Christmas comes once more

Most of my recent sketching has been in five minutes grabbed here and there.


Culver's often has a few fun seasonal decorations.
We spent time in a waiting room with three themed Christmas trees, each with a colorful topper: a snowman, a star, a crown.

Christmas mantel

I think I've sketched part of this mantel each of the past four or five Advent seasons. This time, I layered pastel pencil over parts of the drawing.

Master Penman

Today I got to meet Jake Weidmann (artist and Master Penman) and see his work at the Ohio Pen Show. His craftsmanship is amazing. Watch this (Youtube) video for glimpses of it.

I love his rendition of C. S. Lewis & the Untamed Lion.
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Creators of the Apple Pencil and the ProCreate app consulted with Weidmann during their development, and made modifications based on his input. You may have seen his drawings in an Apple store, during a promotion.

Further viewing: Goulet Guest: Brian Goulet, of Goulet Pens, interviews Weidmann at the DC Pen Show, 2017.

What the eldils had told [Ransom] about the possibility of such discovery he had received, while they were with him, almost without wonder. In their eyes, the normal Tellurian modes of being—engendering and birth and death and decay—which are to us the framework of thought, were no less wonderful than the countless other patterns of being which were continually present to their unsleeping minds. To those high creatures whose activity builds what we call Nature, nothing is “natural.” From their station, the essential arbitrariness (so to call it) of every actual creation is ceaselessly visible; for them there are no basic assumptions: all springs with the willful beauty of a jest or a tune from that miraculous moment of self-limitation, wherein the Infinite, rejecting a myriad possibilities, throws out of Himself the positive and elected invention.

—C.S. Lewis, writing in That Hideous Strength, 1945

Homeward bound

Virginia rest stop, morning view on road home

Our trip was quick, and I didn't sketch as much of the architecture and landscape as I expected, since we were usually moving. The beautiful brick structures of the Virginia rest stops, geometric and symmetrical, made a striking impression. After we toured Monticello, I could see the influence, and wondered how much of the style is found throughout Virginia, and how much of it was due to Thomas Jefferson's designs of his home and the University of Virginia buildings
The last drawing was done in the early misty morning, from the window of a hotel in northwestern Virginia. A pale periwinkle bank of clouds roughly paralleled the profile of the mountain range.
I was surprised by the wide variety of people, geography, and patterns of settlement in the state. The government of such a diverse land and population must face sobering challenges.
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I used colored pencil over a few areas of the watercolor in these drawings.

One short flight for man

View from the Black Pelican restaurant---sand and sea

We recently took a short trip to the mid-Atlantic coast, making pilgrimage to the North Carolina shore where Ohio’s Wright brothers performed their famous experiments. We lunched at the Black Pelican, formerly the Kitty Hawk lifesaving station, weather bureau, and telegraph office, from where Orville sent his historic telegram, December 17, 1903:

"SUCCESS FOUR FLIGHTS THURSDAY MORNING ALL AGAINST TWENTY ONE MILE WIND STARTED FROM LEVEL WITH ENGINE POWER ALONE AVERAGE SPEED THROUGH AIR THIRTY ONE MILES LONGEST 57 SECONDS INFORM PRESS HOME CHRISTMAS. OREVELLE WRIGHT"

Wright Brothers Memorial, Kill Devil Hill, NC

After lunch, we visited the Wright Brothers Memorial, where the brothers conducted their first flights. The little dots at the base of the monument are people. My husband walked to the top and said it was much larger than it appeared from below. A lifesize model of the glider rested near the parking lot. (The little gumby in the foreground is a water fountain.)

The brothers had a single-minded focus, the command of a wide range of relevant practical knowledge, and a willingness to toil in relative obscurity that would be rare to find in a person today.

Ohio Pen Show

The annual Ohio Pen Show has rolled around, once again. Vendor rooms will be open to the public November 2-4, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin.  The entry fee is $5/day or $10 for a weekend pass. Come for the history, the ink, the pens, and the paper; you will find many friendly people.

Deborah Basel’s Journal class ($20) will be of special interest to sketchers. Deborah usually offers calligraphy workshop for adults and children, so this is a new addition. She is a good instructor, so I’m sure it will be a worthwhile session. (She will also be offering her customary calligraphy classes.)

Women, waiting

Women, in lines

A few weeks ago, while we were waiting on pizza, I drew a few quick contours of women waiting in line for take-out. They moved just fast enough for me to do a rapid sketch and move on to the next, a good opportunity for people practice.

It is always surprising how looking back over these drawings brings back clear memories of moments in time: the loose perky bun, the vacation suntan, the crisp duckcloth tote bag, the yarn-knit hoodie, the happy leafy shorts.

I added graphite and  pastel pencil, later.

New Chopsticks

A grid of line, color, and texture is a quick and easy way to organize impressions when you're in a hurry or don't want to reduce a drawing to one focal point. It's a good exercise for beginners who think they can't draw, because anyone who can write their name can fill in a simple grid of close-ups.

I seldom use a grid, but on this day remembered the previous one I'd sketched at New Chopsticks. It's always fun to return to places and repeat drawings, and see how your vision has changed over time, what catches your eye, how you see differently.

Art & Fear

Airborne

Solid Ground

I've not read the popular Art & Fear, which sounds as if it helps artists overcome interior mental and emotional obstacles to making art. Since my sketches are kept in an illustrated journal, as a personal record, I've not been inhibited by fear of creating them.
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I've been more interested in art as an aid to coping with negative emotions: fear, sadness, anger, or stress. Drawing the cabin of the airplane, above, turned my focus outward for a few minutes, during a recent plane flight. The physical movement of my eyes and hand anchored my thoughts, and pushed fears of  flying to the side.

When you're looking for a job, the people of the world are divided into two groups: employed and unemployed. When you're in great pain, people are either pain-free or they're not. When you're airborne and afraid of flying, people are either in the air or on the ground.  This post documents my grateful transition from group one to group two, in the latter case.
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In the lower drawing, I focused on the interesting pattern in the rock wall of the terrace overlooking Red Rocks Park in Colorado. The architects did a wonderful job allowing historical structures of the region to influence their use of local materials in creating the hardscape of the park.

I found the Colorado hills and mountains especially interesting because I have watched both Gay Kraeger and Shari Blaukopf draw them in their Craftsy classes (which I recommend).
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Both of these sketches ended up with several layers of different media, applied over several days. Re-working helped process connected emotions and re-live enjoyment. Enhanced memory is one of the benefits of keeping an illustrated journal. Drawing fixes experience in the mind more securely than does pressing the button of a camera.
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If you are interested in Craftsy classes, and are on a budget, keep your eyes open for a holiday sale over Thanksgiving weekend, on either Black Friday or Cyber Monday. You will find discounts on individual classes and on the monthly or annual Bluprint subscription (full access to all classes).

An evocation of roses

Phones and Roses

People with cell phones have become an urban sketching trope; they pose quietly, for long periods of time, everywhere you go.
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I attempted to sketch these roses directly in watercolor, and added a little pastel pencil later. I remember trying to sketch a similar rosebush in front of Anna’s Greek Cuisine a few years ago. Small, intricate blossoms are difficult to depict, with a water brush.

Standing in line, Panini Opa

When a sketcher first ventures into drawing people, it is easier to draw them from the back, in a situation where they will hold still, for at least a few minutes.

Texture test

I did this line drawing early one evening, while waiting to pick up a pizza, adding watercolor pencil and watercolor later. I experimented with adding texture by scraping through it with a piece of old, cut-up credit card.

I have seen several urban sketchers use this technique--most recently, Paul Wang, from Singapore.

Re: past

Weekend repasts

One of the best parts of childhood Sundays was coming home to the smell of my mother's roast beef dinner in the oven. Nowadays, we occasionally go to Cracker Barrel for a throwback to those meals, which were—themselves—a foretaste of the Marriage Supper to come.
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These sketches brought back the memory of Lyle Lovett's tribute to everyone whose stomach ever rumbled embarrassingly in a church service.
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The lower Sunflower sketch was begun in watercolor pencil. Ink was added after watercolor, to give definition where needed.

In the meantime

In the past few years, I have found that, if I waken during the night, a hot drink and a drawing will center my mind and allow me to fall asleep again. The snack in the lower sketch was drawn in the wee hours. I added a little colored pencil over the watercolor, later.

The gentleman in the upper drawing was waiting for his meal at Kentucky Fried Chicken. He was kind enough to carry our food over, when it was ready. Here, I was trying some of Anne-Laure Jacquart's techniques for drawing people.

Remedies for cabin fever

This has been a long hot summer. A few weeks ago, I dealt with a brief spell of cabin fever by sketching the telephone.

The next day, we headed west of town, to where the sky is larger. We encountered a long curving line of vehicles, waiting for a freight train to pass. Again, a quick sketch, and time sped by, at the speed of the train. Watercolor added later.

..."The birds and the beasts were there...."

I joined a few urban sketchers at the state fair—where I found it hard to focus on drawing, with so much to see.

Poultry barn

Kiddie rides



Lamb judging

Sailing the seas of Asian cuisine, Thai and Chinese

Maneki-Neko (Good luck cat)

We recently visited a couple of Asian restaurants.

Joey Chang's, a beautifully decorated, semi-formal establishment housed at Mill Run (Hilliard), serves the Thai and Chinese food of Mr. Chang's heritage. The friendly young waiter recommended the combination platter; we took his advice, and split a delicious dinner portion.

Café China, located in the Perimeter area of Dublin, seemed to be a quick week-day lunch stop. The large golden cat, beckoning from the end of  the counter, begged to be a focal point. The Lucky Cat, originating in Japan, has also become a Chinese symbol of good fortune.

St. Brigid's in July

Drawn from Brigid's Green, across the road—looking west.

I finished the Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook about a month ago. This is drawn in my new “everyday carry,” a Handbook Travelogue Journal, 5.5” x 5.5”. I’m still getting used to the change in size, shape, and paper.

“The Light Which Fills the World”

Frederick Mathewes-Green recently linked a PBS introduction to the landscapes of Orthodox photographer Christopher Burkett. He painstakingly develops photographs using Cibachrome, a film no longer made by the manufacturer.* He purchased ten years’ worth of film, when the end of production was announced, in 2012.

Burkett shares more of his story in The Tapestry of Creation.

“I’m working within a very limited box, in terms of technical possibilities. It’s a form of discipline, but there’s a strength and depth that’s possible within that discipline that doesn’t happen any other way.”  Christopher Burkett

*Watching Burkett process film brought back memories of watching my father in the darkroom, so many Sunday afternoons.

Bockingford 300 gsm Not watercolor paper

Today I folded six quarter sheets of Bockingford 140 lb/300 gsm Not (cold pressed) watercolor paper in half (with the grain), and sewed them into two signatures (matching surfaces across spreads) —another experiment for #30x30DirectWatercolor2018. (Turned left so spine faced into the wind, here.)

A few years ago in Sketchbook Skool, Brenda Swenson mentioned including Bockingford paper in her handmade sketchbooks. I ordered the paper when it was also recommended (along with Saunders Waterford) by Bob Davies, in an Art Tutor class.

 I had ordered book binding supplies from Paper & Ink Arts, during Roz Stendahl's online By Design class, but didn’t have the time to focus on it then. I have been reading about Tina Koyama's sketchbook binding techniques for a few years, and hoped I would eventually get around to trying them.

Anne-Laure Jacquart's recent Youtube demos were the tipping point; her clear instruction brought the attempt within reach.

Palette play

Altoids mini-palettes

Triad experiements

Many in the urban sketching community—led by Marc Taro Holmes— have temporarily put away their pens, preparing for thirty days of “direct” watercolor sketching during the month of June.

I thought about joining in, but wanted more direction—since I won't be traveling to an exotic locale for inspiration, as many do.

I recently purchased Nita Leland's updated classic, Exploring Color Workshop, and want to work on her exercises.

I picked up a few packs of Altoids (Smalls)*, filled them with her examples of “harmonious palettes” of primaries, and attached them to a small enamel butcher's tray. Several colors do double duty, appearing in two triads.

*Cathy Johnson has a Youtube tutorial on creating primary palettes which includes the use of Altoids tins.



Re-decoration

First Watch has redecorated since we last visited, exchanging its earthy, cheerful, warm yellow farmhouse kitchen ambiance for a cool neutral, metallic, urban/industrial vibe.
[The orange bar cross the top is from a different location—a Wendy’s drive-thru.)

Truck, waiting

Here I drew a basic contour. Given more time, this would have been an interesting exercise in working with negative shapes. View from waiting room window.

Wall of memories, Cracker Barrel

I wondered if the quiver of arrows was (1) a prop, (2) an indication the girl enjoyed the sport of archery, or (3) a testament to her hunting prowess.

Play time

Amigos, again

The other day, I drew the dried foliage in a large window vase, and used Dr. Ph. Martin's Radiant Concentrated Watercolor to finish the sketch, at home.

I have been fascinated by Dr. Ph. Martin's since I first saw Danny Gregory use them.  The color is intense, and they mix differently than pan and tube watercolors. I am surprised at the range of hues I get from the three bottles I have: Lemon Yellow, Scarlet, and True Blue. My goal here was to see if I could move the colors toward neutral without losing them.

Color in this medium is fugitive, so work needs to be scanned quickly or kept in a sketchbook, away from long exposure to light.

Rogation Days

Dublin Community Church, May 2018

This week, we come once again to Rogationtide*, when clergy and members of the English church historically "beat the bounds" of the parish, both to pray for God's blessing on the crops and to remind people where the perimeter lay. Contemporary observances may be found on Youtube.

Given the time of year, it was fitting to focus on a church when I joined local urban sketchers downtown, a few days ago. (Note to self: next time, bring a chair.)

Below is an earlier sketch of the building, done from a different perspective.

*These are the dates observed by the Western Rite Orthodox Church. Since western Catholics and Protestants celebrated Easter a week earlier this year, rogation days (set just before Ascension Day) will be found May 7-9, on their calendar.

Dublin Community Church, July 2014

Golden Hour

Tonight a fellow sketcher introduced a couple of us to an (Itunes) app called The Golden Hour ($0.99). It calculates the morning hour (just after sunrise) and evening hour (just before sunset) when the warm light is best for photography, based on date and location. This information is also helpful for sketching. Shadows become most dramatic.

There are other apps that perform a similar function, some with additional features, such as tracking moonlight and the blue (twilight) hours.

Sketch Bag

Brenda Swenson has been one of my favorite watercolor instructors, ever since I found her through Sketchbook Skool’s online Seeing class. She also teaches on the west coast, in North Carolina (at Cheap Joe’s),  and in Europe.

In the video above, Brenda introduces her sketching supplies, which include a canvas rigger bag from Harbor Freight Tools. I bought a bag like hers, when I started a Strathmore Mixed Media sketchbook that didn’t fit into my purse. It turned out to be so convenient for rotating different sketching materials through, and finding them on the spur of the moment, that I’ve stuck with it since. I’m on my third one, and have even given one (packed with basic sketching gear) as a gift. They are sturdy, but the heavy canvas becomes difficult to clean after a few years.
(I see Amazon also offers them, but charges almost twice as much as our local Harbor Freight.)

Further reading: Brenda’s blog
Video: Finding my creative voice

Avocado egg rolls

I tried an experiment--painting quick and loose, adding ink after the watercolor—then shading with a little colored pencil. Sketched from memory, unlike most of my illustrated journal entries.

Bridge Park, April 2018

City planners either (1) have not read the work of Christopher Alexander, or (2) have read it and disregarded it.
I was eager to sketch the stages of this development early on. As it took form, my interest waned. Could not the investment have purchased a bit of beauty?

Wish List: Roger Scruton’s The Aesthetics of Architecture.
Update: How to Build A Skyline at Human Scale, by Roger Scruton.

Amigos

On this day, the sunny hues, friendly staff, and comfort food of Amigos provided a welcome refuge from the snow flurries of winter's long goodby.
(Colored pencil, and watercolor pencil, over ink and wash.)

Sign of the times

Toys’R’us, April 2018

Four years ago today, I tried watercolor for the first time since high school. I sketched the ToysRus across the road from a local Starbucks.

This week, I sat in the same space (now a Bibibop) and tried again, adding a little colored pencil to the ink and wash, later. The Starbucks has since moved next door, to a building with a drive-thru window; the ToysRus is going out of business.

I found the building lists to the left, on the page, like a ship going down, when I tried to level it in the photograph.

Toys’R’us, April 2014

Children of my parents’ generation read books and played with tools, fabric, and wooden toys; many children of mine settled for television and plastic imitations (“disposable” but not biodegradable). The next has gone virtual, ordering and streaming bits and bytes.

Footnote: I still remember my dismay when the car in the center of the lower drawing left, half way through my sketch of it.

Good Friday (facing West)

...a Saint at twilight, when the lights are low....*

This elderly gentleman was seated across the room, engaged in conversation with friends. An aureole of thinning, curly white hair surrounded his head like a halo, silhouetted against the lowering sun, coming in through the blinds. I only had time for the quick contour drawing.

*Allusion to Love’s Old Sweet Song

Holy Wednesday (facing East)

Breaking bread with a friend

Patterns from plain people

Der Dutchman 1: modified hex sign?

Der Dutchman 2: quilted wall hanging

Primary colors

View from Charley’s

Three cars lined up outside Charley's Philly Steaks. (You don't get the chance to use three unadulterated primaries, in a sketch from life, every day.)

Pit stop

Fill 'er up?

I'm old enough to remember gas station attendants who came out to the car, asked how much gas you wanted, put it in the tank, and took payment. They often cleaned the windshield, as the tank filled. Those threads of local connection have been severed.

Great Lent

Forest Grove Cemetery

We await resurrection and reunion.

Railroad Crossing

Right side of the tracks

Coal cars

Every so often, we wait for a train to pass through the grain elevator hamlet of Kileville, and I do a quick sketch. It's fun to imagine what's in the railway cars, where they came from, and where they are going.

I grew up on sad train songs like Wreck of the Old 97 and Hobo Bill's Last Ride. Railway transportation doesn't seem to have changed much since then. Watching the freight cars roll by takes me on a little trip back in time.

Breathing space

Philodendron, dentist's office

A few weeks ago, I had a dentist's appointment. The philodendron in the waiting room was more interesting than the television.

Church of Jesus Christ, LDS (from back parking lot)

A few days later, we had another appointment, near a green space bordered by two church parking lots. We arrived early, so waited briefly in one of them.

I painted the first sketch after I returned home.  I was still in colored pencil mode, from January’s pattern practice, so went over the watercolor with colored pencil, on both of these, at home.

Savory

Jason's Deli

Eat ... mostly plants

Fruit and vegetables



More fruit and vegetables



Fruit and tea

During the month of January, a couple sketchers I follow on Instagram posted daily assignments from A Pattern A Day, an online (Creative Bug) class they were taking. They used a prompt to create repeat patterns across their pages. I'm not sure how many guidelines they were given.
(Their hashtag was #cbpatternaday, I think.)

I had a set of Prismacolors and a softcover, sewn Canson sketchbook (with smooth, cream paper) I wanted to try together, so riffed off what they were posting.

I begin using a stylus to create a colored pencil resist about halfway through. I'd never done it before, so that effect was fun. You may not be able to see it here, but I think it was used in the veins on the slices of citrus fruit, in the upper right picture.