[christmas lights] on the water

this year my wife and i checked out the "parade of lights" in casco bay, an event we've always wanted to see.  we watched along the shoreline as several boats all decked out in holiday lights cruised the bay, a few even shooting off fireworks.  it was a wonderful start to the holiday season although next time i might bring a heavier coat...and maybe some coffee...and maybe some alan's coffee brandy....and maybe a tripod.

 

family [captures]

like a lot of people, i enjoy taking pictures.  being an architect the majority of my digital camera roll usually consists of buildings or other structures, but occasionally something else finds its way into my viewfinder... people.

during my thanksgiving trip back to kansas, my sister asked me to take pictures of her family, a request i was more than happy to do.  not only is it a hobby i enjoy, but it gave me a chance to spend some quality time with my niece who is growing up far too fast and too far away for this uncle.  with the help of my parents and wife, who were behind me making noises and actions, we were able to get a few shots of her looking at the camera, just perfect for a frame.  however several of the "outtakes" were too precious to delete.  below are a few select pics, i hope you enjoy looking at them as much as i had taking them.

 

[arch]inktober - week 4

week four found me a little sad this exercise was almost over.  after nearly a month, i had become accustomed to thinking about what i would sketch during the day, then taking 30 to 45 minutes a night just to do something creative. it was calming. it was relaxing.  i enjoyed it.

i started this whole experiment thinking it would improve my sketching, in all honesty, i think it simply improved my mood.  having just a few moments to be creative for no specific reason was incredibly therapeutic.  much like on my honeymoon when i was relaxed and had time to sketch, or my mom and her group painting classes.  in certain personalty types, there's just something about creating something beautiful where once there was nothing.

now, i'm not saying all my sketches were beautiful (need i mention that bay window from week two) but there really is a rhythm to life.  we spend a lot of time "taking in", movies, music, news, meetings, emails, all sorts of digital information... sometimes it's good to "put something out" into this world too.

breath in, breath out...

both important to live.    

vernacular

modern

wildlife

glass

rural

transition

materiality

site

wedge

decay

[arch]inktober - week 3

by week three i had settled into a bit of a rhythm, sketching and shading with the ink pen, then using a beige or grey marker for a little bit of color.  i found my new found rhythm to be a positive and a negative.  on one side, i felt the whole month long experiment was so i could get just ever so slightly better at sketching.  sketching in the same style, while trying to make slight improvements allowed me to do this, but on the other hand, i felt like i was being less experimental as i had been when the month started.

this week found me purposely making my drawings "sketchier" in the hopes they wouldn't look as "cartoon-y" as the first week.  in general i was pleased with the outcome, but i've noticed that even with a sketchy look it still extremely important to get the perspective lines correct.  without the right lines everything just looks wobbly.  everything seemed to come together really well on my "pragmatic" sketch, which featured a barn from the flint hills region of kansas.

section

pragmatic

art deco

urban

historic

void

detail

[arch]inktober - week 2

week two found me continuing trying out the markers....up until i rendered the ugliest bay window i've ever seen.  after that i stuck to just plain black ink with an occasional grey or beige marker thrown in for shading.  other than creating [clown] windows, week two found me exploring portland, maine more to find scenes to sketch.

sketching has a way of making you focus on details.  there are now several places around town i feel i see in a different light having sketched them.


week two

 stone

 fenestration

 shadows

 reinforce

 entourage

 pattern

 water

[arch]inktober - week 1

as an architect, i draw in some way, shape or form everyday. 

the majority of the time it's digital drawing in autocad, but there's also scribbling lines to figure out a detail, drawing existing spaces to map out or sketching to convey an idea to a client.  one thing not on that list is sketching simply for fun.  it seems, one of the very reasons i got into architecture, was now on the back burner...or worse, almost non existent in my life.

there's a "movement" on social media called [inktober] where you're given 31 prompt words for every day of october and try to sketch, or create and ink drawing, every day during the month.  i've attempted it the past 2 years but usually never make it past day four.  this year a coworker and i decided we needed to get back to sketching for fun so we would both take the 31 day challenge and motivate each other to actually finish the task.  to give ourselves more accountability and to cater it a more towards architecture, we came up with 31 words of our own.

wanting to share the sketches with you, as well as get my blog posting count a little higher this year, i thought i'd break the sketches down into weeks.  this also gives me a chance to explain a little bit what i discovered during the month. 

the first week, i wanted to try something i never do, which is us my chartpak ad markers that have sat by my desk unused for about 10 years.  when you know what you're doing with these markers you can work magic with your illustrations, with me, i might as well be using crayons on the back of a kids placemat at a restaurant.  but what better time to learn and experiment with markers then in some made up drawing exercise that doesn't matter to anyone but me. that being said...


week 1

 

coffee

 freestanding

organic

 emphasis

 texture

 roman

linear

[a]typical maine saturday

in a town famous for craft beers and delicious food, heading to a brewery on a saturday seems like the perfect way to enjoy an early fall afternoon.  on the recommendation from several people we decided to check out "oxbow blending and bottling."  we met up with friends and enjoyed an afternoon full of sours, pilsners, ipa's and duckfat fries which are a gift from the food gods themselves.  not only was it great to catch up with everyone, but it seemed like the entire city was enjoying the weather.

i feel every city has a rhythm to it, and i'm starting to sync with portland's.  a lot of this cities beat is based on where best to enjoy a pint; by the ocean, at 'camp', on the patio or inside by a fireplace.  this particular weekend, being too cool to be by the ocean, but also too sunny to be inside, it was for sure patio time in portland.