Just Sketching In The rain.......

[slacker]

With all this sketching talk lately, I was wondering what everybody does if it's raining like crazy. It was coming down in buckets over the weekend and I had 8 inspections to do. There was no time for a rain delay so I did the best I could under the old umbrella. It's been a pretty dry summer up here and I forgot about the challenges of working in wet weather.

So there I was, standing in the wind and pouring rain with the umbrella in one hand, the clipboard in the other, and no hands to write down measurements. I must have looked like one of those guys in the circus trying to keep all the plates spinning on the ends of the sticks at the same time. What a pain.

The humidity was a big factor too. Even if I managed to keep the rain off the paper, the humidity took over and the paper was soaked.

Any thoughts? There's got to be a better way.

 

[rtubbs]

Loaned my voice activated recorded to my daughter for college and don't expect to get it back. I've been thinking about buying a new one just for that purpose Slacker.

I believe I could zip around a house measuring in the rain and voicing the dimensions to a recorder. Have been meaning to try it. Maybe others have.

 

[Richard Carlsen]

Here's a little tip. If your sketch pad gets wet and you can't write on it, ask the homeowner to zap the paper in their microwave for 20 seconds or so. I've done this several times with soggy sketch pads. Works like a charm. Paper dries out, you can write and the homeowner thinks you are just about the smartest thing around.

 

[Mountain Man]

I switch to a ball point pen and keep going.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Darn, I knew I had something wrong. We aren't supposed to sketch in crayon? Actually, the microwave thing is pretty good. How about heating up my tupperware lunch while I measure your house? Actually, I use a simple pad folio, with fold over cover. I just keep the cover on until it is time to draw, then I stand somewhere dry and draw.

 

[Lee in L.A.]

Actually, I use a simple pad folio, with fold over cover. I just keep the cover on until it is time to draw, then I stand somewhere dry and draw.

Yep, Measure a wall or 2, get under the overhang or patio, open the cover of the vinyl clad book, and draw. Close book, go back into rain. I never used an umbrella, how do you hold it and the clipboard and still draw? :?

I do like that microwave idea though. Will have to remember that. Thanks. :wink: Isn't there a pen that is supposed to write on wet paper? Or maybe there was a special paper? :?

 

[Cliff Salisbury]

I carry a 1 foot by two foot heavy duty clear plactic and clip it to the top of the clipboard when it is raining. The other three sides are open and the plastic is large enough to hang over the sides. I can than just reach in from the botom and sketch. You can see enough through the plastic. Its not perfect, but it sure helps.

 

[David S. Roberson]

No matter what you cover the page you are writing on with, your wet hand drips water on the page anyway. Ink runs everywhere & the sketch gets ruined. My solution? I whine, complain, cuss, scream at the rain, go back to the car, dry everything off & re-draw the sketch. There is not and never will be a solution. We are all doomed. Have a nice day.

 

[larryhaskell]

Appraisers are sure a funny group. Here we are going through a serious drought throughout most of the country and we're discussing how to keep our sketch pads dry. The water level in Lake Tahoe is going down as well as our reservoirs. Bring on the rain and snow in record amounts but no flooding. I'm sick and tired of hot weather and forest fires. I'll get an underwater sketch pad if I have to and measure in a wetsuit and goggles. Not that I would look silly doing that.

 

[Mountain Man]

Hey, what about those wax paper sketch pads we had when little kids. My youngen' has a couple of them, I might try them out next time. If it ever rains again.