Shapeshifter Art School invited the Memphis Urban Sketchers to visit again while the exhibition by our founder Elizabeth Alley is still hanging. I love this new art space for Memphis and am so glad they want us to be involved. Everywhere you look is surprising and creative. I settled in to sketch this gorgeous utility sink (how often do you hear those words together?) and have a catch up. I managed not to overwork the brick, but often when I go out to sketch I get sucked into a more complicated, all over sketch right off the bat and then end up doing a looser, "warm up" sketch afterwards. ("warmed up?") It would probably be a good discipline for me to do thumbnails or a warm up sketch first, but I never think about it -- I just get excited and dive right in. Often I like my second sketch better, which was the case yesterday.

I'd brought my biggest sketchbook, thinking it would be good for me to loosen up from my smaller, tighter illustration pieces I'm doing at the moment. I also threw in my bottled ink at the last minute and used a broad, blunt dip pen and some Diamine Chopin ink to do a quick sketch of Elizabeth's enormous ship installation hanging from the ceiling. Which is delightful. I used a little orange and a little grey paint to pick out details, but mostly I let the lines do the heavy lifting except for that orange pop. I'm going to try to get out the dip pen more often. This was so much fun.

My friend Libby Elder got a photo of me (at the far end) spread out on a convenient box just going for it. I love the friends in this group and the reminder on my calendar to get out and just draw for the pleasure of it instead of working on a specific project.

I got caught in a downpour at Dixon last week and for a second time found myself waiting it out on the porch sketching the three fantastic butts of the Rodin Three Shades from his Gates of Hell masterpiece. After posting I was asked if I could post the series of sketches I've done of those statues, and it sent me down a small rabbit hole. Above is the same scene two years ago, but with fountain pen and a wider viewpoint. It's honestly one of my favorite all time sketches, catching that crazy spring rain. Here is last week's version, closer up and in watercolor crayon.

I tend to sketch scenes I love over and over again, and Dixon is one of my favorite places to sketch. Here are the guys from the front for a change, with the overall view of the museum entrance.

I've also sketched them from inside a tent at one of the evening events Dixon puts on.

And finally with Autumn foliage, once again from my favorite front porch bench.

I treated myself to a day out today. I've been working on the memoir but not really sketching lately, and it's good to do work that's looser, not for publication, just for myself. (Not to mention that I don't want to show too much of something I'm hoping to publish, so I haven't had a lot for the blog lately.)

The Mary Sims exhibition at Dixon is amazing. I've been several time with various people, but I hadn't take a bunch of time just to drink it in slowly. I went round the whole thing, sat and looked at various pieces, and finally figured out a couple I'd like to sketch. I love her crazy intricate still lifes with shadows that are as robust as the objects themselves, but I knew I'd make myself crazy trying to capture one (especially with the pencil/crayon I'm limited to inside the museum). So I headed back for my other favorite works, which were the early portraits. The top one is maybe my favorite piece in the whole show, but since Dolph Smith is one of my favorite local artists, that may not be an objective assessment. I love that he and Mary, both lions of the Memphis art world, are united in this piece. And his sweet wife Jesse memorialized as well.

I also sketched this graphite and acrylic portrait. It's so minimal (flat background, as all hers are, just not something I could catch with dry materials). She uses graphite so extensively on her canvas work, which isn't something I've tried at all. The effect is wonderful. And I loved seeing her use so much gold paint. I'm always drawn to the metallics and then wonder if I'm just being cheesy, but it's good validation to see her love them as well.

It's been a rainy day off and on, and there was flat NOBODY in the cafe at early lunch time. I went ahead and actually ate inside, which was a treat. Usually I'm wearing a mask indoors. And I had fun doing a quick fountain pen sketch at the same time. I really should get out and draw more people as I'm working on the memoir, which is so figure heavy. It's never been my strong suit, but I am having a good time. This was actually my first sketch of the day -- I was starting a new sketchbook with a short, happy memory. You can see the spot for my name and information (which I ALWAYS fill out in case I lose a book) in the bottom left. Now that I'm home with my waterproof ink, I'll attend to that.

I was heading out, and the rain suddenly burst back on the scene in a pretty impressive downpour. I decided to sit and sketch this scene I'd been eyeing anyway. I love drawing Rodin. I started with the crayons since I'd had them out for the museum pieces but added some real watercolor on top. It was a lovely way to pass the time until I could walk more easily to my car.

I'm still working away on the graphic memoir, and it's slow to tell a story in watercolor, but I'm also still excited about the project. I haven't yet made it to the summer in Greece that is going to be the central part of the book, but here's a small glimpse of the table setting -- distance in my early marriage, both physical and emotional.

My sister is in the choir at Grace St. Luke's Episcopal. I grew up half Presbyterian (my parents' church) but also half Episcopalian because I would go with my grandparents to the 7:30 service at the cathedral. I loved the older words of Rite 1, which sadly has fallen out of general use these days. My presbyterian church is still my home since it has my community and since I'm reformed enough to still feel awkward about genuflecting to objects... and also since incense makes my lungs crazy -- no one bothered with that stuff at 7:30 am. But GSL had an unusual Rite 1 service at 5pm yesterday, and I went over to hear my sister sing some of the anthems their choir will be singing in Wells Cathedral this summer, and as a surprise bonus to enjoy the ancient words of my childhood. It was exactly what I needed this week. It was a small service, and I had the balcony completely to myself, so I also was able to worship unmasked, which was a real treat. With my long covid, I'm still masking in public places. We sang lovely hymns, had a brief but meaningful message, and the music was exquisite. 

The cypress swamp at Rossville had been dry the last couple of times I went but it had rained so much lately it felt like a good time to go. It was. The light was glorious, and the swamp was full of migrating birds. I hadn't been an hour from home in a while, and it felt nice to get away a bit. 

I'm lucky enough to have sketching friends to meet up with and share a meal and sketch. They are important to my happiness and quality of life. We met at Dixon, hoping for food truck Friday but driven indoors by rain. I did four quickish sketches inside the cafe. My favorite is that top one with a limited palette but more depth and shadow than the others. My brown pen got cleaned recently and is too anemic with the water. I need to do a little more work on it, so I switched to a water soluble blue/black ink and then used my super tiny watercolor kit that rides in my purse instead of getting out my full one. It was a great catch up, and I love having happy occasions in my sketchbook to remember later.

I sketched my tea again this week. This is one of four art deco Bavarian china cups, each with a different pattern. I found them at the thrift store, and they're totally my new favorites. As a bonus, they look fantastic with my crazy fancy Paris brocante teapot, found at the Marche d'Aligre. They also harmonize nicely with Muddy's sweet potato pie. It was a fun morning, and I hope to do some more of these.

I also got back to a little forest sketching on a recent evening walk. I didn't linger since the mosquitoes were finding me, but I enjoyed pulling out my tiny sketchbook that I try to always have on me and do a quick line drawing. I'm still spending most of my time on illustration these days, but sketching feels great when I get to it and keeps me a little looser.

Facebook seems to think it's National Tea Day. I mean, who knows. But it's a day I can totally get behind. Before I saw it I had done this post breakfast sketch. I've been working on careful illustration work for days now, and it felt like time to get out a big brush and be really wet and messy. Mission accomplished. I started with Kaweko Paradise Blue ink, one of my favorites. The stoneware is hand-painted thistle from Scotland. My mom graduated from the University of Edinburgh, and she loved all things Scottish. These are the dishes of my childhood, and I found a cup/saucer/creamer set a few years ago in an antique store and was delighted.

The honey was a gift last week from a friend. I'm so grateful for my Memphis community of people who lift me up when I'm struggling and celebrate with me when I have something good happen. I love living in the place I've grown up and in the house my grandparents bought in 1941. I'd been having a tough day, and the honey was just the sweetness I needed. It's sitting on my counter giving me periodic treats and shining a little sunshine all around it. Fun to paint.

I'm trying not to "publish" my whole memoir here, but it's mostly what I'm working on these days, so I'm going to show bits and pieces. It's been fun to go through old photos and journals and ticket stubs and remember trips and people. I found a photo I didn't remember at all of my first dog Dougal lying on my lap while I played banjo. Henry gets across from me and glares and looks put upon. He is much less a music fan. Here are the photo and the version I did from it for the book.

You can also see the font I'm tinkering with. I keep going in and making minor adjustments. It's an app for my ipad, iFontMaker, that lets me draw my own letters. My first attempt looked scarily like Comic Sans (or a ransom note, as fellow illustrator Martha Park said of her own first attempt), but I tried again and came out with this, after numerous adjustments and probably more to come. If I'm going to do a whole book, it would be way easier to use a font (even drawing with an apple pencil requires me doing most words several times), and it's more legible. So I'm laying out with the font for now. Worst case scenario it's a good place holder for me to know what to write where if I decide I don't like the final look.