Thursday, July 31, 2008

line vs color


I bounce back and forth between these two creative expressions. Line for interest, color for pure enjoyment.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

journal cover


I got a lined journal on sale with, of course, cover art that was dumb, but the paper is nice. So I gessoed the outside and did an acrylic abstract.

Presto! With gesso and your own paint, make any journal cover better.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

giant heads


This is drawn from a photo of a sculpture in the garden at the DeCordova Museum, Harvard, Mass.

I've been there, but not lately. They always have fascinating contemporary works.

Monday, July 28, 2008

red barn


Drawn from a photo on the cover of a book, idle playing again. Summer humidity brings sloth.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Mr. Frowny Face


Chaucer wants to know why I'm drawing him instead of fixing his dinner.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

cityscape, such as it is


Waiting to meet a friend for lunch, I had time to actually draw buildings in town.

Not at all like the bloggers who draw San Francisco or New York, but then I have no patience to draw all those little windows in skyscrapers.

Tech pen and w/c on Strathmore drawing paper

Thursday, July 24, 2008

more on gesso


The same bubbly prep (as yesterday's post) on another sketchbook cover, but I did 2 coats of gesso to make it a whiter surface.

Then strokes of w/c paint as a background to a still life drawn with brushtip marker.

This one is the Handmade Artist Journal, ready for filling.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

rough texture for the mean


Playing with gesso. I shook the jar (which creates bubbles), then rolled a thin layer onto a sketchbook cover. The texture is pebbly with tiny smashed bubbles.

Perfect background for the malevolent mug! I'm liking how the w/c flows and lifts.

Working on gesso is my new experiment with mixed media.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

doodling artichokes


Freehand idleness. Feeling lazy.

Monday, July 21, 2008

sepia artichoke


Idly copying a drawing of an artichoke. It was in an old drawing book on how to capture movement in figures. Not sure why this very stationary vegetable was included!

Sepia pen on Strathmore drawing paper.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

color refreshes


With pencil I make a more accurate depiction of the viewed item.

But the energy and attraction of a fast wash of color, mixing paint on the paper, always makes me happier with the page, no matter how wonky the drawing is, or how unrealistic my color choices are.

My philosophy is to go for creative joy over artistic excellence.

On Cachet Studio paper.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

regally sour


I don't draw Fen often because she always looks the same and has few positions in her physical repertoire.

She spends 90% of her days either leaning against the sofa arm or in a sleep curl.

Pencil on the Cachet Studio paper.

Friday, July 18, 2008

the last of Alaska


Jim finishing the last pages of Michener's book, "Alaska," just after the trip and the rotator-cuff surgery.

Pencil on Cachet Studio paper.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

back to pencil


Doodling the tea kettle on lined paper.

I'm liking pencil better lately. The California Republic pencils have such a nice sound and feel.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

good red brick


The plants are lost amid the bark mulch and brick, too delicate against the weight of the background.

Tech pen and w/c, of course.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

people watching the micro cars pass by


This was a little three-wheeled car with a front-opening door. Big windows all 'round.

Sharpie pen on Strathmore drawing paper.

Monday, July 14, 2008

micro cars



Saturday we went to the Microcar and Minicar Show. Dozens of real, but tiny, cars from as far back as 1939: Messerschmidts, Fiats, Alpha Romeos, MiniCoopers, Smartcars (new), and many others with less familiar names.

Pictures from previous shows.

Many had 3 wheels, some had bubble-top opening doors, or front-opening doors where the steering wheel was double-jointed, attached to the opening door.

At one point the owners drove the cars around to pick up visitors for a short ride. As they moved past, I practiced fast sketching.

Sharpie pen (not marker) on Strathmore drawing paper

Sunday, July 13, 2008

no snacks allowed


I had to post another closeup of wildlife, though this guy was in the fabulous 1000-acre Stanley Park in Vancouver, where we spent 2 days after the ship portion of the trip ended.

He was hopeful in spite of the many "do not feed raccoons" signs around this lookout point.

I was glad to see that no one gave in to his pleading looks, at least while we were there. His existence would be cut short if he became a danger to visitors.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

chairs everywhere


On a cruise with 2300 passengers, the ship must have had 12,000 chairs of all sorts of styles and shapes. And nearly always, of course, a place to set a drink or food.

Tech pen and w/c in the Handbook Artist journal.

Friday, July 11, 2008

under the gray water


We went on a semi-submersible water tour where we saw colorful sea life under that gray water. Here's a sea urchin the guide pulled from a tank. Amazingly red!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

extra for alcohol and soda


A lot of food was available 24/7, but Carnival charges for alcohol, soda, pizza, and a few other things like freshly baked cookies on the Lido Deck.

Writing showed through this paper, from the postcard pasted on the other side.

Tech pen and w/c in the Handbook Artist journal--which is usually thick enough.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Mendenhall glacier


This is the big one outside Juneau. The blue color just above the water shows where it calved last fall. The ice is so compressed, only blue wavelengths can get through.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

towel animals



Knowing nothing about going on a cruise, I didn't know about the creativity of the room stewards. Every day they made a towel animal and put it in the room with the next day's schedule of activities.

We had a rabbit, elephant, dinosaur, and frog left on the bed. But the best was this monkey hanging from the trim over the lights--made of one large towel and a hand towel.

Tech pen and w/c in the Artist Handbook, my scrapbook/sketchbook/journal for the 2 weeks.

Monday, July 07, 2008

fine dining


Pardon my newness to cruising, but the whole time we explored this luxurious ship, I thought of how ships were like for long ago passengers, from Vikings to Columbus to Pilgrims.

How amazed they'd be to see ship travel like this, with hot showers, flushing, and very steady floors!

Sunday, July 06, 2008

man on cruise


This man never noticed I was drawing him, even though he was seeing my movements. The group was talking as we waited to get in line for yet another event.

I painted it later, and THEN noticed that I'd never finished his other leg. Missing completely in my drawing, but he DID have two!

Saturday, July 05, 2008

sunny in the fjord


Once we got the ship and sailed south, we had sun and gorgeous mountain views!

Friday, July 04, 2008

Happy Fourth!


Floral fireworks! This was a poppy blooming in Juneau--back in June.

Thursday, July 03, 2008

classical choices


Every day a trio of violin, cello and piano played somewhere on the ship, areas where people roamed and reclined.

Like other performers on the ship, they practice and perform for a few hours a day and get a cruise out of it. I wonder if this is a popular entertainment job to apply for.

Tech pen and w/c in the Handbook Artist journal.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

foggy Whittier


The Carnival Spirit, and apparently Whittier's weather is nearly always like this.

The ship alternates Alaskan trips with ones to Baja and Hawaii. Nice variety for the crew; the cruise director said he was happy to get off the Caribbean-only trips.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

south to Whittier


After the bus ride into Denali, we took a dome train down to the coast. Great views! We saw moose, black bear, swans, and other wildlife from the slow-moving train.