Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays…

Thank you for stopping by throughout the year. Your encouragement and comments mean a lot to me. For those of you kind enough to follow this blog I promise to post more often during 2012!

Ah the Road and Intentions!

Here are more two exercises from One Drawing a Day. I'm not moving along daily as I had hoped to do. I'm learning that I must make time to do the exercises and I am getting better at that-not great but better.

#2 is done with dip pens and ink. It's a little tighter than I'd hoped but I did get caught up in the drawing.

#3 was done with bamboo pens and ink. They are "Celestial Dancing Beauties" from Cambodia. There are four of them but the fourth one didn't make the page. They're in the Art Institute of Chicago's Southeast Asia collection. I had great fun doing this drawing. I really got caught up in the movement of the figures.

Another habit I'm trying to cultivate is to withhold judgment and "just do it."

One a Day - Like Vitamins!

This is the first exercise from One Drawing a Day by Veronica Lawlor. I've done a few exercises at random. Now the plan is to start at the beginning and go all the way through - a good way to end the year and prepare for meeting new art goals in in the next! One of my favorite phrases from Day 1 is "experience the drawing."

To Everything There is a Season

These are the last of the zinnia and marigold from the deck. There are a few mums and pansies out there now. The garden (I use the term loosely) was great this year. I don't know, it seemed to thrive on benign neglect.

Drawing and sketching, however doesn't work that way. I bought the book One Drawing a Day by Veronica Lawlor, whose work I love, and hope to work my way through it. I'm looking to loosen up and just do it and enjoy it. I think doing a quick lesson a day will help. This is lesson 2, working with dip pens and ink. I never use dip pens but I really had fun with this. I couldn't resist adding color!

Ob-La-Di

Here are a few scribbles from the last few weeks. I've been really busy with work, play, computer glitches and just plain "stuff". Computer glitches people understand but somehow when you tell them that you're busy at work with so many drawings to do you don't get much sympathy! LOL

As Time Goes By…

For Morgan, who doesn't remember when she was the Doodlebops' #1 fan and went to her first concert. This was a quick little sketch I did one day when I was baby sitting and she was watching the Doodlebops.

Homeward Bound

A three hour flight delay seemed like a suitable end to our trip, a trip that included a sick pup and several trips to the vet, getting rear ended on the Freeway, having a debit card deactivated because we didn't tell them we'd be using it out of state (it only took a quick phone call to fix that!), and lots of fun and laughter with our grandson!

When we finally arrived at O'Hare the jetway jammed and we sat in the plane for another twenty minutes until they fixed it. You know what? It was still a great trip!

California Dreaming

While we were in San Francisco we took a drive to Tiburon. It was a wonderful day. Lunch by the water, leisurely stroll around the town and a little shopping. I went into the fabulous shop Nasimiyu. The artist makes incredible jewelry from African beads. Awe doesn't even begin to describe what I felt. To bad my budget didn't allow for a $5000 souvenir!

Ode to Joy

                                         Sketching AND chocolate-need I say more?

More from SF

It's hard to believe we've been home for almost two weeks. There is finally a light at the end of the catch up tunnel!

These two quick sketches were done in the Presidio, one of the prettiest places in San Francisco. It's home to the Walt Disney Museum and LucasArts and LucasFilm not to mention it's rich military history. While we were there Hillary Clinton and Leon Panetta visited. I'll bet we had more fun.

My Life as a Sitcom

We spent two great weeks in San Francisco babysitting for our two and a half year old grandson. Notice I didn't say vacation, it was an adventure filled with mishaps, silliness, work and joy. Grandson, Nana, and Poppy did great but the Granddog not so much. He took sick while we were there, peripheral vestibular disease, but is recovering nicely.

With the added vet visits to our days and keeping up with a toddler's boundless energy I didn't get much sketching done. (Ah yes, what was I thinking? I do recall those days from long ago!) I did do some. I've discovered the Stonehenge sketchbooks and love them. The paper takes watercolor well. I have the 7 inch square one and like that format. I just wish it wasn't spiral bound. I find that, for me, it discourages 2 page spreads.

Hide and Seek the Chicago Way

With all that went on weather wise on the east coast this weekend, a little Chicago morning fog is child's play!

Pencil #2

There's Something about a Pencil

At our regular Monday sketch group, in my quest to loosen up, I started out trying to use only my brush with no pencil marks to guide me. I dove right in painting one of my fellow sketchers. But when all was said and done I couldn't resist adding pencil at the end. It just needed that definition to punch it up a little. I left the other sketch as it was.

We were working at the Nature Boardwalk at the Lincoln Park Zoo. There were lots of tourists and kids enjoying the last days of freedom before school starts. I hope, when they stopped, chatted and commented, we inspired them to give sketching a try!

Not Everyone is a Winner!

Yesterday our Monday sketch group met at Belmont Harbor. Once again we lucked out and the weather cooperated! It didn't start to rain until we were packed up and on our way home. We really have been lucky (so far) this summer. It's either rained in the morning and cleared up in time for our meeting or the rain held off until we were finished.

The luck didn't extend to this sketch but I enjoyed doing it anyway.

Lazy Summer Sunday

This is just a little doodle from a lazy summer day. With all the rain and hot sun our deck garden is quite the oasis in the city. It's a little hard on the flowers but the herbs are going wild. The basil is like a shrub. Yesterday I cut it back and made a ton of pesto. Today it looks as if I never cut it at all!

Fun in the Sun (and Shade)

Monday's sketch group met at Millennium Park. I had a little trouble getting started. I was fascinated with the bright light and deep shade, so I went with it. I seem to be in green mode these days. There were pigeons all over the place until I decided that one was needed to punctuate the sketch. I had to wing it. (Groan)

To Market, To Market

These to sketches are about the Green City Market in Lincoln Park, Chicago. The first one was done last week while I was there. The second one was done at home, today, with a "find" from the market.
The "find" is garlic scapes. Never heard of them? Me either. They just looked so interesting,I bought some to draw. I asked the farmer what they were and what do you do with them, besides draw that is(hum-I hadn't thought of drawing WITH them maybe tomorrow.) He said to use them like a mild garlic, chop them in salad or put them on the grill. Great to draw and even better to eat!

Read and Learn - Live and Learn

Once again the Chicago weather put our sketch group's outing in jeopardy but, once again, in true Chicago fashion, the weather changed. The sun came out just in time. It was a gorgeous afternoon!

We met today at what I've always called "Caldwell Lily Pond Park". The group sketched here last summer. We enjoyed it so much we decided to return this summer. Today I read the sign (imagine -read and learn) and the name is actually "Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool".

What's that they say, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet"? Well, this place, no matter what you call it, is beautiful and a perfect place to sketch!

Before the Parade Passes By

We started the day with a quick trip to the suburbs to see the Kohl Children's Museum's float in the Glenview parade. It was the perfect way to start the holiday!

I usually don't add things to the page before I start sketching but I figured why not give a try, it's a day to celebrate freedom!

Mixed Emotions

With Athens so much in the news, it brought to mind this quick sketch I did at the their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Though the unrest and protests were in evidence then as well, we managed to see much of the beauty of Greece.

If You Don't Like the Weather in Chicago Wait a Minute

A few of us from the Monday Sketch Group braved the iffy weather to sketch at River Walk by the Du Sable Bridge (formerly known as the Michigan Avenue Bridge.) It was worth the risk! It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon and a great place to sketch. We'll return there again, I'm sure.

I'm glad I managed to sketch "architecture," something I usually don't hone in on, but how I sat there on the Chicago River and didn't paint any water is beyond me! LOL

Something for Everyone

What a beautiful morning in Chicago! The Green Market was bustling and crowded. It reminded me of Ionesco's poem-

Love life everything--
pale lights
markets medley of
green lettuce,
red cherries,
golden grapes, and
purple eggplants--
all so extraordinary!
Incredible!
you get excited, you talk to people
and people talk to you,
you touch
and they touch you.
All this is magical,
like some endless celebration.

-Eugene Ionesco

I only had a few minutes to sketch but since I wasn't doing the shopping nor will I be doing the cooking, I'm not complaining!

…Just Not in a Row

A sketch a day for thirty days–just not consecutive days–and only 29 (so far.) I really enjoyed this attempt at thirty sketches in thirty days. Though I fell short of the quantity and time elements, I did restored my joy in the sketching habit–which was the true goal.

Not Stopping-Just Slow and Busy!

Here are a few more sketches. I am slowly getting back into the swing of sketching. The joy has returned!

I Think I Can I Think I Can

Well, I missed three days this week but I think I can make up the three sketches. So it won't be everyday in May but,at least,it will be thirty one sketches!

La La La La Life Goes On

A houseful of grandchildren and their parents slowed me down a little this week. I'm not complaining. It was a happy chaos. Here are the sketches that I've scanned so far. I'll catch up later this week.

Two Down

Two weeks have gone by since I started my thirty day sketch-a-thon. Well, actually, it's thirty one since it's every day in May.

I've surprised myself at how relaxed I am about this. Usually when I set a goal I become a driven fool. This time I'm enjoying the journey.