I've been quiet here partly because I'm working on two illustration projects for Memphis Magazine that I can't show yet and partly because I was having some serious internet problems and couldn't share my scans. So I don't have a lot of new material I can share, but here are a couple of recent(ish) sketches that didn't make the blog. The first was an art lunch with friends, which is one of my favorite things to do, and I clearly had tea.

The second was a really neat lecture at Dixon a couple of weeks ago. I got to a number of those and usually sketch, so I'm trying to figure out different media and styles to vary the sketches from lecture to lecture. This was local artist Carl E. Moore, whose work I admire a lot, talking about his practice and his art. Instead of diving into paint I kept it just fountain pen and brush pen. I also used a higher vanishing line than I usually do. Often I'm drawing what's on the wall behind the speaker, but here I left more space for audience and kept his figure central to the sketch. I was pleased with how it turned out, which is not something I say a ton about my sketches. I love doing them, but they don't usually measure up to the image I had in my head before starting. This one was different than I meant it to be, but I was pleased with the result.

My birthday fell on a Saturday this year, so I joined my folks at the family farm on their regular day out there and took a couple of slices of cake from Muddy's Bake Shop. I picked narcissi and sat by the lake and drank in sunshine ahead of the coming cold snap. I loved sitting there and using my biggest sketchbook to do this dip pen sketch (Chopin ink by Diamine, a slightly purplish grey) and then paint on top. I was mostly pleased with the results, especially the left hand side.

That night I pulled out the Neocolor crayons and took a swing at the poppies I'd gotten from the farmers market that morning, since it was indeed my birthday. This was less successful, but it was fun to look so deeply at their beauty and try to record it. What a lovely day.

We had a stormy Saturday so Memphis Urban Sketchers met inside Crosstown Concourse, a huge old Sears distribution center that's been converted into apartments, offices, a high school, a YMCA, two theaters, a brewery, and (crucially) my favorite bread bakery Lucy J's. (As opposed to my favorite cake and cookie bakery.) That morning I went in for a ham and cheese pocket or something like that, but the cinnamon rolls smelled SO good that I got one. I got a tea to go with it and settled in to wait for the rain and for friends to show up. It's fun to sketch a treat because I take more time and enjoy it more in the process. It was delicious.

Later while talking to friends I did a quick, smaller sketch of the classic red stairwell in the art gallery section of the building.

I finished the morning having a chat with a different friend while I sketched inside the Memphis Listening Lab with their stunning collection of vinyl that you can have played for you. They have a great soundtrack running, needless to say.

I haven't been sketching much lately, so it felt great to go out and do several, especially while seeing friends at the same time. Urban sketchers is a big part of my social calendar and my absolute favorite group.

I'm chipping slowly away at a few new prints. Here's a small bird to go with my recent cat print. I'm going to print it in several different color variations and maybe a black and white edition too. I tested the green first to see if I liked the color behind the bird or if I wanted to carve that part out, and I decided on the bigger pop of the bird being distinct from the background. After that I tested the yellow/orange version and was happy enough to do some final prints. I'll get back to the green next and do a batch, and I'll finish by testing a blue/purple version, but I'll have to carve out the beak (which I've left yellow for this batch) because it won't look so good blue, so that's the last step on the color ones.