Weekend Trip to Chicago

I made a brief trip to Chicago over the weekend for my 25-year high school reunion. Not much time devoted to sketching, though I did manage a couple while in-transit and another while in town. All three of these were in my small moleskine - I hadn't done much drawing in this book lately, mainly because I've been enjoying the watercolor moleskine so much, but I figured this wasn't the kind of trip where I'd be likely to do any painting, and it was nice to travel very light. So I used a few Copic Multiliner pens - the first sketch is 'Sepia' and the third is 'Wine' which I had never used before. This first sketch was made at the Salt Lake City airport, Terminal B, while waiting for the first delayed flight of the weekend. I say 'first' because it certainly wasn't the last.

This second sketch was done at the Art Institute, where Caravaggio's "Supper at Emmaus" is on loan from the National Gallery in London (info here, and a nice image here). Aside from seeing so many old friends, and visiting with some of my family, this was the major highlight of the weekend for me. I've loved Caravaggio's paintings for many years, and this was my first look at one of his most interesting works, which marks a sort of bridge between the early and middle segments of his career. Sketching this painting, while sitting on a bench in the gallery, was really a lot of fun and gave me the chance to patiently study an astounding work of art. I had originally intended to draw more of the room/people surrounding the painting, but I'm glad I left that stuff alone ... I like the way the surroundings are ghosted-in, almost as if the scene inside the painting is more 'real' than the space of the viewer, almost like looking through a window. This might actually contradict some of Caravaggio's intentions ... but I think it works in this sketch.

The final sketch of this group was made the day after I was scheduled to arrive home. Due to another delayed flight (two, actually), and a resulting missed connection, I was stuck overnight in Salt Lake City. The final flight was only an hour long, and while it started out smooth, it was very bumpy by the time I finished this sketch. This is the Copic 'Wine' color I mentioned already ... I like it a lot against the yellowish paper in the moleskine, and I like the multiliners because they just never seem to dry out. So while this was not the kind of trip where I was able to sketch very much, these three quick drawings hit the spot for me.