a tangle of teaballs

A study of confusing shapes.

Pencil, in the journal.

flopped doll

Lizzie's turn to model.

Pencil and pastel background, in the journal.

three-tone bear

Using Faber-Castell brush tips, in the journal.

I liked the impact of the black spiral on the side, so left it on the scan.

Upside-down works, too

I drew the bear standing on his head, same posture as in the post on April 21. Then I turned it upside down and realized the position made a perfect "striding bear."

W/c, plus penciled background

making mini watercolor palettes

I find old eyeshadow packages (or cheap ones at dollar stores), clean them out and squeeze in good watercolors. These are all Daniel Smith paints.

The top one is from Angora Water Colors, found in an old Ben Franklin store. Perfect size, weight, and number of slots.

These are so handy for traveling with a waterbrush. Color in a sketch wherever you are.

Paul Madonna, artist

Paul Madonna is a San Francisco artist who draws what he calls comics--one-frame city images with no people or cars, and a line of words. They may be dialogue or philosophical or observational. His drawing skill is astounding.

I like his observation today: In hard times, beauty can seem frivolous--but take it away, and all you're left with is hard times.

from a parking lot, again

The tag caught my eye.

Postcard pad of Archers 140# paper, pen and w/c.

balancing without the block

He's been practicing since yesterday.

On 140# Fabriano, pen and w/c.

the bear does tricks

On the new Stillman & Birn sketchpaper.

Pen and w/c.

a man and his tools

The saw he needs, and our excellent contractor--from when we had the floor of our deck replaced.

Starting the summer with a deck I won't put my foot through!

tree base

Outside the car window. With a stump of w/c pencil in a Moleskine w/c book.

I sprayed the pencil lightly to make it bloom. This is really nice paper.

dry water-soluble pencil

A Prismacolor w/s graphite, 4B, is very dark when wet. So I avoided a mess and left it dry. Nice soft feel on the paper.

On 70# sketch paper.

blades of sanseveria

A more accurate sketch of all the blades than I would have expected. I must be developing patience with plant drawing!

Colored pencil in the journal.

inky cat

Watersoluble pen in the journal.

biker dude

I have no idea who he is. Found a painting of him in a magazine and had to try drawing the stubble and the scarf.

Fountain pen on random 70# paper.

before the leaves

They're really bare, but foliage is coming in a month.

Pencil on 140# paper.

moving into spring

Warmer weather (50) means I can start hiking the hills again.

Collage and acrylic in the journal.

the magic flying ottoman

I usually call it a footstool or hassock, but the flying carpet connection made me think of an ottoman, as in a Turkish/Ottoman Empire.

I didn't draw the base because of the way he was looking over the edge. It seemed he was on a flying adventure, high above the ground. He held this post a long time.

Charcoal pencil, in the journal.

the last unused logs

The log holder is going to the basement. We're done burning.

Last quick scribbly record of the red canvas holder, too.

Black: brush pen
Red and brownish log: colored pencil. The log is actually the "leaf green" Derwent Inktense pencil. Strangely brown!
Green and blue: Sharpie highlighters
In the journal.

the glacier is almost gone

There's a lot more snow in the shade on the east side of the house, but this is all that's left of the huge plow-mound on the west side.

And a little sad debris to be swept away.

who draws cupholders?

More interesting than the parking lot out the window.

Pencil and w/c on random paper.

the last snow, I hope

I filled in the background with Gimp. The rest is done with ArtStix.

On 90# paper.

cool poster

A picture I found in my phone, of a poster in a restaurant bathroom. Don't remember where, maybe in Boston?

April 1 snow

Out the front door--that tree is a frosted red maple.

The deck, frosted as well.

Thanks, Jester.