Red Umbrella

As I walked past this woman reading in a rare moment of calm between Fringe performances a friend said, “That is a beautiful scene, you should sketch it.” This was a rare moment where someone actually encouraged me to take the time to slow down and do a sketch. When I am among friends and family, I usually think they would get annoyed that I am sketching rather than taking part in a conversation. At parties I often quietly listen to the conversations around me, thinking the whole time that I would love to sketch a persons expression or the warm ambiance of the room. Being invited to do a sketch therefor was thrilling.
I walked up to the woman to see how long she might be reading and to make sure she was comfortable with being sketched. She was waiting for a show and would be reading for another half an hour. I sat down and got to work.
As I was sketching Ryan Price walked up to me with his video camera rolling and he asked me a few questions. The sound quality on the video is off sync and hard to hear but it is interesting to see the way I managed to answer his questions while still working. The whole time I was being interviewed I was hoping the woman wouldn’t get up and walk away.
When the sketch was finished I rushed off and headed into another Fringe show called “The Bike Trip”. This was the best show I saw a Fringe this year. It was a one man show about one mans quest to find the origins of Acid. The monologue was quick, lively and full of humanity. It made me feel more connected to the people around me. I never asked the woman’s name that I sketched, she will always be “The Lady in Red” to me.