I’ve managed to get a couple more sketches done on the junk mail postcards I created earlier here. I saw my first Handkerchief tree late last summer and was smitten with the seed pods which littered the base of this huge tree. I have enjoyed seeing them every day since. The stems of the pods […]
sketch
Junk-Mail Postcards
I am having some fun with the blank junk-mail postcards I produced earlier. These cards lend themselves to all kinds of art making and I would like to do more sketching. Here is one that I dashed off and put in the mail to friend. Click on the image for a larger view. Let’s face […]
Botanical Illustration
I spent this past weekend immersed in a botanical illustration class at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) with instructor Lynn Kitagawa. Lynn has worked for the VA Medical Center as a medical and biological illustrator for 30 years. She has an undergraduate degree in biology in addition to an MFA. And she is a […]
Blessings of the Season
Among the hustle and bustle, here are a few quiet moments I’ve experienced lately. The holiday boat parade on the Willamette River. It is fun to share in the joy of these boaters’ inspiration. Click on image for a larger view. Some quiet moments with my sketch book to gather myself. What are […]
More Sketches
A couple weeks ago I began experiencing intermittent computer issues so my posting has been sporadic. Those issues have been resolved so I have full use of my computer now. Enough said. Here’s a sketch done in response to an assignment from my recent Sketchbook Skool instructor, France Belleville-Van Stone : Sketch something with wheels […]
Sketchbook Skool: Stretching
Sketchbook Skool is an on-line sketching and watercolor school that I have taken several classes with. While I was away, I received an offer for a class that had just begun at a price I couldn’t resist. When I got home I was eager to check in and take the first class with Jonathan Twingley. Jonathan […]
Fountain Pen Sketch
I purchased a Lamy fountain pen over a year ago and have done little to become acquainted with it. I purchased the pen after taking a course through Sketchbook Skool with Liz Steel, an Australian architect-turned-sketcher who regularly uses her fountain pens to sketch. She discusses fountain pens extensively on her site here. The pen […]
Wordless Wednesday
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Pumpkin Sketch
This is the last squash from our weekly box of vegetables. I loved the big bold stem on this small pumpkin. Click on image for a larger view. I did, in fact, use it in a pumpkin-chicken curry dish. Yum!
Wordless Wednesday
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Saturday Sketch
Sketchbook Skool instructor Cathy Johnson had us sketching birds this past week. I tried my hand at a cedar waxwing sketch with watercolor but was disappointed in the outcome. I’m pretty happy with this sketch of a raven though. Click on image for a larger view. I am also taking a class focused on sketching […]
Embracing Junk Mail
No matter how I fine tune the flow of mail that comes to my letterbox, there is a daily abundance of junk mail. This year I’ve finally embraced the inevitable with new vision. It started with Carla Sonheim’s on-line class here. Recent inspiration from my friend and fellow artist Priscilla Read followed this week! She […]
Back to the Junk Mail Artist Book
Finally! I’ve completed the fourth of five lessons with Carla Sonheim and her method for creating a small book from junk mail. This step was extremely challenging for me — each drawing extended beyond its page to pages behind creating a puzzle to solve: what the heck can be created from the partial marks here?? […]
Imaginary birds
Sketching
I think it’s not so much a problem of lack of inspiration for sketching, it’s more a matter of being overwhelmed by everything that could be sketched. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it for now. For this sketch I played with creating the background wash first. When it was dry I simply put […]
Another Drawing
I worked parts of several days this week on a page intended to introduce me to collage. Yesterday I was so unhappy with what I had that I tossed it out. I may or may not go back to that lesson and see what I can do with it. Meanwhile, I sketched and painted another […]
This and That
Where to begin. There are many things in progress here. After all, it’s July — the height of summer. Our side yard with the succulent plantings is filling in nicely. Here’s a close up of one panel The male oriole and his entire family — 2 chicks this year! — visit our feeder regularly. He […]
8 Techniques in 2 Weeks
Whew! This is week 3 with Jane and she’s really ramping up our game. The assignment: divide a page into 8 sections and complete assignments using 4 different techniques. Don’t worry about where you start on the page or how you divide the page. . . just get going! So here I am so far: […]
Lesson 2: Everyday Objects with a Tombow Pen
This lesson introduced a new tool: a Tombow pen. This nifty pen uses water-soluble acid-free ink and has 2 ends: a brush and a fine tip. The fine tip is great for drawing the outline of a final sketch. The brush end is handy for getting more ink on the watercolor brush for darker shading. […]
Another sketch
The Buddha Hand may have been a bit ambitious of me. Who am I kidding? It was very ambitious of me. I’ll have other chances to come back to this fruit. For now, Jane is moving us on to lettuce. This has been a fast week!
