Last Night at The Grisly Pear

Big Ed Sullivan’s Monday Night Blues Jam is moving to a new location.  Monday night was the last night at The Grisly Pear.

Portrait of V.d. King

My favorite painting of the night is the portrait of V.d. King.  Colors must have been inspired by the festive outfits and beads celebrating Fat Tuesday.  My corner table was occupied when we arrived.  I’ll try moving around a bit more at the new location.  A new vantage point keeps me from becoming stale (I think).

Portrait: drawn first with dip pen in ink, followed by watercolor.

 

Quiet Night at Raven’s Nest

I finally made it to the Raven’s Nest Blues Jam in Quakertown, PA.  Turned out to be a quiet night. In

spite of icy roads, snow and wild deer running in front of the car, Arne delivered me safely to the venue and home again.

Rob Fraser at Raven's Nest

I enjoyed seeing friends I’ve missed since heading East to the Grisly Pear instead of West to the Lehigh Valley for my fix of late night tavern painting during Blues Jams.

Portrait of Rob Fraser: drawn first with dip pen using Noodler’s Black Swan in English Roses Ink followed by watercolor.

 

Delayed Response

Experiencing a delayed response, or a ghost image in my brain, has happened before, but never poured out onto the paper as clearly as it did last Monday night at The Grisly Pear Blues Jam.

David Bennett Cohen on Keyboard

I had just finished a sketch of Big Ed Sullivan that had not captured his features at all.  I moved on…. there is never time to fuss during a jam.  I grabbed another piece of paper and  sketched David Bennett Cohen sitting beside me playing keyboard.    My brain must have still been holding the image of Ed’s profile because the result was a cross between the two musicians, a bit odd.  If Big Ed wore David’s glasses and sat down at the keyboard, he might look like the painting shown here.

Watercolor / Ink sketch: drawn first with dip pen using Noodler’s Black Swan in English Rose Ink, followed by watercolor.

 

The Grisly Pear, January 2, 2012

Replenishing inspiration at The Grisly Pear is a great way to start 2012.

Ted Horowitz (Popa Chubby) and Arthur Neilson

It was not my intention to stick with a color scheme of analogous with one complement throughout the night, but that is exactly what I did.

Musicians at The Grisly Pear

I’m looking forward to painting at Christine Santelli’s Singer / Songwriter Open Mic on Wednesday nights beginning next month.

Paintings:  Drawn first using dip pen with Black Swan in English Rose Noodler’s Ink, followed by watercolor

 

One more profile from The Grisly Pear

Wes playing guitar at the Monday Night Blues Jam at The Grisly Pear.

Wes at The Grisly Pear

I love the way the Diamine Denim ink bled into the purple watercolor wash.  A bit of color mixing together in one simple shape creates an illusion of space behind the figure.  Tricked by that illusion, my brain attributes weight and form to the few lines I used to portray Wes as he played blues guitar.

sketch: drawn first with dip pen and Diamine Denim ink followed by two strokes of watercolor while the ink was still wet.

 

Another Profile from The Grisly Pear

I usually sit at the corner table next to the keyboard player when I paint on Monday nights at The Grisly Pear.

Arne Englund on Keyboard

I get a great profile view of the keyboard player.  Last night pen and brush worked well together to depict characteristics of the musicians.

I never know what sort of night it will be.  Some nights are better than others.  Last night was a good night.  The most important thing is to show up.  Even if I have a bad night painting, the music is great for my soul.

Sketch: drawn first with dip pen using Diamine Denim Ink followed by watercolor

 

A Great Night for Profiles

Congratulations to Big Ed Sullivan and Arthur Neilson! Both musicians were inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame on Sunday, December 4th!

V.d. King on keyboard

Last night at The Grisly Pear turned out to be a good night for drawing profiles.  This one of V.d. King on keyboard was the first of half a dozen successful profiles.  I’ll post the others soon.  These musicians are incredible. My dip pen loves to dance to their music.

Sketch:  drawn first with dip pen (Diamine Denim Ink) followed by washes of watercolor.

 

Cross Cut Saw

A great father and son duo at The Grisly Pear last night!  Jeff and Clark Englebert from Tucson, Arizona.

Jeff & Clark Englebert, Father and Son

Turned out to be a great night in spite of the rocky start.  I had just started painting when a pitcher of beer spilled into my backpack.  It was all uphill after that.

Sketch: Drawn first in ink with dip pen followed by washes of watercolor.

 

Back to Black and Blue

Last night I worked only in my sketchbooks using pencil or fountain pen, sometimes coloring with Peerless Watercolor Papers and a waterbrush.  The venue (Black and Blue in Easton, PA)

is difficult.  The only view of the musicians is from the four, small, round tables next to the bar.  I would rather share the tiny table with my friends than hog the surface for my paints.

Billy Lance and George Kokolis playing saxophone

My favorite of the night is a toss up between the brief ink sketch of Billy and George, a subdued portrait of Joe Mac and a pencil drawing of Todd Lanka with two strokes of watercolor.

Joe Mac

Todd Lanka playing bass

Sketches: Top – Fountain pen filled with North African Violet ink

Middle – pencil and watercolor

Bottom – pencil and watercolor

 

Fingers Dancing at The Grisly Pear

One of the perks of sitting in the back corner of the Grisly Pear is that I sit next to the keyboard player and I get to watch his fingers dance upon the ivories.

Raphaeil Carrasquillo dancing on the keys

My retractable dip pen didn’t move smoothly along the surface of the watercolor paper last night.  I abandoned the pen and worked strictly with brush and paint.