Guest Sketcher

Recently I had a dear friend, my "sister", come to help me. There was time to sit and draw. Isn't that the dream of all of us sketchers? Barbara Parke-Wolff creates her own journals and had participated in Danny Gregory's Retreat in Rowe, Mass. She is also taking part in Sketch Skool. Barbara, on the left, a mutual friend, Judi Sullivan, joined us today. Judi left before I could get a picture of her drawing. Most important was the comfort of friendship. Oh, that is Cody, keeping guard.

My backyard has never looked so good!

The following is of a bush that is called "Lion's Tail" and if fun to watch grow.

Last is a drawing from some quiet time in and out of the house.

Tomorrow she will be leaving. I was so blessed to have her here, but now she will return to her home where her sweet husband has been patiently awaiting her return. Thanks, Gary.

Home again

Aaah, travel pictures. Here are some sketches from airports. There was no time to sketch while visiting. This is done in my moleskin which I previously had decorated with Gelli printing.

During the part of the trip when I saw the grandchildren, the twins were totally delighted to again
be allowed to watch Frozen. I must admit that it is a fun movie and think that my favorite character is Olaf, the loveable tiny snowman.

At home I found some time to draw a piece in my zentangle moleskin. This is not an intricate piece, but one that I just had to do. Inktense pencils and ink were used.

Sketches and The Garage Wall

Last month I went to see the grand kids and was able to again enjoy one of the Shel Silverstein's books. Since it seems that he learned to draw by tracing Al Capp's cartoons, I'll assume that it is OK for me to copy free hand. He says so much with so few lines.

 

At the airport, I caught Mr. Sexy Time sleeping. His wife was watching the kids.

 

Below is the latest installment of the garage wall. I'm finding that doing about two sections at a time is my limit as I have to turn my head in awkward positions and their is a limit to that discomfort.

Have a nice day!

Collaborative project and music

Last week I was lucky enough to attend two terrific music events. First was a concert by the Sacramento Symphonic Winds. Simply Sousa was the featured music and the auditorium was packed! Love to hear this rousing music. I did manage to do a few sketches of unsuspecting attendees. I'm finding that using two sizes of pens helps to make my pieces more interesting.

Oh, the other super music event was hearing Jackie Evancho. Oh my, she sings like an angel at age 11. You might check her on youtube.

A collaborative project is now happening. Judi, an artistic friend, and I are going to do a book that has pages which are 8"x8". She does watercolor, oil pastels and oil paints. At the moment, it looks as though I will be doing the lettering, but who knows how I will decorate each page. This is our first set of pages.

Figure drawing

Well, summer has arrived and the figure drawing sessions are over until late in August. Here are a couple of 15 minute sketches that I did last week. I continue to learn and to admire the high quality of work by others in the class. Yevgenia Watts  who I met through EDM was able to join our group for the day. She does such fine work.

A shock came this week. Pamo's blog no longer exists! She apparently just had too much happening. Personally, I'm going to miss the laughs. Yet, she must take care of herself and I wish much happiness for her.

Three old ladies

This picture has been around for years. Grandma died in 1970, so you know that this is old. It just struck me as funny so I sketched the three old ladies who were dressed for a luncheon. My grandma is on the right-barely tolerating the other two who are apparently not prim and proper! Think that my aunt in the in the center and I have no idea who is on the left  wearing a fur stole.

Travel sketch

I visited the grandkids in Ohio. We stopped at Easton Mall which is a whole village of stores. The kids and I waited in the car while their mom ran into a store. I took advantage of down time to sketch.

Speaking of the children, here are the twins in dresses that I made for them.

....and big brother in his new shades.



Sketches and Tools

At the Sketchcrawl I observed a woman doing all her work with a fountain pen. She then used a brush with water to smear the ink and create texture. Thought that I'd give it a try. Don't ask why the palm trees are leaning, I don't have a good excuse!

On the same day, I sat in the bleaches (where I was supposedly watching a soccer game) I decided to draw and paint the pile of backpacks and clothes in front of me. This was another piece where I got lost in time as I worked.

By the way, my team blew a 4-1 lead and the game ended in a tie. OK, I did watch some of the game.

Tree sketch

Yesterday was very relaxing as I had no outside commitments. From my second story studio, I drew our tree. I just sketched until I was tired of the project and that had such a calming effect.

Looking forward to Sketchcrawl in Davis, CA with our leader Pete Scully on Saturday, January 22 at 11am. Would be delighted to have you join us.

Out and about

I went to a band concert today and unsuspecting people get to be my models. Thank you very much for holding the pose for so long-whoever you are.

Catching up

I'm back from Ohio where I got to meet our twin 5 week old granddaughters and to play with the 2 year old big brother. I had visions of drawing the sweet little ones, but the best I could do was a couple of minutes drawing Loretta, one of the two hairless cats who was sitting on my lap. I mean, the breakfast dishes didn't get done until 4:30 pm. The parents are doing well, but what a lot of work.

Do you have a clue how many EDM postings are done in two weeks? It does take a while to catch up on the conversation and all your creative pieces-a task that I'm happy to do!

I'm having some challenges with Blogspot. I press to download pictures and they don't appear my blog. When I was in Ohio I saw three of the same picture on my blog using my son's computer. Here at home there was only one. I just tried to add a couple of pages from my Sketchbook Journal and they do not appear here. Any help would be appreciated.

I'm learning

I'm trying to overcome my fear (of failure?) and draw faces. Really now, what is going to happen if I draw in my sketchbook? For me, the fact that these faces each have their own look is a big deal. Now only 9,995 more to perfect this aspect of my art.

Today I attend the grand opening of the new wing at the Crocker Art Museum here in Sacramento, CA. This addition to the Museum is so terrific! Edwin and Margaret Crocker (made his money when the railroads were being built) bought a mansion and had it transformed to include an art gallery in 1886. From 1869-71 the two of them collected more than 700 paintings and 1,344 master drawings during a European tour. In 1875 Edwin dies. In 1885 Margaret gives the Crocker Art Gallery and collection to the city of Sacramento and California Museum Association.Over the years there have been additions to the collection and renovations of the mansion. 1997-99 the idea is underway to build the Teel Family (they own a grocery chain) Pavilion which acknowledges their $13 million gift. Today on 10-10-10, was the public grand opening. One room displayed a collection of work by Wayne Thiebaud. Since I seem to like contemporary art, I was blown away. So humbling to see so many outstanding pieces. 

I do hope that you have an opportunity to visit this museum that is now able to display the old and the new.

Oh yes, they had a large gift shop and An Illustrated Life was on display. A woman was glancing through books and I told here that this book was so filled with journal pages of talented artists and it was so inspiring. I noticed that she had the book in her hand as she stood in the checkout line. I felt so proud.

Making Progress

The good news is that I have done this sketch with my right hand! The flip side is that the injury lingers. Now the challenge is to make a fist. Thanks to all who have sent encouraging comments.

Here are two of my left hand drawings. Try it!