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coffee shop – Matthew French-Holt

Family Vacation in Savannah, GA

For a few years now we’ve talked about having a family get-together of some sort. This year we went ahead and reserved a house in Savannah, Georgia. With a few month’s notice and everyone’s buy-in, the family gathering finally happened. It was certainly nice to get together without the event of a funeral or wedding.

Here are some of the sights from the week: Continue reading Family Vacation in Savannah, GA

Sketching on dates

I love having my little pocket sketchbook, and the ability to carry it around with me everywhere.

While waiting for the movie to start, I quickly sketched out the theater, minus the commercials that were playing… It certainly helped me enjoy the delay more!

Ashley and I like to swing by a Starbucks that is close to the hospital before she heads into work. It might not be our favorite coffee but it’s convenient and a great chance to sneak in a date on a work day. She looks something up on her phone while I look at her.

Playing with a (new) Marker

Yesterday we went downtown and walked about to see what we could see. Ran across a nice little bookstore/art gallery and also a paper store. I picked up a gray Tombow dual brush pen/marker. I’ve been curious about these for a few months now and finally saw one in a store. This should allow me to quickly add a bit of shading to my sketches while not adding much bulk to my carry-around items.

After walking in the park, we headed to the hospital because Ashley had a quick training session. We arrived early and sat in the cafeteria until they closed it for cleaning. Upon arriving, Ashley realized she had a voicemail and listened to it, while I sketched her.

I’ve realized that I just sketch when I have time – and that drawing expands to fill the amount of time available. So I have no idea how long each of these sketches take! So yesterday I tried to pay a little more attention. This quick portrait was roughly 5 minutes.

Ashley headed up for her class, so I drew another view of the cafeteria.

Have to say, I’m getting a bit tired of drawing those chairs… But they’re so prominent it’s hard to omit them! After finishing the sketch I added some shading with my new marker. Here you can see a bit of the contrast of the before/after. Really adds some visual interest!

Ashley actually recalled the time incorrectly (we were thirty minutes early), so she came back down and joined me. That means that the above sketch took roughly 20 minutes.

They close the cafeteria a few times each day for cleaning/restocking/etc. This was one of those times, so we headed out to the lobby. Ashley headed back upstairs for the meeting shortly after we arrived, so I spent about 30 minutes sketching the StarBucks kiosk, along with some of its patrons.

While sketching I had one woman stop by and ask if she could be nosy and see what I was drawing. She really liked seeing this and the other cafeteria views, and was impressed with Emily’s portrait. I had just started adding some shading when Ashley arrived and we headed on our way.

I’m loving my marker! It’s nice to have the option to quickly add some shading. I’ve been carrying around a little travel watercolor set but haven’t broken it out yet – it’s both a bit time consuming and quite intimidating to add color. But with the success of this new marker, I think that color is the next step!

Sketching at Cumberland Coffee Roasters

During a delightful day with the rare combination of warm, sunny weather, Ashley being off work and awake during the day, we enjoyed time wandering about town together and stopped by my favorite coffee shop in the Fayetteville area for a break.

While Ashley caught up on some emails I quickly sketched my favorite model. Perhaps a bit too quickly. If I were titling sketches, this one would be Why The Long Face seeing as how I stretched her nose and hand a bit too much in my haste. Never-the-less, it’s always fun to get a sketch in. 😀

Mini Sketches

I’m trying to instill the habit of sketching whenever I get the chance. The mini sketchbooks are coming in really handy, as I can carry one in my pocket just about everywhere we go. Here are a few of the scenes I’ve jotted down over the last couple of weeks:

Ashley at the coffee shop:

While Ashley ran to the restroom I caught the neighbors on paper.

Another quick stop at a coffee shop before heading to the hospital (you may notice a recurring them, both in subject and locale 😀 )

Still Ashley, but we’re waiting for our Thai food to arrive. Delicious!
Sitting at another coffee shop, this is the building across the street.

On an afternoon spent with a friend, we ended up at a tire shop to repair a flat. This fella was passing his time in the waiting room…

Sketching at Starbucks

Stopped at a convenient Starbucks to pass some time and caught some baristas working and patrons in line. The one girl was pretty bundled up – long sleeves, vest, apron, fluffy scarf.

And some friends chatting and reading over their coffees.

Eventually the crowd thinned out and I ended up drawing my table and sketchbook of sketches (as seen in the very top picture). For whatever reason that always strikes me as silly and makes me smile. 😀

Sketching, for the fun of it

Confession time, I’m not very good at just making art for the fun of it. I used to sketch and doodle a lot, but after college got out of the habit. Over the last year I’ve started again, in fits and starts. While I haven’t really made any 2017 resolutions, I am making it a point to make more art. Nothing serious, just art for me, for the fun of it.

Actually, I started in 2016. I re-organized my art supplies so they’re more accessible and tucked some sketchbooks and pens/pencils in a bag so they’re easy to grab.

Here are some doodles:


Sitting in the hospital lobby, waiting for Ashley to get off of work.

 

At a coffee shop, enjoying a French Press.

 

Someone at the register, ordering their coffee.