Wednesday, December 14, 2016


Buns for St. Lucy's Day
A friend makes delicious St. Lucia saffron buns for St. Lucy's Day, which is traditionally observed at the darkest time of year, as light is about to return. St. Lucy, patron saint of the blind, was martyred in the early fourth century. (The raisins represent eyes.)

The buns have a striking form; until I sketched them, I hadn't realized they trace Hogarth's Line of Beauty.

John Donne composed A Nocturnal Upon St. Lucy's Day.

Watercolor pencil, watercolor, and Dr. Ph. Martin's Radiant Watercolor (background, the color of the wine of communion). (The buns disappeared so quickly I had to sketch them from a photo.)

Monday, December 5, 2016

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Cabin fever


Ornament doodles
In which I riff on Koosje Koene's ornament patterns. Also inspired by December welcomes being found across the bullet journal community this week.

Playing with red shades of gouache, Uniball Vision Elite fine liner, and pastel pencils. If I had a larger stock of pastels, I may have achieved better color harmony, with the holly. This looks a little messy, but I like it anyway. You can do what you want in your sketchbook!

Friday, December 2, 2016


Arches
Lunch at Amigos, as the weather turns cold. The music sounds homesick for warmer climes. The rows of arches remind me of old British church windows. The layers and angles remind me of the surprise around the corner in Japanese gardens. I see something new every visit.

This is a good place to work on perspective; wish I had more time. The drawing is not quite as wonky as it appears; overworking the page curled the edge. I confused the height of the middle wall. Need to go back and see what happened there. A photo taken on the scene would be helpful, in this case. Taking time to paint on the spot would have solved the issue, too.

Thursday, December 1, 2016


Waiting room, blue-gray
This is a test. This is only a test.