Sunil's Sketches

Learning to Monotype

2011-11-08T12:00:00.006-05:00

I just finished up a monotype class at The Lower East Side Printshop. I had a one day workshop in the process when I was in college, but I haven't been able to to revisit it until recently. I really love the process and all the approaches you can take to create an image. I hope to continue working with it.

Above is a mostly painted monotype based on a photograph of some aquarium jellyfish. Below is an image from my Lisbon sketchbook over some inked up stencils.

With the next few I experimented with different approaches towards realizing images based on the the same few drawings. There are some interesting things happening with layering and overprinting that I'd like to experiment with more.

Here are a couple more random images. One based of some subway sketches and the other on New York Marathon runners.

Anyway, this is just a start. Hopefully I'll continue with the process and report back with more images.

Do I feel lucky?

2011-08-23T01:45:00.003-04:00

From Sunil's Sketches

Dirty Harry during the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival.

Warm Day

2011-03-23T21:07:00.003-04:00

It's cold and rainy in NYC today, but we actually had some beautiful in weather earlier this month. I sketched this in Washington Square Park on one of the first warm days of the year.

My blog has been very quiet lately, but I'll be sure post whenever I have something exciting to share. You can also check out my Flickr page for some images that don't make the blog.

Grand Central

2011-03-23T20:25:00.003-04:00

Sketched this during a February "Drawing Jammy" with the skilled David Ezra Stein. These two are from the food court and main hall of Grand Central Station. A bonus was some clam chowder at the Oyster Bar.

SketchCrawl #29

2010-10-18T13:35:00.005-04:00

Last weekend was the 29th World Wide SketchCrawl. Hundreds of artists around the world spent the day exploring and sketching their cities.

In New York we had a group of two. It was too windy for outdoor drawing, so we met up in the Chelsea Market, a warehouse space that was converted into a fun mecca of gourmet food. As a bonus, there were some fun Halloween decorations to draw.

I ended up creating two relatively involved drawings, instead of my usual mess of half completed figures, etc. I'm trying to improve both my reportage abilities and my approach to color. There's still a ways to go, but it's a start!

US Open

2010-09-01T22:18:00.003-04:00

Last week the US Open was open to the public viewing of practice sessions and qualifying rounds. I have a couple more spreads of drawings, which I hope to apply towards some other images that are in the works.

Fellow

2010-08-29T19:25:00.002-04:00

Sketching in Queens

2010-08-01T15:32:00.005-04:00

Waiting...

2010-07-31T23:23:00.003-04:00

...for my sister at the 5th Avenue H&M. I had some time to sketch the huge store and the fashionably dressed mannequins. I never realized how thoughtfully composed the foyer of the store is.

Chinatown in Chinatown

2010-07-16T06:02:00.006-04:00

I'm currently in Los Angeles for ICON6. The first event I attended was group sketching in Chinatown. The twist? Jeff Smith and Paul Rogers hired two models to pose in a bloody scene that referenced Chinatown, the 1974 film. Not everybody included the Chinese restaurant in the background, but I couldn't resist. It was fantastic having costumed models staying still for us in the field.

Beautiful Block Island

2010-07-16T05:16:00.007-04:00

I recently attended a wedding in Block Island, RI. The tiny island has a big variety of beaches and is covered with amazing lush vegetation. This what I found time to draw between the delicious wedding events.

You should be able to click on the wide images if you'd like a more detailed view.

Spring Colors

2010-05-18T23:18:00.005-04:00

Cherry blossoms in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden:

The woods in Carrboro, North Carolina:

Airport SketchCrawl

2010-05-16T15:07:00.006-04:00

Sleepy Subway Man

2010-05-09T21:46:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted. There are lot's of experiements in the works, but it may be some time before I figure out a good direction to move in.

The next Worldwide SketchCrawl is on May 15. Check the forums if you want to participate (if you're in New York, just send me a message).

Fossils, Dioromas, etc.

2010-03-21T18:09:00.003-04:00

I was planning on meeting a sketching group at the American Museum of Natural History. I couldn't actually find the group after some subway delays, so I was a solo sketcher until I ran into a fellow latecomer.

Red Hook

2010-03-19T20:12:00.003-04:00

I had some unexpected free time today, which I couldn't resist spending outside with a sketchbook (It was 67, calm and sunny). I drew this from the Fairway promenade. I believe the antique subway car was being stored in the warehouse that they converted into the store.

Sketching Musicians

2010-03-19T00:28:00.003-04:00

Lately, I've been making an effort to break out my sketchbook at live music events. Trying to capture a musician who's bouncing around the stage on a barely visible sketchbook is a fun challenge.

Tonight I saw an excellent solo show by Yaya Herman Dune. My sketch does not quite capture Mr. Dune....but I still like the drawing.

Flatiron Building

2010-03-11T11:19:00.002-05:00

The Flatiron Building has been on my "to draw" list for a while. I tend to get lost in the repetitive details when drawing architecture. The chilly weather actually encouraged me to stay fast and loose.

MoMA

2010-03-11T11:03:00.002-05:00

The Museum of Modern Art recently offered members special viewing of their Tim Burton exhibit. I really appreciated the breathing room, as the exhibit was absurdly crowded on my previous visit.

Below is a drawing I made in my pocket sketchbook. The little girl who belonged to the stroller kept crawling over to see what I was doing.

Late night Post-it drawings

2010-03-05T18:02:00.003-05:00

When I pulled out my winter coat at the beginning of the season, I found a pile of drawings on sticky note paper. I just got around to scanning a couple that I liked. I would guess these were drawn around February 2009.

SketchCrawl 26

2010-03-02T19:23:00.004-05:00

This past Saturday, artists in cities around the world gathered for all day drawing marathons. You can visit the forum to see work form other sketchers.

St. Paul's Chapel.: The Chapel is located directly across from the World Trade Center site. For months after the attacks it was a open to the rescue workers so they could eat, rest and recover during their relief efforts. Inside is an exhibit documenting these efforts. Hence the banner in my drawing:

Below is a shivery attempt to draw outside, the writing is something a passerby screamed to some tourists.

I attended an indie rock benefit concert at the Living Room in the evening. Rockers can be pretty difficult to capture, but I thought this drawing had some charm to it.

Today

2010-01-18T23:55:00.002-05:00

Something to commemorate the day. Relatively quick drawing from a public domain photograph.

SketchCrawl 25

2009-11-21T23:41:00.006-05:00

Today was the 25th World Wide SketchCrawl. I met with about 25 other people for a drawing marathon in Manhattan.

We met at the Chelsea Market:

Looking down towards the 9th Ave entrance of the market.

We eventually moved up to the Highline, an elevated freight train track that has been converted into a beautiful park. All you New Yorkers who haven't visited it yet need to get up there before it closes for the winter.

A view from the Highline. I've been test driving some water soluble crayons, shown here combined with some pencil.

Quick sketch from the Highline looking towards New Jersey.

After some time on the Highline, we broke for some delicious Chelsea Market food and then reconvened.

Some of my fellow SketchCrawlers. Apparently, the event attracts many nearsighted artists.

Here are a few more drawings.

Left: Man on the subway. The was actually my first drawing of the day.
Right: A cup of hot chocolate from Joe: The Art of Coffee.

One of my fellow commuters at the Union Square "R" platform.

Detail from a drawing I started at Joe. The store shut down before I could finish it. I'll just have to go back to finish it. Fortunately, it doesn't take much arm twisting to get me into a coffee shop.

All in all, it was a productive and enjoyable day of drawing. Thanks for a great SketchCrawl. Now I need some sleep.

From the stairs of...

2009-11-05T11:34:00.005-05:00

...the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A group of singers performing for the tourists.

Miscellany

2009-10-27T17:51:00.005-04:00

I was flipping through my older sketchbooks decided to scan in a few of the interesting ones.

At the Met

2009-10-17T16:11:00.005-04:00

It's been cold and rainy in New York, so there are less opportunities for outdoor sketching. I met up with a friend at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I spent most of my time in the Oceania section. There are some many fantastic approaches to the figure in the sculptures.

Governor's Island, again

2009-09-22T13:37:00.003-04:00

Some craziness from the New Island art festival this weekend.

Chicago

2009-09-06T10:04:00.001-04:00

View of the city from the Halstead stop on the Orange line. Apologies for the poor image quality.

DUMBO

2009-08-31T13:42:00.001-04:00

View of the Manhattan Bridge and some buildings from one of the parks in DUMBO.

Drawing in the Dark

2009-08-31T13:36:00.002-04:00

Drawing in the dark during a screening at the IFC Theater in the West Village. Not bad considering I could barely see the paper...

From Governor's Island

2009-08-08T11:25:00.003-04:00

Around Central Park

2009-08-01T18:12:00.003-04:00

More...

2009-07-20T12:22:00.006-04:00

...drawings from India. Mostly palm trees and views from rooftops.

India SketchCrawl

2009-07-11T12:16:00.004-04:00

I was lucky enough to be in Hyderabad for today's SketchCrawl. It was great to meet Viswaprasad, Kedar & Murthy.

I'll post more India drawings once I'm back in Brooklyn and have access to my home scanner and computer.

We met up at Eat Street, a recreational area on the shore of the Hussain Sagar lake.

My poor eyes weren't able to capture it very well, but the world's largest monolith statue of Buddha stands on a small island on the lake .

Kedar was kind enough to show me Wundershop, his clothing boutique in Banjara Hills . This is an attempt to capture some of the fantastic dresses he has created.

Elephants in color

2009-06-13T23:49:00.002-04:00

I started a painting based on an earlier on-site sketch. It has a nice feel to it, but I'm going to keep working on it and see what happens.

Back into it

2009-05-23T22:46:00.002-04:00

I've been a bad artist and have been neglecting my sketchbook. Hopefully much better things are on the horizon. After all, summer is finally here and I have trip to India I need to prepare for...

Green-Wood Cemetery

2009-04-05T20:39:00.004-04:00

I did some sketching at cemetery today. It's a beautiful destination, I'll definitely go back again.

Here are some results:

Dancing Hippos, etc.

2009-03-21T01:48:00.005-04:00

On a whim, I attended the lecture Forever Young: Dance Stars of American Animation. It was a panel discussion that focused mainly on dance sequences in classic Disney films. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was incredibly enjoyable.

The most interesting panelist was Marge Belcher Champion. As a teenager, she was dance model that Disney animators used as reference for Snow White, Fantasia, and other films. They compared to some reference footage to the Dance of the Hours sequence in Fantasia, which is some beautiful animation.

Bryant Park

2009-03-18T21:52:00.007-04:00

I saw this couple at Bryant Park, I especially liked the woman's hat.

I'll try to post something more colorful soon.

Elephants

2009-03-13T18:01:00.005-04:00

Today, I visited the American Museum of Natural History. Of course it's educational, but I think it's also a fantastic well of creative inspiration.

Skyline

2009-03-09T22:57:00.003-04:00

Nice day...

2009-03-09T22:39:00.006-04:00

We had some nice weather in New York on Saturday, so I broke out the old Sharpie. I wandered around Brooklyn and rode the Staten Island Ferry.

SketchCrawl #21

2009-01-10T22:56:00.010-05:00

I spent today participating in my first SketchCrawl. The event was started by Pixar story artist Enrico Casarosa. The hope is to encourage artists around the world to draw, explore, and connect.

Drawings from the day are below...

Windy City drawings

2008-11-19T18:25:00.004-05:00

I visited Chicago in October and spent some time drawing in Millenium Park. It was cold and breezy so I ended up working pretty fast and small.

Little Roopa

2008-11-19T15:49:00.008-05:00

One of my personal projects is a children's book that I plan on writing and illustrating. It takes place in rural India and it involves a brave little girl, a giant snake, and some very spicy curry.

It's been on the back burner for a while now, but I dug up some images to share. I haven't really settled on a visual style yet.

Most of these are pretty rough explorations.

Vector, paint? I haven't decided which direction to go in yet...

Let's get started...

2008-11-17T19:25:00.003-05:00

So, this is blogging?

I'm not sure what this project will evolve into, but for now it will act as a wall for me to post my explorations in image making.

ENJOY, and feel free to share your comments!