Sunday, August 31, 2008

little treasures


There are lots of little finds from yard sales and markets, all around the cottage.

Birds and fish are a strong theme. I love the sea glass in the hanging wire fish.

W/c on my usual sketch paper.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

inside


One of the cottage things to do is watch movies. This TV has a convenient internal VCR, so visitors can ignore its poor TV reception and watch movie after movie.

Just to say, those trees above the TV are carved wooden trees sitting on the window ledge, not distant real ones. Their placement looked ambiguous after I saw the post.

Tech pen on Superaquabee.

Friday, August 29, 2008

hiking with w/c pens


On a separate trip recently, I walked out to a rocky point in Maine, juggled the watercolor pens amid grass and boulders, to catch this scene.

The blue pen turned out to be the exact color of the ocean. I did no color mixing among pens, which, for me, takes a lot of fun out of the process.

On Aquabee superdeluxe.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

corner shelving


More practice doing a quick sketch while standing. A way to add wonkiness!

Pencil in the journal.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

black cat


I don't know if there's a good story behind this clock--looks like a Disney-inspired early cartoon in black plastic.

Practicing with the Akashiya Sai watercolor brush pens from Jetpens.com. I like the flow and the brush tips, but multiple colors are a lot to carry and uncap/recap compared to one brush pen and a little palette.

Fun to play with, though. I got the autumn and spring colors; the price/color mix seemed the best.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

another thing to burn wood in


An attempt to draw the chiminea on the deck. Abysmal, but now I really know what its details are.

The darkness underneath is really water on the dark brown metal tray, plus a shadow. Not able to portray that!

Fibertip pen on Superaquabee.

Monday, August 25, 2008

not needed this time


The heat for the cabin is by woodstove, but it was just warm enough not to need to use it last week.

Pencil on Superaquabee.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

something else to sit on


This collapsible stool from REI is comfortable, lightweight, and so great for taking on drawing excursions. I used it a lot last week to get a good position for viewing the object.

Fibertip pen on Superaquabee deluxe.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

wicker chair 2


And another one. This one took a lot of looking, to get those crossed wickers right! (Is that what they're called?)

4B pencil on Superaquabee.

Friday, August 22, 2008

wicker chair 1


One of her chairs. I prepainted several pages in the sketchbook. Learning to do that with a much lighter touch!

Fibertip pen on Superaquabee.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

drawing escape


Last week I spent 4 days at my friend's cabin, drawing, walking, cooking, and escaping the normal schedule. It was wonderful!

Lots of sketches will be posted!

This one was practice for drawing while standing in the road. Tech pen on Superaquabee deluxe.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

green feet


Drawing with paint, then layering to mold the forms.

W/c on 140# Arches.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

indigo mug


Practicing brush drawing.

W/c on Strathmore drawing paper.

Monday, August 18, 2008

town and country abstract


The similarity to trees in the upper left is a total accident. I was just sploshing and dragging paint.

Acrylic (for once) on Strathmore drawing paper.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

purple foot


W/c on 140# Arches.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

juggling choices


For the DVD, VCR, TV and computer, plus the universal one.

Drawing all the buttons remind me of drawing skyscrapers with all the windows. We have created remotes that mirror our city buildings.

Click image to read the words more clearly.

Fountain pen and w/c on Strathmore drawing paper

Friday, August 15, 2008

random intensity


Playing with paint and angular lines.

W/c paint and a Derwent 8B watersoluble graphite, on Aquabee superdeluxe.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

imagining scenery


I started playing with paint on the gessoed journal paper, and it turned into this. I take no responsibility.

I think I used some colored pencil, too.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

stubbly brush


Another experiment on gesso, using a stiff bristle brush to draw with. I have started to like the puzzle-piece look of leaving white between the color shapes.

Gesso on journal paper. Makes it feel like heavy wallpaper, very nice!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

45 seconds of play value


Like nearly all the toys I buy for the cats, this one interested Chaucer for all of 45 seconds. Now it's a model for drawing.

His expression looks haunted and tense. But he need not fear. The cats don't want him.

Brush pen filled with diluted Noodler's Ink, and pencil, on journal paper.

Monday, August 11, 2008

crossed, a variation


Always there, available to be drawn.

Pencil on Strathmore drawing paper.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

filling paper, merely


Capturing the shapes of the jumble of Golden Liquid Acrylic bottles.

Watercolor on journal paper.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

journal sketch


A new pair of sandals that have turned out to be a great success.

Fountain pen and w/c on journal paper.

Friday, August 08, 2008

the bald guy


Whenever I idly draw a head, it turns out the same--this guy. He's my template for experimenting with art supplies.

Playing with watercolor crayons and pencils, on Strathmore drawing paper.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Marblehead kayakers


The same yellow kayak, in 2 different positions, as they passed the viewer.

Tech pen and w/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

at the coast


From a bench at Fort Sewell, overlooking Marblehead harbor. Quick sketch, painted later, quite erratically.

But it holds the memory of the whole visit and the fabulous day. Why I draw.

Tech pen and w/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

blue bowl


Just playing.

W/c on random paper.

Monday, August 04, 2008

the bearded one


Drawing beards is harder than I thought. Getting the shape and shading to look halfway real. All that practice on cats has helped, probably.

Tech pen and w/c on Cachet studio paper.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

imagining flowers


To manage a post a day for month after month means I sometimes just imagine flowers and a vase, to get by.

Marker and colored pencil on 90# Canson.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

the chair challenge


For some reason, the proportions on this chair have always been difficult to get right, even in a wonky way. But after drawing it over and over, this version finally looks better.

That shaded lump in the chair is a cat.

No color added, for once.

Friday, August 01, 2008

pencil case


I used everything on this one. Pencil, w/c, colored pencil, ink.

Should have started it on better paper than the thin lined stuff.