Sketching Under the Influence

I often drive across the St Johns Bridge, and nearly every time, I say I would love to draw it “someday”. Well about a week ago, on a beautiful autumn day, I took off with my sketchpad, determined to finally do it! When I got there, I realized that I had to forgo the best vantage point since it was in the middle of the street and I wanted to live to sketch another day. I finally settled for a spot on the sidewalk, and got busy sketching with a steady stream of trucks and cars buzzing by. After I did the drawing, I got out my water colors to try to capture the light blue bridge against the dark hill behind it. I had trouble mixing the colors I wanted and started feeling headache-y and whoozy. But I was determined and continued on anyway. Finally the noise started getting to me…the noise of each truck seemed to thunder through my head as it rumbled by…my legs started feeling numb…I knew I had to get home where it was warm and quiet as soon as possible. For some reason, I felt rattled for the next several days and had trouble thinking straight. Later it occurred to me that breathing truck fumes for 2 hours was probably not the best tonic for creative, clear thinking! I did the second ink drawing of the St Johns Bridgein the comfort of my office from a photo I took a few days ago. I learned my lesson! The last two sketches are of the Burnside Bridge. One I did from Waterfront Park, and the other from a poster at the doctors office while I was waiting.