Virtual Paint-Out: Packard Factory Detroit Michigan

I haven't submitted a sketch painting to Bill Guffey's Virtual Paintout for a full three years,...let alone done any drawings to write about in that time. Nonetheless, I have remained a fan of VPO (and other sketch sites), and have continually mused about doing some more drawing/painting again. (I don't know about you, but these drawing/paintings take a lot of time.  They don't come easily to me.)

Having grown up in the Rust Belt (northeastern Ohio), this month's choice of Detroit coincided nicely with my renewed interest in sketching/painting.  So...once again, I logged in and began to wander the streets.
I had remembered reading about the Packard factory on David Byrne's personal online journal (He has an excellent section with his impressions and thoughts about Detroit) and was surprised to discover that I could get up close enough to it on StreetView to get the kind of composition I was looking for.
It's a huge automotive plant-built in 1903-that was abandoned in the 1950's after the once fabled Packard luxury automobile lost its appeal through mis-guided mergers, economic conditions, and regrettable design and business decisions.  To me, it is the quintessential poster child for the decline of the northern industrial cities of America.

So...greetings to all of my fellow participants.  It's good to be back.
Google Maps reference location here

Virtual Paintout: Corsica, France

Like alot of other participants in the Virtual Paintout this month-I am also very impressed with the diversity of landscape on Corsica. Tooling around via Google Street View, one can go from mountainous snowscapes to quaint seaside enclaves, from blazing autumnal forests to rural, barren farmsteads...all beautiful, all beckoning to be visually captured.
Reference view here.

Virtual Paintout Challenge: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Virtual Paintout challenge sketch: Kiln Rd. Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. This was a last-minute (10pm) submission as the monthly challenge changes over on the last day of each month...just wanted to get in that VP archive! The actual Google Maps view that acted as the basis for this color sketch is here.

This is the skeleton of another, abandoned Belfast sketch started earlier in the month:

...maybe salvageable with the help of a calmer hand, a keener sense of perspective and relational proportion, and a big eraser.

Entrance Ramp to R. Infante Santo, Lisbon Portugal

Continuing with the Virtual Paintout monthly challenges, this stop Lisbon. I thought this unusual view might be interesting to draw since it would give me a chance to use a lot of the colors that I don't usually gravitate to. Even though I did do that, the internal jury is still out as to whether this piece is a success and/or finished.
Here is the link to the Google Map view, so you can see for yourself this colorful urban street canyon.
Where to next, Bill?

Crosswalk-Abbey Rd. London

Another sketched painting for The Virtual Paintout: London. In this view, the white building behind the trees on the left is 3 Abbey Road NW8-home of Apple Records and Abbey Rd. Studio: drawn in the fortieth year after that famous crossing. (BBC video story of the crosswalk today.)
Reference link here.

Everyday Matters Challenge #193: Draw a Close-up Part of Something (the inside of a TV)

Several months ago, my wife and I were sitting in the kitchen getting ready for dinner. It was raining pretty hard. A bolt of lightning hit something right outside our house. The bowl of peanuts I was so calmly eating flew into the air as I involuntarily catapulted out of my chair.
After we got over the shock (and relief that our house wasn't on fire), we assessed the actual damage. Among the casualties was this small TV.

I took the back of it off hoping to see something obvious to fix, but there was nothing. After it sat around for awhile, I got intrigued by all the spots of color and form, so...I pulled one last picture from this dead TV before it was taken to the recycling center.

Everyday Matters Challenge #187: Draw a Fan

This is a drawing of a fan we have in our attic loft, the proportions of which are so "off" that if someone had the ability to turn it on...they would mostly likely be maimed for life.

EDM #151: Free Choice

This is a still-life of a corner place in our living room.
I was experimenting with a water-soluble graphite pencil. It is obviously difficult to control the clarity of things with this particular art supply; but, I can definitely see the potential for some interesting effects.