ELEANOR DOUGHTY

from DA April 2020

T.K. JUSTIN NG

WOODEN PENS... and Scooters

ELEANOR DOUGHTY TALKS ABOUT HER LIFE AS AN URBAN SKETCHER I ’ve been drawing on location since I started in art school in 2009. It was a natural segway from the street photography I was doing regularly before that – going outside on walks with my camera and hunting for interesting things to capture visually.

In early 2015, I created my own drawing meetup group with my friend Julia Liu when I lived in New York City. Someone probably said that there was already a group doing this (meaning the New York City USk chapter), so that was when I became aware of Urban Sketchers. I think that was probably in 2016. I decided to go to the 2017 Chicago Symposium, since it was a short flight (and I love Chicago!) and I was in awe of the community of like-minded folks who gathered from all over! Shout out to Jason Das, who really helped me make connections, since I only knew a handful of USk members at that point.

I think it’s always wonderful that the most newbie sketcher is free to sit down next to a veteran instructor and draw with them. I think this dynamic is really special and hope that we can keep that alive in the community as long as possible.

I’ve been using handmade wooden dip pens to draw in ink and in watercolor. I started making them with my woodworking friend (Timothy Firth) at the studio I work out of in Seattle. While I enjoy drawing with metal nibs (the kind you dip into ink), I’m frustrated that they get bent so easily and then you basically have to just throw them away.

Wood is relatively eco-friendly, flexible and durable, and if they break (which happens occasionally), you can just sharpen them again. And I’m in love with the variety of marks you can make with them. The lines the wooden nibs make can be unpredictable (which I wholeheartedly embrace in my sketching and illustration work) with an uneven flow, sometimes blobbing out onto the paper and trailing out into a light line. Since the unfinished wood is absorbent, you can get a neat dry brush-esque texture by rubbing the inkstained sides of the pen on the paper. I can also dab watercolor onto the pen with a brush and draw with that. It’s kind of a slow process, but worth it.

I’m also in a scooter gang. I ride a 180cc Aprilia Scarabeo, which is a relatively small engine but still fast enough to get me on the freeway if I need to. Most of my fellow moto gang members work out of the same group studio with me and we go on adventures and draw together. It’s been a great tool to explore outside of the city – there are so many stunningly beautiful landscapes here in the Pacific Northwest that you need a vehicle to access – and you experience the traveling differently than in a car. It’s much easier to actually explore the nooks and crannies of little towns and roads, and you feel more connected to the outside world.

“W HEN I TRAVEL, I REALLY LOVE RENTING A SCOOTER AND USING IT TO EXPLORE. YOU CAN GET OFF THE BEATEN PATH EASILY WHILE STILL HAVING GREAT MOBILITY, PARK ANYWHERE, AND JUMP OFF WHENEVER TO SKETCH. ALSO, IT’S A PORTABLE BENCH YOU CAN SIT ON WHILE SKETCHING.

When I travel, I really love renting a scooter and using it to explore. You can get off the beaten path easily while still having great mobility, park anywhere, and jump off whenever to sketch. Also, it’s a portable bench you can sit on while sketching.

ELEANOR’S SCOOTER GANG

“I THINK IT’S ALWAYS WONDERFUL THAT THE MOST NEWBIE SKETCHER IS FREE TO SIT DOWN NEXT TO A VETERAN INSTRUCTOR AND DRAW WITH THEM. I THINK THIS DYNAMIC IS REALLY SPECIAL AND HOPE THAT WE CAN KEEP THAT ALIVE IN THE COMMUNITY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.

I was supposed to teach two workshops through Seattle’s 10x10 program this spring (drawing with calligraphy pens & a limited palette watercolor workshop). The 2020 season was off to a very promising start, but then coronavirus happened and all the spring workshops have been cancelled for the time being. Hopefully, we can restart in the fall though; we’ll see how things go.

I was also really looking forward to leading some workshops at the Townsville Sketchfest in Queensland, Australia in June, but that has unfortunately been postponed as well due to the global health crisis. Fingers crossed for 2021. And in August I’m slated to teach a week-long urban sketching workshop for teens at a local art school, Gage Academy. I’m excited to share my philosophies with the youth and inspire a new generation of people who love to draw on location—hopefully by summer we are all okay to gather in groups again.

I also have a solo show set for December 2020 in Seattle at Zeitgeist Coffee, which will almost certainly be plein air work, and I’m working on a comic book (doing the inking, coloring, and background development) that will be published by Penguin Books in Fall 2021! It’s about a frog and her tadpole brother that drive through wonderful landscapes in an amazing changing car. Jonathan Tune is writing and doing the layouts. Look out for it!