Saturday, August 17, 2013

SKETCHBOOK: "Airplanes And A Flying Dog!"

Today was my second "sketch-crawl" event with the URBAN SKETCHERS-MIDWEST group.  It was a gorgeous day, as we met at the Excelsior Springs Airport, to enjoy the annual "Fly In and BBQ" weekend!  I had the chance to meet a few more artists than before.  And the BBQ tasted great!

Above is a portrait I drew of our illustrious leader of the group, Cathy "Kate" Johnson.  However she is sitting right in front of the tractor that pulls planes into the hanger.  So you'll have to use your imagination.  :)  Below is where I was sitting...some folks like to see a photo of the viewpoint that artists are drawing from...so here ya go!

The next sketch was a view of earlier in the day, when there were about 25 planes all around.  By the time we left, there were only about 5 left on the grassy area next to the runway.

I thought I might be able to take my sweet time with drawing the airplanes there.  However, the whole concept of the "Fly In" was that aircraft were coming and going all day long!  I had to sketch faster than usual, so there are more "mistakes" in my drawings.  I tried some opaque over-painting to "fix" a couple of these sketches.  I'm not so happy with the two shown below.  But even with "mess-ups", I learn something.
The yellow plane flew off, just as I was starting to draw it...the photo below shows it as it taxied by.  The blue bi-plane came and went several times, giving rides, but always ended up at the same spot.

Okay...this next series of photos just made my whole day!! This cute little dog flew that tiny little plane...almost all by himself!  He let that guy in the red t-shirt come along for the ride...probably was a good friend of his.
 Time to suit up!
 Please return your trays to their upright positions...
Clear the runway...we're outta here!!!

The pilot in the blue bi-plane did a fun "fly by" at the end of the day, leaving a trail of white!  What a great finish to a very fun day!


9 comments:

Kate (Cathy Johnson) said...

Omigosh, I LOVE the portrait of me, the most flattering one I've ever seen...love the dog pics, too! How did you do that??

pedalpower said...

What a great day and some beautiful sketches! Absolutely love the little dog flying.

Warren said...

Hey, Kate...you made me laugh about your portrait! And as for how I did the series of the dog? The cropping and combining images is all done in Photoshop.

And, thanks, Pedalpower! :) I think the pilot turned around and grinned at me, as I stood there snapping away, because I just kept saying, "That's awesome!" when he was putting the goggles on that little guy. It was cracking me up!

Anonymous said...

Sooo glad it was a great day for you...much more exciting than my day at the Antique Show. But for every time there is a season..or whatever.
Great sketches...loved seeing how you draw when you are in a hurry! Do that more often! mom

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh dad the dog photos are too funny!!!! That dog is super cute especially with the goggles :) glad you had fun!! - j

Anonymous said...

Gee, thanks for giving me your BlogSpot, Warren. (I was the guy that talked to you and I own the Stearman biplane and the orange Fairchild). If you come up again, I will give you a flight which might give you a lot more subject matter to paint! Thanks again and hope you make it next year.
Dan Kirkpatrick

Warren said...

Holy Mackeral, Dan!!! That would be awesome!!! I would do a special sketch of your bi-plane that you could keep!

Thanks for making so many people happy letting us see your airplanes! A fun day!

Warren Ludwig said...

And Dan...I don't have any way of reaching you, if we were to try to work out details on this "Art for Flight" exchange. If you are on Facebook, let me know, and I'll message you. I don't usually put my personal info on here. If you are in the phone book in Excelsior Springs...let me know!

Unknown said...

Wow! Reminds me of my flying days too many years ago. If I only had a dog...but I know where to find a lot of cats!
Thanks for sharing...

Dale