On my Hawaii/Australia adventure I took a total of six flights so it left me with plenty of time to do some airport sketching. A perfect way to spend time while waiting to board. Or a perfect way to spend time if you’re really bored!
I did a total of nine sketches, some of which I have included here.
I always enjoy the art in airports. My home airport, SFO, frequently changes what’s on show.
Most of the time I focus on the scene outside the window of planes parked at the gates. But at the airport in Cairns (Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef) I sketched some of the fish sculptures hanging from the ceiling (all rendered in a continuous-line sketch).
Having made it through TSA in 11 minutes on a Saturday morning, I found myself before Gate D9, an hour and a half before boarding. Being that I was in the back of the plane, in Boarded Group F (I’ll let you use your imagination as to what F stands for), I knew that I would be one of the last to board the Alaska Boeing 737.
So after getting some joe and a scone, I found an empty row and had breakfast.
Now it was time to get low tech in the form of my soft cover Stillman and Birn Beta Series sketchbook (No batteries required).
I found one of those nice swivel chairs and sketched the Alaska Airlines jet at gate D9. The Boeing 737 sat at the gate with a fuel hose attached to the bottom (always a good sign) and the crew loading luggage into it’s underbelly.
Our flight was on time and despite the demands to check bags from Boarding Groups E and F because the overhead bins were full.
I was able to waltz on the plane as a one bag backpacker, shouldering my Osprey Farpoint 40 and I found an empty bin right above my aisle seat in Rom 30 (at least I was close to the bathrooms!).
On the other half of my panoramic sketch I added my view from Row 30, Seat D.
A little time travel: the featured sketch is from Reagan National Airport (DCA), in Virginia, just across the Potomac from Washington D. C. This panoramic sketch is from my return journey to SFO.
To me, there is no better way to pass time in an airport than sketching.
I always have my small Stillman & Birn Delta Series in my pocket. The reason I enjoy using this 3.5″ X 5.5″ soft-cover sketchbook is that it allows me to do quick sketches. There is not so much paper to cover as a “standard” sized sketchbook. If sketching because more easy, you tend to do more of it.
I always try to take a seat, facing a window and sketch the planes on the tarmac as they are lined up like a school of sharks at their gates. I try to sketch the plane I will be departing on. But any plane will do.
I have included a few of my sketches in this post. They were done at SFO (San Francisco) and DCA (Reagan International).
Corvid Sketcher 