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Henry got an invitation to be an office dog at Ducks Unlimited with his best friend yesterday (Meghan borrows him every so often, to his great delight), so I didn't have to rush to the dog park first thing for his playgroup.
I had also turned in my first draft of the graphic essay and was waiting on edits, so the timing was perfect. I had a slow breakfast/morning tea in my fuzzy bathrobe and sketched my newest teacup with an older Paris teapot and a photo of my grandmother and her parents on her wedding day that I'd pulled out for research for the family history part of the graphic essay. Then I went to Dixon, met up with my friend Christina to walk through the glorious blooming bulbs and wander through the show of American paintings together. She made me slow down
I had also turned in my first draft of the graphic essay and was waiting on edits, so the timing was perfect. I had a slow breakfast/morning tea in my fuzzy bathrobe and sketched my newest teacup with an older Paris teapot and a photo of my grandmother and her parents on her wedding day that I'd pulled out for research for the family history part of the graphic essay. Then I went to Dixon, met up with my friend Christina to walk through the glorious blooming bulbs and wander through the show of American paintings together. She made me slow down
and look at paintings I might otherwise have passed by, and I was so glad she could join me on the spur of the moment. I stayed behind to sketch a Grant Wood still life that I've fallen in love with. So unexpected from an artist I mostly know as the American Gothic dude. I love the curve and rich shadows behind the arrangement and the way the flowers reach right out of the frame. I could only use dry media (pencils and watercolor crayons without the water), but I had fun looking at it deeply enough to draw it even if I didn't quite match the lovely colors. (The photo also fails to do them justice.) I want to go back and sketch several more in this show as well.
Henry came home exhausted, as did I, so we snuggled into a fuzzy blanket and watched British tv and chatted with friends on the phone and knitted. A lovely birthday.
Henry came home exhausted, as did I, so we snuggled into a fuzzy blanket and watched British tv and chatted with friends on the phone and knitted. A lovely birthday.
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I love drawing tea things, and I'm still having a ball using the watercolor crayons as a drawing base under paint. My go to is ink, but the crayons have a fun texture. We had a rainy morning a few days ago, so instead of rushing out to get Henry to his playgroup at the dog park, I sat and enjoyed my tea and did a sketch afterwards. This is my newest teapot, from Potsalot Pottery in New Orleans (though Alex comes up to do the craft fair in Memphis every fall and is one of my closest booth buddies). I love all of his work, but this piece particularly sang to me. He told me he'd studied Japanese potters to get the spout right, and it's a beautifully precise spout (hard to find in handmade pottery). It's paired with a tiny cream pitcher I found in a brocante in Paris and a midcentury Frankoma cup and saucer.
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I was picking up a friend's kid at a downtown school yesterday and decided to go early and sketch the bridge. There's a pretty understated welcome center tucked at the bottom of the bluff with good parking and picnic tables for easy sketching. It was a fun stop on a gorgeous day. I did this big one in my larger sketchbook with watercolor crayons after doing a smaller, free standing version based in ink with paint on top.
Here was my superfast, interrupted sketch from the carpool line. It was fun to catch something quickly, and it was a good reminder that sketching instead of just sitting and looking at my phone is way happier.
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I've been doing a little sketching alongside some work I can't show yet. It's been sunny the last few days, so Henry and I went to the park, walked a little in the forest, and snagged a picnic table for a quick sketch with clouds.
Melissa Bridgman brought me one of her gorgeous, tiny bud vases a few days ago with some gorgeous, tiny daffs in it. I did a still life this morning with my favorite farmers market chocolate croissant (from Lucy J's, for those of you in Memphis. So good) that is my favorite weekend treat. Celebrate the small things. And drawing it makes me slow down and savor it more.
Melissa Bridgman brought me one of her gorgeous, tiny bud vases a few days ago with some gorgeous, tiny daffs in it. I did a still life this morning with my favorite farmers market chocolate croissant (from Lucy J's, for those of you in Memphis. So good) that is my favorite weekend treat. Celebrate the small things. And drawing it makes me slow down and savor it more.
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Now that it's warmer again, I'm trying to carry my sketchbook to the dog park more often. I found a new small bag with several zippered pockets at a thrift store recently, so I can store drawing things in there in a secure manner for the occasionally boisterous milieu of the dog park. It's nice to have something that can grab and go easily. This is done with the watercolor crayons again and some paint on top.
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I'm still struggling with my energy, so an invitation to sit in Overton Park in the sunshine and sketch a few blocks from my house is a wonderful thing. My friend Christina and I chose a picnic table and compared materials and caught up and enjoyed the afternoon. Henry did great tethered to the table and was rewarded with a trip to the dog park before we headed home. He might be growing up a bit. I'm grateful for art and for friends willing to meet me where I am (both physically and metaphorically) these days.
I've been playing with the neocolor II watercolor crayons at home in a limited way, but it was fun to spread out a full paint set and try them bigger (the top one) with more paint added. I did the drawings in crayon and painted on top. I like the thickness and texture they add.
I've been playing with the neocolor II watercolor crayons at home in a limited way, but it was fun to spread out a full paint set and try them bigger (the top one) with more paint added. I did the drawings in crayon and painted on top. I like the thickness and texture they add.
