Paris

Stade Jean-Bouin, Pen & watercolour, A5 sketchbook. ©Sue Pownall 2015

Love this sign at the entrance to Roland Garros.

This year, I was fortunate to get a ticket for Roland Garros and last Wednesday saw me dropping my assistant at her sitter and me catching a plane to Paris. Friends live near the stadium, overlooking the Stade Jean Bouin, the home of Paris rugby. It was the subject of my pre-breakfast sketch before going to Roland Garros.

I had a ticket for the centre court and Goerges & Wozniacki were playing as I took my seat. I'm not so keen on ladies tennis, so took the opportunity to try and capture the movement of their serves using my multi-coloured pencil. Unfortunately, I pressed very lightly and cannot get a copy to share. Next, having realised you could see the Eiffel Tower from my seat, I then sketched the stand and view. I drew directly in ink and then added the watercolour.

Roland Garros center court Philippe Chatrier ©Sue Pownal

After that, I didn't do any more sketching as the tennis was too exciting: Rafa Nadal V Almagro, Murray V Sousa, and on court 7, Ferrer V Gimeno-Traver.

Ferrer serves. ©Sue Pownall

However, the next day I arrived at the metro about 15 minutes early, so did a quick last sketch before heading to the airport. 

Commuters at Port d'Auteuil: metro & bus.

Now the question is: Where to next?

At the ATP World Tour Finals

Loved sketching the tennis fans

 As many of you know, I am a tennis fan and was able to go to the ATP World Tour finals in London yesterday. I took a few photos, watched lots of amazing tennis, and managed a few sketches between the afternoon and evening session. Hope you like them.

Queuing to enter the evening session.

Andy Murray has a warm up session.

 I think the last sketch I did, which is of the fans (top) is the best, Do you agree?

A tennis fan at the O2 arena.

Red, White & Blue

I've just had a short break as a birthday treat. It involved lots of tennis, treats, and catching up with friends. Looking at my sketches I seem to have had a red, white and blue theme running through my head/drawings. They were all done in my A5 Daler Ebony sketchbook. Hope you like them.

Red: Sat waiting for my flight to Abu Dhabi, a lopsided Christmas tree caught my eye. After inking the scene I then added red watercolour before the flight was called.

Pencil and watercolour

Blue: Once in Abu Dhabi, I went to the hotel, checked in, left my bag with the concierge and dashed straight to the Mubadala World Tennis Championship as play had already started. I normally sketch people at the tennis, so I thought I'd have a change whilst waiting for the second match. This is in pencil with watercolour and I'm not really happy with it, luckily the tennis made up for it.

Morgan's Converse. Ink & watercolour.

Red & blue: Having travelled to Doha my next sketch was of my friend's son's abandoned Converses. Followed by a sketch of her cat, Blue.

Come back I haven't finished. Pencil sketch

As the photo shows, despite being fast asleep, she suddenly got up and I was left with an unfinished sketch.

Blue: I bought myself some beads, blue of course, then drew them. Another sketch abandoned as my friend sat post shower and was a fabulous opportunity to do some life drawing.  Why blue? Because she got cold and would have turned blue if she'd sat too long.

Pencil

White: 1st January My friend and I sat in the MIA (Museum of Islamic Art) Café, which has been designed by Philippe Starck, and is a beautiful complement of black and white within the off-white of the building's atrium. Lounging on white sofas with a slab of lemon cake and a huge pot of tea, I found the architecture intimidating so chose my default sketching subject; the people around. I love the Qatari's white gutrahs (scarves) and captured a few of those.

 

Blue: The final sketch of my trip was of a blueberry cheesecake whilst I waited for my delayed flight home from Doha.

Ink and watercolour

Proof of on-location painting

I will be posting my annual review and arty resolutions in a few days time.
Happy New Year everyone. Here's wishing 2014 brings peace and happiness.

Tennis time.

Relaxing on beanbags prior to the 5pm start

On Thursday I was in Abu Dhabi, UAE, for the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. My mum got me the ticket as a birthday present. Nadal was scheduled to play, but pulled out the day before due to illness on top of his on-going knee injury, which was a little disappointing. However the tennis I saw was good.

Queueing for Djokovic's autograph

I arrived at the ground early and armed with my sketchbook drew the people around me. The first sketch was from the bar of people watching the kids activities out on a field. Followed by the massive queue of people waiting for Novak Djokovic's autograph. Finally, I drew people chillin out on beanbags from my own beanbag.

In the bar watching the kids events

My A5 sketchbook

Inside the stadium I watched Andy Murray lose his match against Janko Tipsarevic, then an exciting match between David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych, which Ferrer won. Surprisingly, play got delayed due to rain, although unlike Wimbledon it was all over in a few moments, the lines were dried and play restarted.

The raincloud.

Ferrer V Berdych at Tennis Complex, Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi

Please forgive the quality of the scans, I am busy working on my end of year post and do not have time to fiddle with colour correction etc.

Cute eritrean guys

The Final at Khalifa Stadium Pen & ink sketch A5 ©Sue Pownall 2011

Answering my door on Saturday afternoon, I was confronted with a colleague offering me his tennis final ticket for that evening as he couldn't go. With only just enough time to change into a long-sleeved T-shirt and get my fleece, I grabbed a taxi and hot-footed over to the tennis stadium arriving a few minutes after the stands had opened. The ticket was for the upper stands and I got a great seat second row back from the railing. As there was an hour to the start and despite the failing light, it was sunset, I sketched the top of the stand opposite as it filled up. I had to stop when it got too dark. Whilst drawing I planned the Payne's grey wash for the skyline and added it today.

Unfortunately, Nadal had been knocked out in the semis the day before, so the final was Federal V Davydenko. They both played well, although Federer dominated the first set, but in the second set his play went up a notch and he was absolutely awesome to watch, and consequently won.

The winner!

Closing ceremony of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final 2011

On another note. Marian wrote a post recently about traffic sources, blogger here has changed how you view stats, and with my curiosity arose I looked at the keywords used and had to laugh... one poor soul searched for "cute eritrean guys" and ended up with my sketches. Now you know the reason for the post title.

Watching Nadal

Red shirt & red seats. Pen & watercolour sketch A5 ©Sue Pownall 2011

Yesterday, I went to the ATP - Qatar Exxonmobil Open 2011, to see Rafael Nadal play in the quarter finals. I did this sketch in between matches. I don't think the guy in front realised his T-shirt was the same colour as the seats. The sketch took about 15/20 minutes, but then I added colour at home.

Nadal was fantastic, as always. I saw his quarter final against Gulbis, which was closer than it should have been. Then I went to his double match on court 1 - like an outer court at Wimbledon. I sat in the front row, so close you could almost touch him, could really see his awesome playing skills that make him the World's No. 1.

His partner Marc Lopez and his opponents, Gabashvili and Schreiber, all played well, but Nadal OUTSTANDING! 




btw I also saw Federer play earlier in the evening. 


btw2. By 9pm the temperature had dropped to 19c and us softies used to the winter warmth then shivered until 11.15 as the doubles was played the temp dropped a couple more degrees.

Vamos!!

 

 

 

Fuzzy pic of a Nadal fan.

Some unpublished sketches.

Part of tree at work. 10 Nov

First let me thank everyone who commented on my last post after I had a mini-meltdown. I will reveal the cause in the next few days. For now here are a few sketches I've done in the last week.

Side table. 13 Nov.

Cameraman at the tennis. 16 Nov

Asian games mascots at tennis.

WTA Championship Doha

Watching Vera Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka match.

Last night, I went to watch the women's tennis championship here in Doha. The first 3 days are a round-robin competition. I had with me my A5 sketchbook and started off sketching as we waited for Vera Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka to warm-up. To quote Al Jazeera International, it was "an uninspiring opening match", so I then sketched the picture above.

Before leaving home I had been looking at Marian Fotunati's blog, where she had written "the need to decide what you want to paint, then decide WHY you want to paint it". Now, I think sketching is slightly different from painting in that it is a personal thing, and not made for public display and sale - ok apart from on blogs- but this question of why was going through my mind as I drew the 2nd sketch. Why? - because I thought the guys waving the flag interesting.  Because she was in front of me. Because I could.

Watching the warm-up.

The final sketch was done whilst waiting for the Kim Clijsters v Jelena Jankovic match. The man with his binoculars caught my attention. Although we were not sat too high up he was watching the line judges, players prepare themselves, the crowd etc. through them. The foreshortening of his arm, due to him being across an aisle from me and also a few rows lower was the challenge, which I guess would also answer the why. The man behind kept resting his arm at a strange angle to his leg and so had to be included. This sketch was the most challenging, not due to those factors, but because the spectators kept walking down the aisle between us and blocking my view.

Binocular man.

Purple palms.