Screened in

At first I thought she was looking out a window, but now I think these are all the pixel-filled screens that face her each day.

Gel pen and w/c on cardstock.

Little boxes

Pattern doodling, a mental rest from faces, heads, and landscapes.

Tombow markers in a Moleskine sketchbook, water washed.

Self-assignment

Random activity while waiting. Draw something with a fish, spiral, heart, and rectangle.

In my pocket Moleskine with a waterbrush and paints in an Altoids box.

A new character

Faces keep emerging in these doodles. This may be the orange guy's dog. I think his name is Sycamore.

Gel pen and w/c on Aquabee super deluxe.

Ink mountain

Doodling with gel pen and w/c on Aquabee super deluxe.

This is art as therapy after hours of painting the larger-canvas living room with roller, ladder and creme brulee Behr.

Charcoal pencil

I haven't drawn with charcoal in forever, but found this pencil and gave it a try in a Moleskine sketchbook.

I love the intensity of the black but not the sound the pencil makes--a draggy scraping instead of (in comparison) the silent and soothing flow of water media.

It's funny what little thing can make a difference to my creative process.

Orange arrival

Back on 3/8 I said I saw an orange guy in that blob. He has solidified.

Tom Bow Markers (water soluble) on Aquabee super delux. Better blending than some, using the red and yellow markers.

The simplicity of pencil

Instead of posting all the orange people with weird blue skin diseases that appeared last night (sometimes blending doesn't go well), I saved the simple pencil guy. He's more restful to the eye.

2B on Aquabee super deluxe.

Emerging

It just came out this way, and rather than add hair or a background of water, I decided to let him emerge without embellishment.

Subtle colors this time, which was a challenge!

Sharpie and w/c on Aquabee super deluxe paper.

Feet, before they move

Using up the mud mixes left on my palette, I captured his shoes and one leg before they moved. (He didn't know he was a model.)

No time for pre-drawing, but fairly close to reality.

W/c on 140# Canson

Colorful mess

I pulled out the water-soluble Tom Bow markers and filled a lot of pages with generalized forms, then colored them in to experiment with applying water over the strokes.

I love the intensity of the colors and the blendings. Here, any resemblance to the cat is accidental.
TB markers and water on 90# Canson paper.

Red Tom (Bow) cat

Using the markers on a slicker paper, in my journal. The ink doesn't sink in as fast.

I'm still working on getting accuracy with big arm movements, and I color these in with the side of the pen tip in loose big strokes.

Door to the Sun

Another doodle on a background. I like making something out of random brushstrokes. And hey, there's no orange!

Noodler's ink and w/c on 5x7 Bristol paper.

Moleskine resistance

I did a bunch of plant paintings in the Moleskine, using the paper's resistance to create texture in the leaves.

This one turned out with less texture in the leaves, but with more interesting flowers.













Zooming in . . . waiting for things to bloom on the page takes a lot of patient tending.

Doodling on scraps

I paste these little scrap doodles in my regular journal to provide some colorful breaks in the text.

It's art as an everyday activity to brighten my historical chronicle--vaguely like a medieval illustrated manuscript. Very vaguely.

Tech pen and colored pencil on w/c background.

The Orange Man Cometh

I did this as a background to an ink drawing, but the more I looked at it, the less I wanted to add anything.

Now I see a human shape in there, approaching with knee and foot up on the left side, swinging arm on the right side, and a round head. (Kind of a snout nose.) See him?

(And later, on a different monitor, I saw a left-looking profile.) Told you I had cabin fever!

Acrylics and pastels on Moleskine.

Face in the Food Dish

An aeriel view of the cat enjoying breakfast, one of the few times he stays still long enough for me to capture his contours.

The closest paper to grab happened to be 140# Canson in a 6.8 spiral pad. What a joy to flow on the paint easily--better paper is SO worth it!

I also had the time to use the good paint and mix my own brown from Daniel Smith quinacridone burnt orange and hooker's green. Just to put this simple moment on paper makes me feel like I've made a step forward in painting.

Back to Moleskine

In my winter fever for color, I went back to the most intense (dry) form I know--the neopastels. Then I used a wet brush to spread and calm the dust.

And not dealing with the frustration of w/c on the Moleskine sketchpaper is nice.

Waiting for spring

Remember my sour cat? One of the reason she's grumpy is she's stuck inside, waiting for greens and warmth to reappear.

Sharpie and w/c on 5x7 Stonehenge paper (cropped for posting).

Thinking desert

Amid winter chill and brown/white scenery, I'm imagining desert colors and warmth.

Sharpie and w/c on Stonehenge paper.