Sketchbook

Sat, 2 Jan 2010 13:17:47 -0600

This is a new sketchbook that I’m doing washes in. To see photos of the work, go to my Flickr page.

Playing around

Fri, 1 Jan 2010 19:08:58 -0600

Just a so-so painting I did today. I’ve just uploaded a lot of things to Flickr, so check it out ok?

Last ferry

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:53:22 -0600

I painted the soccer players again and decided to change the name to Last Ferry. This time it looks better. More vivid colors, better darks. This is watercolor, 8.5” x 6”.

Snow’s over (and so’s christmas)

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:37:14 -0600

The photo above was taken yesterday during our 24 hours of flurries. This is the scene out front of my place. Up to the corner looking northwest. I’m in an urban area just west of Chicago. It’s not a bad neighborhood. All working people and ethnically mixed. Had to shovel twice. My good neighbors shoveled in front of my house early in the morning, but that was quickly covered over.

Can’t say I really enjoy Christmas, and this year I ignored it as much as possible. I hate shopping and crowds. I have to be in a certain mood to enjoy it and I wasn’t...haven’t been in the mood. I’m sort of the anti-consumer these days. I only buy what I need. Nothing extra.

I was going to go shopping on Christmas Eve but the weather was treacherous around here. The roads were icy and I didn’t want to go out. I was painting and doing housework and caring for the dogs-hanging out with them, laying down and napping with them. It’s a fine time. Is it so bad to not want to go out? I feel so comfortable here.

Anyway, I did something I’ve never done before and that is, I went to Walgreens on Christmas morning and bought 8 boxes of Turtles and passed those out for presents. Pretty bad eh? oh well...nobody cares anyway. Last year my oldest brother gave us all snow brushes and gift certificates to a restaurant that is too far away and not that good anyway.

Then also on Christmas, I found out that my younger brother doesn’t want to house/dog sit for me while I go on vacation this winter. I was hoping to go to Playa Del Carmen, but now I have 3 dogs and no one to watch them while I’m gone. I will look into a boarding kennel, but I don’t think I’ll be able to afford it. This will be 2 years in a row I’ll be missing my Mexican beach chair.

Here’s some of my favorite antique mechanical pencils:

I got the top one, a Sheaffer, for Christmas. I bought the silver one and the tortoise shell pencil at the Arlington Park Antique Show. I also have a little collection of fountain pens. I try using them to draw with, but they never work very good. The best fountain pen for drawing that I have is the Rotring. It always works. I can pick it up after months of sitting in a drawer and it will work immediately.

Here’s what I did this morning on the soccer players watercolor. I’m still not to satisfied with it. I’m trying to bring it into sharper focus and can’t seem to do it.

This is a scene of the ferry dock in Playa Del Carmen that runs over to Cozumel. I took the photo several years ago. The guys were resting after a game of soccer.

I’m working on this little sketch in my Moleskine sketchbook. I used a waterbrush filled with watery black ink and no preliminary drawing. It’s a scene from the Art Institute in Chicago.

I had this strip of paper and here’s what I did with it. I made up the scene and will add to it later. It definitely needs more. Just playing with paint, shape, value, and composition. That is my favorite watercolor sketch box above the painting. It’s filled with Daniel Smith tube colors.

Beach bananas

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:28:08 -0600

This was done recently from a photo taken in Mexico. Watercolor on paper, 8 1/2 x 6.

I started with a pencil drawing and built it up with layers of watercolor and then lifted out more light where needed.

My place for everything....

Sketchbook

Playing around

Last ferry

Snow’s over (and so’s christmas)

Beach bananas