This week is a series of quick sketches that are related to the sea. I have to start doing quicker sketches during the week with so little time to draw and scan. A small sketch of colorful Lobster Buoys on the side of a New England shack. Pilot Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s Black ink and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
The College of the Holy Cross is a beautiful campus located on a hill in Worcester, Massachusetts. From the beginning of his tenure as the second Bishop of Boston, Benedict Joseph Fenwick of the Society of Jesus longed to establish a Catholic College within the boundaries of his all-New England diocese. Catholics in great numbers, fleeing religious persecution and famine, and seeking economic opportunity, were pouring into the region. He recognized the need to educate them and to provide priests for his growing number of parishes as a major challenge of his episcopacy. As a Jesuit, his religious life had been marked with a certain academic mentality that prepared him well to undertake the establishment of a college. He was enterprising and courageous. And he knew that he could call upon the resources of his fellow Jesuits of the Maryland Province if and when he needed them to staff a school. The location in Worcester was fortunate. Other sites had been considered, but here, in 1836, Father James Fitton purchased 52 acres of land and began an academy for boys. He gave the College the name of his cathedral church, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. . The cornerstone was put in place with great solemnity on June 21, 1843 and on the second day of November, with six students aged 9 to 19, the first classes were held. The College held its first Commencement in 1849, of which the valedictorian was James Healy, the son of a slave. Faber-Castell Pitt art pens with Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
The Melville Shoe Corporation Warehouse was designed by architect George E. Strehan and built between the years of 1928 and 1930 for the Melville Shoe Corporation.
The Art Deco style office entrance to the building constructed of concrete and brick is located in Worcester, Massachusetts. The stepped 7 story tower has corner pilasters and tall rectangular windows that are important contributors to the Art Deco style of the building and contained the elevators and a 40,000 gallon water tank. A bronzed doorway at the base of the tower is surrounded by fluted limestone pilasters and capped by a mosaic panel depicting figures admiring their shoes. Beneath this panel in a frieze over the door is a profile bust (presumably) of Frank Melville, Jr. the company founder. Officially opened on November 11, 1930, the annual Melville Shoe Company Report of that year called this warehouse “the most efficient of its kind in the world.” Faber-Castell Pitt art pens with Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
The world lost a beautiful man today. Professor George Baumiller was one of our beloved architecture professors at Oklahoma State University. He passed away at 97 in Greenport, Long Island, New York. We would visit him at his home in Greenport and enjoy his memories and his life. He was not only a wonderful crit, but also the sweetest person I have ever met with a love of life and all things. He was from Poland and was a superb athlete in his youth, a primary architect in the reconstruction of Warsaw after World War II, writer, professor and very talented artist. Notably he was a prisoner of war in the polish resistance in solitary confinement for over 2 years in a very small cell. He kept his sanity by sketching images and people in his mind and also sketching on the concrete with dripping water. A true role model and wonderful person. A beautiful single rose with Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
A quick sketch of a lobster trap that is very typical in New England. This is made of wood and the modern ones are metal. The method used for this sketch is a single line (almost), where you sketch without lifting the pen. A fun technique and looser than my usual style. Pilot Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s black ink in a Stillman and Birn Sketchbook.
Our new England Patriots football team was in the AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos today. It was a hard fought game and kept us on the edge of our seats the whole game. In the end, it was too much defense by Denver and the broncos will be going to the Super Bowl in 2 weeks to face the Carolina Panthers in the finals. Great year by the team. Lamy Safari with Noodler’s black ink and Daniel Smith watercolor in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Within a few blocks of the H. H. Richardson Historic District is Unity Church, built by the Ames family in 1875, and designed in the Gothic Revival Style by architect and publisher John Ames Mitchell. It includes an ornate oak frieze including sculptures of twenty-two angels playing music, carved by Johannes Kirchmayer (1860–1930), and two notable stained-glass windows, “Angel of Help,” and “Figure of Wisdom,” both by John LaFarge (1835–1910). “Figure of Wisdom,” completed in 1901, is the largest stained-glass work created by Lafarge. Partial vignette view of the chapel at Unity Church done with Faber=Castell Pitt pens and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
An elevation study of the old train station in North Easton, Massachusetts. The North Easton Railroad Station, is a historic railroad station designed by noted American architect. H. Richardson. It is a relatively small station, a single story in height with Richardson’s characteristic heavy masonry and outsized roof. Its long axis runs north-south with the tracks, now disused, along its west side. The building is laid out symmetrically within, with a large passenger room at each end (one for women, the other for men). The station’s facade is constructed of rough-faced, random ashlar of gray granite with a brownstone belt course and trim. Two large, semicircular arches punctuate each of the long facades, inset with windows and doorways, and ornamented with carvings of a beast’s snarling head; a further semicircular arch projects to form the east facade’s porte-cochere. Eaves project deeply over all sides, supported by plain wooden brackets. This drawing was done from the warmth of the car during a snow storm. Faber-Castell Pitt pens with Pelikan watercolors and Lukas Gouache.
A quick little sketch of my Specialized Rock Hopper Mountain bike. It has been a while since I have been on either of my bikes and especially my mountain bike. Between my knee injury and the slick roads from the snows, it has been a while. This is a sketch of the rear hub with the disk brake. It is a sweet ride and I cannot wait to get back on the trails. It will be the road bike first. Lamy Safari fountain pen with Noodler’s black ink and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
A SKETCHBOOK ODYSSEY 