Avenue Liquor Store - Click image for larger view

And a sketch from earlier this week of the Liquor store about a mile from the house. The had a fire in an apartment upstairs recently.

West Side Diner

West Side Diner - Click image for larger view

For the past several weeks my friend Kathy and I have been getting together to sketch in the early morning hour before I have to go off to work. As winter approaches it is getting lighter much later in the morning and I have to be at the other end of the state by 7:30ish so I must leave the Providence area by 7:00. The sun now rises at 6:53 am...so we are starting a diner and cafe tour..and I am really crap at drawing people and interiors. Last weekI did a sketch in the Seaplane Diner that was so bad it is not posted anywhere. Today in the West Side Diner I took a different route by doing a bit more of a 'journal page' in the sketchbook, filling it with little bits of information rather than a single sketch on a more grand scale. So I will post this one today and see what you all think. It's gonna be a loooooong winter

Hillside houses in Hope Valley

Hillside Houses - Click Image for Larger View

This morning I went down to the Old Stone Dam to sketch and these houses were just popping out of the hillside across the street, so they got my attention. This was interesting to sketch as the houses were sitting against a hillside that was heavily forested with tall pines and the the street in front of them wandered up the hill and disappeared into the woods. I initially though I would do a color sketch but as I progressed I liked the tonal qualities of the ink drawing. It was a great morning to sketch with good sunlight and the sound of the waterfall behind me. . .

Recent sketches

Cable Car Cinema & Cafe - Click image for larger view

I am trying to get back in the routine of getting out and sketching every day but as it is getting light so much later it makes it difficult. This morning I drove into Providence and sat across the street from the Cable Car and splashed some ink and color onto the paper. Not my best work, more of an experiment and I started it in the dark. . . I need to start to limit my palette as I think the range of color is too great here. Below is a sketch I did this past weekend out on Cape Cod...

Grays Beach - Click image for larger view

The tide was running out very fast and as I was drawing this I was watching the landscape change. Looks like a great place to bring the kayaks.