Tiptree Sings at Christmas

First, an apology as the autoposting to this blog hasn't worked for the last few posts. You can check out the missing ones here: Blog posts.

I love going to see choirs sing at Christmas, so last night I went back to Tiptree to see a friend sing in the choir she belongs to. The setting was St Lukes church, which I have only drawn from the outside, so made sure I had coloured pencils alongside my sketchbook.

My first sketch was of some of the female choristers chatting before the concert. They were very animated and seemed quite excited which I hope I captured in the sketch. What do you think?

Listening to the lovely singing, I sketched the top drawing showing a section of the choir and the church.

I forgot to take the proof of on-location sketching shot until the choir was about to start singing in the second half of the concert, but hopefully gives a little idea of my view.




Other news: I was very flattered when Simone Ridyard asked me to contribute to her architectural sketching book, Archisketcher. Yesterday, I received my copy and the whole book is fabulous! I would thoroughly recommend buying it for your shelves because of the fabulous content, not because of my contribution :)

Finally, due to logistics the Essex&Suffolk Sketchers have renamed themselves Colchester Sketchers. 

The FB group is here: Colchester Sketchers

Have a good week everyone.

Sketching Muscat Festival VIII

 Traditional game near central stage in Heritage Village A4 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 

Having decided I wanted to capture some complete scenes from the Festival, I took my A4  sketchbook with me last night. I really like sketching this size now, but I have found it's not convenient for grabbing quick sketches of people. On arrival I headed straight to the men's seating area and inked then painted the central area, leaving the rest of the paper blank. Under the blue tarpaulin are the seats where the tv presenters sit when the area goes live at 6.30 every night. The Festival was strangely quiet, maybe due to it being St Valentine's day, partially as there were less participants from the night's region. Whilst I sat there several people took my photo, again, and at one point two Iranian artist sat either side of me so their friend could take a picture of the 3 of us. By that stage I had inked in some boys playing a traditional game and the troupe of gentlemen, who came past singing and drumming, but I had lost concentration through trying to talk to the Iranians and smiling for their photos, so went to get my usual cup of tea. Therefore, I broke my own rule and added the colour to the figures when I got home making this only 90% completed on site.

I'd like to thank everyone who has been commenting on this series of sketches. I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by. The festival still has a week to run, so there are lots of sketching opportunities to come and so lots more posts.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I am enjoying the sketching.

Sketching Muscat Festival VI

Waiting to dance Watercolour, A5 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 2012

My last couple of visits to the festival have been all about colour. Three of five pages are watercolours plus I spent most of Tuesday using my camera to capture the colours of the beautiful clothes. The top sketch was painted on my arrival on Wednesday, whereas the one below was done the day before.

In the Beduin tent, pen & watercolour in A5 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 2012

The In the beduin tent sketch is actually a slightly warmer colour, and I apologise for not spending hours correcting it, but I got cold last night and don't feel 100%. Below is one of my favourite costume shots to date.

Sewing © Sue Pownall 2012

I had to paint the chai (tea) sellers as this is another of my regular stops at the Festival. It is inside the Heritage Village and I normally buy a cup of chai around 5pm. They don't make it too sweet and I like the herbs it is made with.  I'd perched near the owner Mr Adnan whilst drawing and was highly embarrassed when he showed his staff the sketch on completion. I think I will be charged double for my tea tomorrow.

Chai, pen & watercolour in A5 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 2012

After I had finished this last sketch I sat in the women's area to watch the main event. The picture below shows the rearview of the women I had painted almost 3 hours earlier (top sketch) with drummers stood facing them. I took a video too which I will upload and share another day.

Earlier, I had taken this photo of some young men in the early evening sunshine enjoying some drumming. This is just one of several photos I have posted in my flickr photostream if you are interested in seeing more.

A face in the crowd © Sue Pownall 2012

From the Heritage Village I watched the musical fountains again, then I got something to eat and watched a British Council sponsored dance/acrobatic troup perform, but as I was cold in just a thin jumper and scarf I thought I would leave...  BUT I discovered there was some flamenco dance and singing on a stage, so stopped and watched that. I have discovered that I think about drawing dancers whenever I watch them, but can't as I don't want to take my eyes off them. I then went home with the car heater on full blast trying to warm up. I apologise to everyone in Europe for complaining when the nighttime temperatures are around 12-15c but I don't have a coat and it is cold for here.

Who needs a tv? aka Sketching Muscat Festival III

Into the arena, A5 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 2012

I'm having the BEST time at Muscat Festival. Apart from the cultural things, what can beat a nighttime performance of fountains dancing to classical music complete with lasers and pyrotechnics? Or what about an Arabic drama complete with a two-headed bad guy, who every time he entered the stage is accompanied by red lighting and fog?

Sword men, A5 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 2012

I dashed straight to the Festival from work yesterday afternoon and went to the Heritage Village. Gasping for a cup of tea I bought one, sat on the bench and looked around to see what I could draw. Due the beginning of a long weekend, I think, the crowds were large and my view kept getting blocked, but I quite like the final result of the sword men. A young boy who was watching me snapped a shot on his iphone before wandering off.

As I had arrived straight from work the next stop was outside the village area to get a falafal sandwich. Food is an important part of the festival, so I sketched the food stand, despite the fact it was almost dark and I could hardly see my sketchbook. I'd have loved to add some colour, but my eyes hurt, so I'll add food stands to my have-to-sketch-at-festival list.

Burgers, shwarmas & falafal ,A5 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 2012

After watching the fountains and snapping with my phone (chose not to take DSLR but found I'd also left compact camera at home) as I tried to capture some of it, I headed back to the Heritage Village and sketched the men with their swords and guns as they waited to parade past the tv cameras resplendent with their swords shaking, guns held aloft, chanting, and drumming accompaniment. (top drawing)

Snapped with my smart phone after I wasn't so smart by forgetting my camera.

I then took a walk around the park enjoying the atmosphere. I discovered that there is a whole section sponsored by embassies based in Oman, so tomorrow I plan to head back there to draw. The Palestinian dancers were great fun, but I think moving too fast for me to capture. Check back here later to see if I sketched them or not.

Just before the two-headed baddie appeared engulfed in smoke.

 Then finally, I went to see some of the Arabic play, which was staged in the auditorium. It was good fun and, please note I do not speak or understand Arabic, so this is purely guesswork, seemed to be set in old Turkey and was sort of a pantomime style play. There was dramatic lighting, smoke, a song - not sure why, and as I mentioned above a two-headed bad guy. The kid in front of me was terrified the first time the baddie came on the stage and clambered over his mum to the protective arms of his dad. Where I was sat, under the stars, it was virtually without light, but I tried to capture the lines anyway. Wished I'd had some fat coloured crayons as I couldn't see the marks I was making with my 0.1 pen. Any way I have posted the result below.

An example of blind sketching.A5 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 2012

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NB: All sketches are completed 100% at the Muscat Festival and are drawn from life.

I am using black ink but as usual scanning and photo correction is an issue.

Sketching Muscat Festival 2012

Drummers, pen in A5 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 2012

Muscat Festival, a month long annual event, started this weekend. These sketches were done on the Qurum Park site, at the festival's Heritage Village. This is my favourite area at the festival as I enjoy the different groups with their traditional dances and music.

Preparing wool, pen in A5 sketchbook © Sue Pownall 2012

I also really like seeing the traditional method of producing things such as the ladies who were preparing wool prior to spinning.

Painting the women preparing wool.

WIP Drummers.

It's funny as I went to get these images of Omanis, but I ended up with as much interest  as some of the performers. I had guys taking photographs of me painting the performers, with both professional cameras and iphones, as well as crowds of onlookers watching my every brushstroke.

Despite the spotlights, I only stayed a couple of hours as I found it hard to focus and draw in that light. In that time I had 2 pages of people sketches in ink and these 3 watercolours, so I had been productive. I plan to return on Monday and have already chosen a few traditional activities I want to draw.

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Edit: 1 Feb slightly better colour scans from a local printer.

Performers waiting to enter the Heritage Village ©Sue Pownall 2012

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NB: All sketches are completed 100% at the Muscat Festival and are drawn from life.