Sunday, March 28, 2010

Stavanger Norway



This is a street in Stavanger Norway - not a place I've been to in real life. I used Google maps and the little pegman. There haven't been any posts on this blog for two weeks and I'm blaming this for that.

In my heart of hearts, I very much want to be an urban sketcher. I also know that I am not going to magically wake up one day and be an urban sketcher without any effort on my part. Martha Beck, one of my favorite authors, says that we can all work miracles,and it is significant that the first word of that phrase is work. To that end, I found the website called Virtual Paintout. Each month, they choose a location and participants use Google maps and the pegman to get street views. It's not easy to find a place, I saw a great many warehouses in Stavanger. Secondly, moving the little pegman up and down streets is seriously addictive, and eats up great chunks of time. Thirdly, perpective is ridiculously hard for me which is why I keep procrastinating (and why I'm still not an urban sketcher). I have worked on this small sketch for two weeks! For better or worse, it's done.

Virtual Paintout is here

http://virtualpaintout.blogspot.com/2010/03/stavanger-norway-march-2010.html

12 comments:

nanke's stuff said...

You did a great job with this! I've tried the virtual sketch, but I can never get anywhere with that little man - I keep ending up at dead end country roads that all look the same! nancy

Alex said...

Lovely sketch! I've been to Norway many times, and yes you need to go there and visit someday. It's one of the most beautiful countries. I love Ireland too!

Dan Kent said...

Well, I think the perspective is very good. You did a nice job with this one, therefore you are an urban sketcher!

martinepittet said...

...and well done ! Congratulations! I've spent a lot of time perusing Stavanger streets and haven't been able to choose a location ! I'll wait till April for a new one I think. Anyway your sketch is really nice !

Anonymous said...

You did a great sketch with a very hard perspective, with all the buildings and roofs in different direction. You are ready to do it in the real world, outside.

Melissa S. said...

I love this quaint street! You did a good job. I am totally with you....perspective is a tricky thing. Keep at it, and don't run away with the pegman!

Unknown said...

Well done!! I think it turned out great! I, too, wish to be an urban sketcher. But, I'm seriously uninspired by my current location. The architecture is horrible and I wander around never settling on anything! But then, I've done the same thing for virtual sketch, so maybe I'm not cut out for urban sketching...LOL. No, that isn't going to stop me. I'll keep going back and wandering around until I find something! :D

donna said...

You did a good job on a difficult subject. I love your quote about working miracles!

Anonymous said...

You did a great job. Kudos on persevering with the pegman. I looked at the San Fransisco virtual paint out and after a half hour of frustration with Mr. Pegman I gave up. If you can conquer the pegman, you can conquer perspective so keep at it!!!

Hybrid J said...

Well Done! You did a great work to get the perspective. I like your drawing style and think it is suitable for urban sketch.

I'm sure you'll get there (being an urban sketch artist) very soon.

Thank you for sharing. :)

Alex said...

Thank you so much for the comment =) I am glad you enjoyed the stroll of my artwork, and even the monsters..wahhaha ^^

Timaree said...

Well I think this is worth the time you put into it. I like it alot.