I had an awesome night out last night. It's been so good to be back in Memphis after so much traveling since early May. I showed up, hung out and had the very best local BBQ (Central BBQ, although "best" is always a bit of a conversation for Memphians), fed my baby nephew his green beans, caught up with my sister and her husband, and heard one of my favorite local bands. They're friends as well, who do a high energy show of music from the 1860's to the 1960's, as well as occasionally beyond. I love their songs and have drawn them over the years, and my favorite singer/washboard player is going emerius. Mandy Nicole Gauvin has been with the band five years, but her work schedule has pressed as the band schedule has also expanded. So last night we were celebrating her participation in the band as well as Christian Stanfield's birthday.

I had meant to go back and do more painting after dinner, but other friends showed up, and I just hung out and drunk it all in. I even got to sit in with the band. Christian, with no warning, called me up and handed me a banjo and told me to pick a song to sing. I had a blast singing with such a great group of musicians. My sister filmed part of it, and just for fun, that will be in a second blog post (too much to load with all these sketches as well).

I had started off with a fountain pen and meant to do watercolor as well, but after painting all day, I didn't have painting energy. It's nice to have a bit of a sketching kit and some different options. I ended up pulling out the ink brush pens after the first page of line drawings. It's fun to try to capture likenesses with a little bit broader stroke.

Last night I actually did much better with the brushes. Go figure.