Three Cement Mixers

7/8/15 inks, colored pencils

No less than three cement mixers were at work at Maple Leaf Park yesterday morning. (Unfortunately, the third one is a ghost in my sketch because it moved away before I could finish it.) All three were spinning and making a lot of noise as a long hose pumped cement into a hole behind the trucks. Although these mixers were on the opposite side of the park, I assume this is part of the same project as the part I sketched earlier this week to fortify the underground reservoir for earthquakes.

This sketch and the one from Monday were interesting lessons in composition. In both cases, I could have moved in closer to get a better look at the action and made a tighter, more detailed sketch by choosing a single truck or crane to focus on. But I thought it was important to include the iconic Maple Leaf water tower in the background, which shows where the action is taking place. Even as recently as a year ago, I’m not sure I would have made that conscious choice. I think studying the works of master sketch journalists like Gabi Campanario and Richard Johnson has taught me how to include more of “the story” in a sketch.