Light at the End of the Tunnel

Despite the mild winter (so far) in Chicago I've been laid low by a cold that just won't quit. My energy is slowly coming back so there is a light at the end of this tunnel!

Our monthly winter-Monday sketch group met at Union Station. It was strangely quiet and empty – the station not the group! The group was small in number but, as usual, animated with enthusiasm. The feeling of emptiness and quiet was magnified by disappearing holiday decorations. This sketch shows it seems that I always start out aiming to tackle the architecture but end up people watching and drawing!

Belated but hearty Happy New Year to all!

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.