San Diego Sketches

San Diego Sketches

A recent trip to San Diego allowed some free time to do sketches. I was with the talented Adam Jarvi on a survey run.  We wandered around the Gas Lamp District and a very large concrete pier.  I grabbed a few sketches along the way while he did some wonderful photography. He took the two shots of me sketching below.

San Diego is a really wonderful place. The weather was amazing and the people watching even better!

James Nutt

Ice House, Eli's North, and before Church sketches

I am working pretty hard on learning to draw people on site and quickly.

This sketch is from earlier last week at the Ice House watching one of the JT Bates bands with Will Jensen. This was drawn and painted in the dark, so you never know what you are going to get. 

Unfortunatley on the second sketch I was sketching JT (it was dark is my excuse) and the drummer from Ahmad Jamal at the Dakota showed up in the sketch!

Two sketches on one sheet. People study in the downtown Caribou Coffee outside the government center waiting for the zoning board of adjustment to start and the second is a quick sketch after the meeting at the newer Eli's North just across the bridge.

I am working pretty hard on drawing people lately and I am always a little delighted with who shows up on the page. Sometimes it is even the person I am drawing!


The rest of these are people studies. I have free time before church and I sketch while we are having breakfast.  You can see Leo's drawing of Darth Vader (Angry Birds version of course) on one of the sheets.

Happy Sketching everyone! Where ever, whenever... with whatever....

James Nutt

Travelling in Fort Worth Texas - People Studies

Travelling Solo in Fort Worth

A great part of my job as an architect is to travel and do building survey's or to get building permits etc. These are quick trips, usually solo or one other person with free time in the day or evening to wander interesting places.  Recently I went to Fort Worth. I was downtown and no car, but a great city to walk in.  I am on a mission to get better at people, so on this trip I gave myself a challenge to draw 30 people.  An airplane technical problem and extended stay helped make this possible!

I would wander around my area, find a discreet place where I can see but not be overly seen, pretend I am drawing the room and try to catch expressions.

The watercolor and sometimes gouache was added with my tin kit onsite

 The convention center is basically a big concrete spaceship with a beautiful park next door. This is a pretty rare sketching opportunity and I enjoyed it.

 The bottom sketch is in a very very dark jazz venue calle the Scat Club. I was basically drawing by one of those little yellow battery powered candles so the quality of sketch and color was anyones guess while doing it.

In the airport there was a group of young Japanese guys. Some were wearing the white air filter masks and one bought a very white cowboy hat. I just had to draw that!

I thought I would share the journey!

James Nutt- Minneapolis