Watercolor Sketching and Journaling

Last night I went to the first art league meeting of the "new year." Members shared art work and photography done over the past summer.

The last participant had been too busy to create in her customary format, but had found Gay Kraeger's Strathmore watercolor journaling classes on Youtube, and shared her own sketchbook, applying the lessons. Gay's classes are a great introduction to the practice of  keeping an illustrated journal. She also offers a class on Craftsy, which overlaps the Youtube material.

Watercolor sketching and journaling (Youtube)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Watercolor artist Cathy Johnson also did a good Youtube series for Strathmore. She offers online classes through her website and contributes to Sketchbook Skool's Seeing class.

Watercolor sketching (Youtube)
Part 1, Bonus
Part 2, Bonus
Part 3, Bonus
Part 4 , Bonus

In addition, Cathy offers tutorials on her youtube channel: Cathy Johnson.

Coffman Skate Park building

This building next to the skate park appears to house restrooms for skaters and users of the coming platform tennis and basketball courts. It looks like a concession stand, so maybe there are additional long term plans for it.

burning bush

The other day I saw a row of euonymus alatus, beginning to turn. Fall is in the air.

Wet in wet watercolor, followed by ink, then a little watercolor pencil.

carrot cake, fries

Rows of beautiful desserts line the display case at Panini Opa. Here I drew the carrot cake, as I waited in line.
The fries are always good. (The foil-wrapped gyro next to them needs a little work.)

fire hydrant

This Lowes fire hydrant unintentionally turned out looking a little like a fireman holding a hose (made of the yellow line running down the middle of the street).

Palette

Current palette

Tonya just posted a palette review over at Scratchmade Journal, so I'll post an update of mine here. I keep coming back to the Sennelier half pan sampler set of six. It measures about 8.5 by 3.5 inches.
I ordered 25 empty half pans from Kremer Pigments, removed the plastic insert, and used Loctite Fun-Tak to fasten the extra pans in.
 
I made a brief detour with the Alvin Heritage palette, but never became comfortable using it. I like the Sennelier's portability, enamel mixing areas, and the flexibility to rearrange the pigments and choose pan size. Might even be able to get some brushes in there.

Autumn is here

Fall in Ohio brings pumpkins, chrysanthemums, and Buckeye football.

Rolls

A few weeks ago, we enjoyed a meal amid the fun retro decor of the new Cap City Diner.
Parking was free across the street, at the Longshore Garage.


Bar stool

Wonky purse drawing

My REI cross-body bag lost its longer strap a few years ago. The lightweight fabric was easy on my shoulder. I'm getting to the age where it's hard to get rid of the familiar; newer is rarely better, as it used to be.

That Micron fineliner has seen better days, too. I got a few for the urban sketching workshop last spring, and have been using them the past few months. I still prefer the smooth flow of the Lamy Joy's nib across the page.

Sweet autumn clematis

The sweet autumn clematis is blooming with wild abandon once more--as it has every fall, without fail, at both our houses.

The aging grill, huddled beneath its cover, looks like a little black ghost, awaiting Halloween.

This was my first try at using masking fluid. The contents of my three-year- old jar have taken on the consistency of marshmallow crème, so it went on in clumps. I used a small, inexpensive craft brush to apply it. Waiting through the drying time does add a significant amount of time to the sketching process, as I expected.

Montage

On this day we ate breakfast out, ran errands, then took a drive to Sunbury, to see St. Barnabas the Apostle Orthodox Church. It's always interesting to see how an Orthodox congregation adapts a (previously occupied) building for worship and congregational life. The large flower garden at the foot of the exterior cross, backed by a sunny yellow cement wall, evoked Easter morning.
*******
The guy in the lower right corner, lolling against the dessert display case, was on staff at Jason's Deli that evening, awaiting the supper rush.

Beefsteak tomatoes

This was a good year for tomatoes from our back flower bed. These are some of the last.

Drive-thru

During busy lunch hours, Chick-Fil-A demonstrates amazingly efficient coordination of staff, along its drive-thru queue. The first takes orders; the second gives receipts as you round the corner of the building; the third delivers drinks and small orders from the open window, back along the waiting line of vehicles. A driver with a large order doesn't slow the flow. (A flagpole goes up the middle of the sketch.)

Farm market

Yutzy's farm market added an open air fruit and vegetable barn this summer. Garage doors are raised on the west side, allowing easy unloading of produce and air circulation.

WIndow

Vase

I can always find five minutes and something to draw at Amigos.

I'm not sure why all the vases in the front windows have a hole through the middle. I recently saw a vase of this shape in a décor advertisement, so it must be a style.

Under construction

Dublin Green

The new Dublin Green Bibibop will share a building with the recently opened Tim Horton's. A busy construction crew wove a tapestry of wires, pipes, and tools between a foreground of cloud and asphalt reflections and a background of pink insulation.

A man raked soil around a large tree, just planted in one of the islands of the Dublin Green T.J. Maxx/Home Goods parking lot.

Summer Days

View from Potbelly patio

The flower baskets no longer hang from the railing; the large planter is now filled with a mass of white petunias, not so tempting to draw.
This patio is a nice place from which to watch the world go by, humming along the thoroughfare across the pond.
I'm always surprised not more people choose to enjoy it. They may not realize it's tucked away in the back, or just be in a hurry at lunch hour, which seems to be the busiest time here.

I needed more time to work on getting the right shades of green for the water, somewhat grayer than this, reflecting grass and trees.