new cornrows

It's fun when a model shows up with completely different hair, after I've been drawing and painting her for over 2 years.

Oil on canvas board.

always practicing heads

And practicing trying to fit the whole figure on the canvas without cutting off the top. Whoops.

Oil on Centurion canvas.

lookin' at you

A cartoon-version of my normal model.

Pen and w/c on Strathmore drawing paper.

contortions of plumbing

Installing a new kitchen faucet. Always a challenge and a relief to get a plumbing job done.

And drawing a moving worker is a challenge too!

Pencil in the Aquabee Superdeluxe journal.

skiing in July

It's only happening around here in the ceramic figurine world. Thinking of snow to get a sense of cool. 4B pencil in the Aquabee Superdeluxe journal.

pillow pile

Started an idle sketch just waiting for a visitor, then turned it into something I actually liked.

Pen and w/c in the Aquabee Superdeluxe journal.

foliage challenge

I don't have the patience to draw plants, but attempted a quick version of the begonia leaf shapes. This coloration is just a amateur's invention. The actual leaf is a bluish-green with a silver sheen, with deep carmine edges and centers. w/c in the Aquabee Superdeluxe journal.

Rex Begonia

 My rex begonia is loving the summer weather. such amazing leaf colors!

heat-flattened cat

When I start drawing the cat, I never know how much I'll get done before he moves.

But in this heat (85 inside but a fan blowing on him), he stays limp and flat for long periods of time.

Finished the whole drawing before he moved at all!

Liquid stylus pen in the Aquabee Superdeluxe journal.

Trying to cool the maximum amount of furred surface.

the joy of iced tea on a hot summer day

Pen and w/c (using the new tiny palette) in the Aquabee SuperDeluxe journal.

new mini palette

Made and sold by Maria Corell-Martin at expeditionaryart.com. It's made with little magnetic pans set into a business card holder, with a mixing sheet on the inside of the lid.

I love it! I loaded it with Winsor & Newton paint. Though I've made mini palettes of my own, usually using mint boxes or eye shadow boxes, this metal version with easily removable pans struck my fancy.

It's super thin and light, perfect for any tiny bag with a waterbrush.

And it comes with a small absorbent towel for brush cleaning.

Boston--reflection of Trinity Church in the Hancock Tower

Taken back in May, on a clear day post-marathon when we were all still trying to cope with the shock.

simple ink

Sometimes just ink is enough.

On thin smooth paper.

back to the cat

Colored pencil on a smooth thin paper.

Drawing in Canyonlands NP, Utah

At the Grand Overlook, I found a twisted tree that needed depicting.

Few people were there, but an Australian man approached and stood with me in the vast desert silence as I drew, interested in the process.

Later he said, "All I can hear is the sound of your pencil."  But he didn't sound like he was complaining.

On Fabriano Artistico.

Red cliffs in Springdale, Utah

Attempting to catch the color, vertical rock lines and horizontal bands of sandstone. A mere suggestion of what I saw, but at least I tried.

There is some blue pencil for the sky here, but too light to show in the scan.

Photography stepped in for most of the rest of the trip!

Pen, pencil, w/c on Moleskine w/c paper.

Moab area, famous rock formations

Drawing on the move through Utah's canyon parks. I did these on index cards with graphite, added some colored pencil afterward.

Just to catch the sense of the moment at Landscape Arch and Balancing Rock.

Drawing in Zion Park Lodge

Recording the rocks inside, while waiting for my horseback riding companions to return.

Pen and colored pencil on Fabriano Artistico.

Back to life drawing

After nearly a month off. The scan is a bit blue, but it's late, fixing is not happening now.

Pencil on Strathmore drawing paper.

early morning at Arches National Park

Yes, it was a fabulous visit to Moab, Utah.

How to fly so no one talks to you

My seatmate on a recent 3.5 hour flight. It's not a burkha, it's her coat.

Even the flight attendant got a little surprise when she glanced to the window seat.

This passenger was friendly as we sat down and later got up. But the cocoon was very effective when she was in it.