Last week I was away on writing retreat with some friends, and we settled on Sandra Bullock movies (and a Junji Ito series) for our downtime.
I sketched through Miss Congeniality, as follows (there’s a timelapse video at the end):
Benjamin Bratt’s character does not age well, so I’m currently enjoying his villainous turn in Poker Face.
I’m sure there’s a reprise of the song she plays on the glasses (“Lara’s Theme” from Dr Zhivago) in The Lost City, but I can’t find confirmation of that. Maybe it was in something else we watched, but that leaves the Junji Ito and RRR, so…
“She’s beauty and she’s grace…”
And here is a timelapse (in real time, it took as long as the movie, minus a few minutes after I inhaled wine at a joke, so this is at a little over 10 min/second).
Some more TV sketching — this time The Snoop Sisters: “The Devil Made Me Do It” (1974).
(The rule of TV sketching is that I can’t pause the show.)
This episode had even more flowing draperies than usual — especially Cyril Ritchard as The Great Morlock.
This episode even had Alice Cooper in it.
The bonus sketches below are from what we started watching first, expecting a Snoop SIsters episode. It was in fact Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate (1971), which also starred Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick as part of a group of friends who decide to commit computer dating fraud (in 1971). I do plan to finish watching it at some point, if only for those sweeping gowns.
The rule of TV sketching is that I can’t pause the show.
I bought my father the DVD box set of Murder, She Wrote for Christmas, which means I have to visit to watch it, so sketches might be sporadic.
Murder, She Wrote, S1E7 “Lovers and Other Killers”
In this episode, I was struck by how much lilac was used.
Murder, She Wrote, S1E7 “Lovers and Other Killers”
I also really like that final sketch, above, in the blue blouse.
Back from my parents’ place, and watching The Snoop Sisters with my housemate. Pre-Jessica Fletcher crime writers solving crimes. I love Gwendolyn and Ernesta’s 1920s/1970s silhouettes.
The Snoop SIsters, “Fear is a Free-Throw”
Not nearly as much lilac, but still present. Also background nurses reacting to plot.
I’m frantically trying to finish a large project, but dinner involves murder mysteries, so I have got in a few sketches, from My Life is Murder (S1E6, 2019) and The Snoop Sisters (E1, 1973)
The rule of TV sketching is that I can’t pause the show.
Above, Lucy Lawless & Ebony Vagulans, both wearing great clothes in rather different styles and degrees of vividness.
Below, night calls.
My Life is Murder, S1E6, “Another Bloody Podcast”
The Snoop Sisters only has a pilot and four episodes (alas!). The 1970s fashion is a delight, but Helen Hayes and Mildred Natwick (Ernesta and Gwendolyn) have marvelous silhouettes from much earlier eras of fashion.
The Snoop Sisters, E1, “Corpse and Robbers”The Snoop Sisters, E1, “Corpse and Robbers”
I will put up the travel sketches once I’ve scanned them, but in the meantime: Some TV sketching! Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators, Season 4 Episode 2 (f.i.n.a.l.l.y. available in Australia).
As usual, the rule is: no pausing the show.
I didn’t sketch the first episode because I was eating dinner at the time, but I’m not ruling out revisiting it.
These are mostly featuring Sebastian and Luella, of course.
In this instalment of tv sketching, I’ve discovered Les Petits Meurtres d’Agatha Christie (Wikipedia; AgathaChristie.com), aka Agatha Christie’s Criminal Games / Little Murders. Only one season (one from the 1950s-set series — the season numbering is convoluted) is currently available here on SBS On Demand, and only for a few more days.
The usual TV sketching rule applies — no pausing.
“The Pale Horse”
In terms of its heightened reality / little world / stagey fun, it’s on par with Queens of Mystery, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, and Shakespeare & Hathaway.
“The Pale Horse”
With melodramatic poses and distinct costuming choices, this makes it a lot of fun to sketch.
“The Pale Horse”
It’s particularly fond of warm reds and mint greens.
“The Pale Horse”
The sketches above are from “The Pale Horse”, and those below are from “The Protheroe Mystery”.
“The Protheroe Mystery”“The Protheroe Mystery”“The Protheroe Mystery”
For other TV sketching, see the TV SKETCHING category.
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The rule is: I can’t pause the show while sketching.
First, “For Death Prepare”, in which rehearsals for Pirates of Penzance are interrupted several times (and some very early Midsomer tropes are teased).
Midsomer Murders s22e5: For Death Prepare
It’s a delight drawing characters in flamboyant costumes (see also the Murder, She Wrote sketches). The flashy shapes and colours are easy to focus on, which takes some of the stress off drawing the other sections.
I kind of love those flying birds below, top right.
Midsomer Murders s22e5: For Death Prepare
And as ever, lighting and protective wear remain interesting and entertaining to draw.
Midsomer Murders s22e5: For Death Prepare
The Witches of Angel’s Rise skewed more towards Gothic melodrama.
Midsomer Murders s22e6: The Witches of Angel’s Rise
Below, I particularly enjoyed (enjoyed?) speed-drawing the reflection in the mirrored sphere (top right), and sketching a painting (lower left) and the bucket reflections (lower right).
Midsomer Murders s22e6: The Witches of Angel’s Rise
I also really like that little sketch of the figure and the bowl, third down on the right — simple shading and strong light.
Midsomer Murders s22e6: The Witches of Angel’s Rise
Also, as ever, the architecture of Midsomer (above) is a delight to draw, although the camera rarely lingers quite long enough.
Also, generally, I like the excuse to use orange.
Midsomer Murders s22e6: The Witches of Angel’s Rise
For other TV sketching, see TV SKETCHING. For previous MidsomerMurders sketches specifically, see:
As usual, the rule of TV sketching is I can’t pause the show. These sketches are done on the iPad in Procreate.
I wish there’d been time to catch the architecture, which was delightfulrandom background traffic cone costumefires and archesknives at twilightlighting
This was a very fun season to sketch — so much colour and slightly heightened/stylised imagery. And some gorgeous locations.
All tv sketches are under the “TV sketching” tag, and the Previous Queens of Mystery sketches are here:
Kathleen Jennings 