Squiggles at the Arvada Center (Arvada, CO)

 

Meet Squiggles. Squiggles is the 'mascot' of the Arvada Center for Performing Arts. 

I've lived in Arvada for almost 20 years now. The Arvada Center is the crown jewel of Arvada. It's awesome. I took my first adult art class there (medium: chalk pastels). My kids have taken dance, orchestra, acting, etc. My wife is a volunteer usher. We've been season ticket holders for years and have seen countless performances there over the years. You can find at least one of us there several days a week.

Squiggles is on the west side of the center. Kids love to play on Squiggles any time of day. My kids, even as high school students, still sit on Squiggles with their friends. 

Squiggle's tail is very long. I'm actually sitting on one of their humps. I climbed up on it and did this sketch. This is one of the rare times I did the watercolor first then the ink.

Climbing up Squiggles, no problem. However, in my advanced age (43ish), I had a really hard time getting down. I actually had a kid help me down which must have looked very strange to their parent. 

Auraria's Mercantile Store (Denver, CO)

I love this little section of the Auraria Campus. Golda Meir officed on that block along with so many other historical events. I had a morning to kill, so I went down to do this little restaurant with a couple of fellow USK Denver folks. 

When we got there, it was peaceful and serene. The restaurant started getting busy mid-morning as they were setting up for an event. Fortunately, I had gotten the structure done before they erected a canopy in front of the restaurant. 

This is one of the first sketches I used a white marker to do the brick. In the past, I always just used black ink to show the bricks. This always bothered me because the mortar is white. I've had a lot of issues with those white out markers (sometimes dripping a big drop on my scene), but I'll keep playing with them since they are great for adding some detail after the sketch is done. 

See those darn tents!

 

So Many Cranes (Denver, CO)

After doing the Auraria Mercantile, I wasn't quite ready to go home. I had just purchased this little 3x5 sketchbook and this was actually the first sketch in it. 

It's always a challenge to start a sketchbook. 

First, there's a lot of pressure when looking at a fresh book. I read somewhere to put a dot on the first page and call it a polar bear in the arctic. I now do that in all my books. Second, figuring out a sketchbook vs your framing sometimes takes a little practice, especially when you aren't used to the size. This seemed like a fitting start though.

The bushes were framing this scene. There were cranes all over the place. Having never done a single crane, I figured what the heck, why not do three that were overlapping!

Security and the police came by since I looked a little funny sitting on a stool in this little area where homeless people probably had been a problem in the past. Always fun to show off your work to law enforcement!

 

Old Town Guesthouse B&B (Old City Colorado Springs, CO)

 

Spent the weekend residing in this charming B&B. After breakfast before we went home, I did this sketch. 

What I liked about it was the use of color to imply the bricks instead of drawing them all out. 

Miramont Castle (Old Colorado Springs, CO)

Went on a weekend trip with my wife before the school year started. We stayed at a B&B in Old City Colorado Springs. That morning, we did the Manitou Springs Incline. I loved it; wife, not-so-much. We tried our hand at trail running on the way down. 

On our way back, we stopped at this museum/castle. The first floor was a firefighter museum. The rest was the preserved castle. After walking through the museum, I sat out in the arboretum and did this little sketch. 

I liked how this scene was framed with the tree. As with other sketches, I like when there is a little splash of color on an otherwise muted subject. 

 

5 Points Building (Denver, CO)

Needed a little break at work so did this quicky at Champa and 28th Street.

 

Curtis Street (Denver, CO)

This is a random house in 5-points/Curtis Park/Rino in Denver. It took me a few lunch breaks to do this. The first time I painted this house, I focused on the roof (as you can see below)(I'm intrigued by roofs). However, I really liked how the flag and the planter boxes looked so I wanted to do it again. 

It was hot and I sat on the grass cross-legged. I remember the moisture from the ground soaking my pants which is always fun. My legs fell fast asleep, so walking back to the office with a wet butt and sleeping legs was not fun! 

I hate sitting on the ground!!

 

Roofs Again in 5-Points (Denver, CO)

 

A USK Denver meetup. Love me some strange angled roofs.

Roofs in 5-Points (Denver, CO)

 

The whole point was to put the flag in... Must redo!

The Oriental (Denver, CO)

Fun USK meetup off Tennyson near the Highlands. We were at the Angry Gnome bar/restaurant. I was sitting in a seat that looked out an old garage door and saw the Oriental Theater. The color contrast on this and the framing of the garage door is what interested me. Also enjoyed the company with this gang. 

 

Metal Chicken and Wagon (Wolcott, CO)

 

This was another sketch from my Memorial Day trip with my family. Where we were staying (the house on the right which is another blog post) also housed a winery. I had stopped drinking about six months earlier, so I didn't want to hang out at the winery while my family was tasting/imbibing. 

I started doing this sketch later in the day. My brothers were getting a private tasting. My mother walked back from the winery and decided to hang out with me. The altitude and wine had gotten to her, plus she and my dad had had a disagreement. 

I don't usually have an audience, but my mother was fascinated by my process - especially once I stared adding the water soluble graphite. 

Wolcott Farmhouse (Wolcott, CO)

 

Sketching is a great way to remember events. This was done right after my whole family had been Covid vaccinated. My parents, brothers and their families (except one of my sister-in-laws) all got together for a Memorial Day trip to the mountains. We rented this big airbnb place and spent a long weekend together, as a family, for the first time since the pandemic started. 

My nephew, the youngest of us all, was totally throwing frisbees all over this lawn all weekend. My eldest daughter had her drivers permit and wound up driving us most of the way out to Wolcott, a little town near Eagle. I did some scouting that weekend of the Colorado River (the 'Radie') which I wound up solo backpacking a couple weeks later.

I had just received a couple of fountain pens before the weekend (an early Narwhal and a PenBBS) that my Dad tuned for me that weekend - he wound up buying a Narwhal and becoming friends with the CEO of the company! 

Doing this sketch was one of the first times my extended family got to see me working on my craft. 

Aquaduct Hike (Tabernash, CO)

Backpacking training hike. Did 11 miles. This was about my halfway point where I stopped for a rest. Tried out a skinny A5 watercolor pad.

 

Practice Practice Practice (various)

sneaky art

5 minute sketch

Lego man (artistic liberty)