When I leave the studio to sketch or paint “in the wild,” I never know what adventures I will find, with whom I will have a conversation, what events I will stumble on, or what wildlife I will encounter.

Today I left the studio to go to a neighboring village to sketch.  I found an alley that was shared by two businesses, one a cafe, the other a gift boutique.  This gave me the ability to sit in one place while sketching the other.  As I was sketching, people chatted around me.  At the end of the alley was a man who worked at the business on the left, conversing with someone I couldn’t see.  He was the perfect subject so I sketched him quickly, noting the placement of objects surrounding him so that when he moved, I could continue without him.  That plan worked!

As I was sketching, two cars collided right in my field of vision.  It looked like one car pulled out of their parking spot into the path of another car. It was a little unnerving.  There was a loud crash and I walked to the end of the alley and there was a young man who was a little upset apparently that the other lady pulled out in front of him.  There were two ladies in the other car so one can only surmise that they were chattering away and missed seeing the young man and his car.  I am glad everyone seemed ok. 

 I went back to finish my sketch and then I popped into my friend’s shop afterward to show her and my other friend my freebies from the Urban Sketching Symposium in Chicago.  Now to rustle up some lunch…..