Category: Ink and watercolor wash

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Animals Ink and watercolor wash Sketchbook Pages

Bye-Bye Kitties, See You Soon

Fiona on Grandma's Blanket, ink & watercolor, 6x4" Strathmore sketchbook
Fiona on Grandma's Old Ratty Blanket, ink & watercolor, 6x4"

Fiona loves curling up in this funky old wool blanket. It was my grandmothers so despite it being in tatters I can’t part with it and use it as a throw on cold evenings. There is a corner missing that my sister’s rat munched off years ago, and another corner missing that I cut off and sent to an Australian artist friend, Allison Horridge, who was collecting fabrics for an art project.

I will be offline this week to focus on the Alla Prima Portraiture workshop with Rose Frantzen that I was so incredibly lucky to get into from her waiting list. She only teaches a couple of times a year; registration for her June class will be by lottery.

Fiona, ink & watercolor, 6x4"
Fiona, ink & watercolor, 6x4"

Meanwhile, I have the best pet sitter: Rachel McGraw of McGraw’s Paws. She is so professional, honest, kind, organized and caring. I wish all business owners could take a lesson from her. It’s weird having to show house-sitters and pet-sitters my other (neurotic) cat Busby’s hiding places: my closet behind the shoes, the bottom shelf of my dresser, kitchen cabinets (including the one above the fridge), under the couch and bed, or behind a painting drying rack.

Busby Berkeley, Oil on Panel, 6x6" - Portrait of a Cat
Busby Berkeley: The Cat, Oil on Panel, 6x6"

Fiona likes everyone, and even Busby (above) who is scared of everyone likes Rachel.

Categories
Art theory Food sketch Ink and watercolor wash Interiors Places Sketchbook Pages Urban Sketchers

Squid, Vanilla Ale, Noise and Wonky Sketching at Elevation 66

Grilled squid with avocado, rice fritters, grapefruit gel and spicy avocado
Grilled squid with avocado, rice fritters, grapefruit gel and spicy avocado

I enthusiastically joined my Tuesday night sketch buddies for dinner, beer and sketching at  Elevation 66, the new El Cerrito brew pub. I loved my dinner,  displayed above, (a “small plate” combo so weird I couldn’t resist: grilled squid slices on spicy avocado sauce beside little blobs of grapefruit foam/gel (“to cleanse the palate”) and spicy deep-fried rice fritters. Odd but yummy!

Esther Vanilla Stout Ale, Delicious! ink & watercolor, 7x5"
Esther Vanilla Stout, Delicious! ink & watercolor, 7x5"

Even under the influence of a small glass of Esther Vanilla Stout, a delicious milkshake of a beer, it got so noisy by 8:00 on a Tuesday night that I couldn’t think straight and was ready to leave. I was having a hard time with drawing ellipses and symmetrical shapes (my next drawing subject to practice).

Cathy & Micaela at the bar
Cathy & Micaela sketching at the bar, ink & watercolor 5x7"

And there were lots and lots of symmetrical shapes to practice on! My drawing just kept getting wonkier as the noise got louder.

Beer in the vat, wine on the shelf with hoses
Beer in the vat, wine on the shelf with hoses

I was overly self-critical while I was sketching, wanting to get things right. Then I got my copy of The Art of Urban Sketching: Drawing On Location Around The World and discovered something wonderful: Of the two sketches of mine that Gabi chose for the book, one is very wonky and the other nicely organized. That helped me to see that there is room for both in my art life. Wonky is good! Getting it “right” is good too! Yay!

Please click on their names to see Cathy, Micaela and Beth’s excellent pub sketches from the evening on our Urban Sketchers blog.

Categories
Drawing Food sketch Ink and watercolor wash Sketchbook Pages Still Life

It Ain’t Winter But It’s Squash

Spaghetti Squash and Acorn Squash, ink & watercolor, 8x5"
Spaghetti Squash and Acorn Squash, ink & watercolor, 8x5"

We’re still not having winter, just more lovely sunny days near 70 degrees. I long for the cool rainy weather that makes it so appealing to bake winter squash and simmer hearty soups while painting in the studio. So the squash gets sketched instead of eaten.

Sonia's Squash, ink & watercolor, 5x8"
Sonia's Squash, ink & watercolor, 5x8"

The green squash isn’t really named “Sonia’s Squash” but I always think of my friend Sonia when I see these because of this amazing watercolor she painted of one with hundreds of glazes. (Correction: in reading the title I see that hers isn’t a squash it’s an Australian Blue Pumpkin.)

These squash are actually side by side on a spread in the Moleskine I’m working in (along with two other sketchbooks this month) but since the Moleskine is bound in stupid landscape format it doesn’t fit in my scanner.

Categories
Drawing Ink and watercolor wash Sketchbook Pages Urban Sketchers

Happy Lunar New Year at Ranch 99 Market

Happy Lunar New Year ink & watercolor sketch
Happy Lunar New Year, Shoplifters Will Be Prosecuted, ink & watercolor 5x7.5"

The shoppers at Ranch 99 Chinese supermarket were in festive spirits and the store was decked out in red and gold for Lunar New Year. There were red envelopes, red lanterns, brilliant green Narcissus in fuchsia foil wrappers, special treats in red and gold boxes, and bunches of simulated fire-crackers hanging from stop-sign shaped objects that said something in Chinese, but probably not “Stop.”

I found an empty corner in the produce section to sketch from and used a shopping cart as a table for my paints. It was an odd juxtaposition to see the “Shoplifters Will be Prosecuted” sign on a post right below the huge “Happy Lunar New Year” banner.

Whenever we sketch at Pacific East Mall, the Asian marketplace where Ranch 99 is located, I’m always surprised how the shoppers show absolutely no interest or curiosity in our odd activities. We might as well be invisible.

Chuckle Fish and Mullets, ink & watercolor
Chuckle Fish and Mullets, ink & watercolor, 5x6"

Even though I was tired at the end of the evening, I couldn’t resist drawing the fresh fish on ice when I saw their names: Chuckle Fish and Mullets. I wonder what Chuckle Fish is in Chinese?

Their huge fish department always smells as fresh as the sea, unlike the horrible ammonia scent at my local Lucky’s. The live crabs and lobsters swim in tanks and the fish are displayed whole. The fish mongers cut them to order and will even deep fry them for you.

You can see Cathy’s great sketches from the evening here and Micaela’s here on our Urban Sketchers blog. Being graphic designers they both have such wonderful design sense!

P.S. I just discovered that the store’s name is “99 Ranch” not “Ranch 99” although neither makes much sense to me. According to Wikipedia, in Chinese numerology, 99 means “doubly long in time, hence eternal; used in the name of a popular Chinese-American supermarket chain, 99 Ranch Market.”

Categories
Art supplies Drawing Ink and watercolor wash Plants

Standing Tall in a Moleskine

Succulents Along the Walk, ink & watercolor, 7x5"
Succulents Along the Walk, ink & watercolor, 7x5"

To shake things up a bit I thought I’d try a watercolor Moleskine watercolor sketchbook this time instead of binding a new journal. These sketches are the first in the Moleskine from a walk in my neighborhood on a sunny winter day.

A few spreads into the Moleskine, I’m liking the paper but hating the stupid, floppy, too-wide landscape format. Why, oh why does Moleskine refuse to bind a watercolor book on the long size in portrait format! Brenda Swenson had a clever solution: she bought a very large watercolor Moleskine and sawed off half to make one the right size! Here’s someone else who had hers sliced at the local photocopy shop.

Succulents 2, ink & wat5ercolor, 7x5"
Succulents 2, ink & watercolor, 7x5"

The spike on this plant was about 15 feet tall but I didn’t think through how to make it look that way, and since it was in ink, it is what it is. The stalk should have gotten skinnier as it got further away instead of looking like a fat asparagus.

Categories
Faces Ink and watercolor wash People Self Portrait Sketchbook Pages

Cringe-Worthy End-of-Journal Self-Portraits

End of Journal Self-Portrait #1, ink & watercolor, 7x5"
End of Journal Self-Portrait #1, ink & watercolor, 7x5"

I finished my Sock Monkey Journal on New Years Eve by doing my usual end of journal self-portraits, drawing directly in ink. I did several, trying again and again to get a likeness. Each of them had bits of me, either in feeling or appearance, but none got a real likeness. This was my favorite, above.

Trying a profile (again and again), 7x5", ink
Trying a profile (again and again), 7x5", ink

Since I only had a few pages left in the book I did all the starts above on one page. It’s tricky drawing a profile view in a mirror. You look, then draw, then look, then draw. It’s also rather painful looking so closely and seeing the effects of another year of gravity. But better than the alternative!

Worst one, ink & watercolor, 7x5"
Worst one, ink & watercolor, 7x5"

I think the one above is the worst of the bunch. At this point I realized that I needed some serious studying and practice at drawing heads which I began doing the next day.

Self portrait with ponytail
Self portrait with ponytail

Had I not added all the stupid ink to try to make shadows before painting it, this one might have been OK. Instead of using a mirror for this one, I took a photo with my iPad propped on the window sill while looking away from it and then worked from the photo.

Since I did these, I’ve already learned a lot about drawing heads from the Loomis book, “Drawing the Head and Hands.” I’ll be posting my practice from that book soon.

Categories
Food sketch Ink and watercolor wash Sketchbook Pages

The Firemen Were Busy So We Went to the Brewery

Soup at Triple Rock Brewery, ink & watercolor, 5x7"
Soup at Triple Rock Brewery, ink & watercolor, 5x7"

We met for Tuesday night sketching at the main Berkeley Firehouse where we had permission to sketch firetrucks and emergency paraphernalia (and maybe even a hunky fireman or too) but they had to shut down the station and send all their trucks and guys off to fight fires.

So we went around the corner to Triple Rock Brewery. I got a bowl of delicious soup and sketched it on the black plaid tablecloth (waterproof tablecloth of course—and a good thing as we saw a couple of pitchers spilled while we there).

Inside Triple Rock, ink, 7x5"
Inside Triple Rock, ink, 7x5"

We had fun sketching and listening in on bar conversations. I was surprised how full the pub was on a Tuesday night, lots of energy and noise and people laughing.

 

Categories
Building Drawing Ink and watercolor wash Landscape Outdoors/Landscape Sketchbook Pages

The New Oldie But Goodie

Matthew's New Old Car, ink & watercolor, 7x5"
Matthew's New Old Car, ink & watercolor, 7x5"

My neighbor Matthew who lives in the house across the street with three teenagers. I think this new old car must belong to one of them since he already has a car and a truck of his own. What interested me about the scene was the way the light was glowing on the car on this very bright early afternoon. And also the crows’ nest in the tree.

I sat on the little concrete porch outside my kitchen door looking down the cement path towards my front yard garden ahead on the left. I drew the basic shapes with pencil first, to get the drawing started with things where they belonged.

Why do I feel I have to apologize or confess when I draw in pencil instead of starting directly in ink? I like using both and sometimes I want things to be a little less wonky than they are when I just go for it in ink.

Categories
Ink and watercolor wash Interiors Life in general People at Work Sketchbook Pages Urban Sketchers

What I Learned About Art and Life in 2011

Pastime Hardware After Dark, ink & watercolor, 5x7"
Pastime Hardware After Dark, ink & watercolor, 5x7"

Before I get to my reflections on art and life in 2011, a word or two about the sketch above (and below) from our evening at the hardware store. I stood and sketched between the paint solvent and cleaning product aisles (both stinky), using an aisle-end shelf for my paints.

Same Pastime sketch before adding the dark in the windows
Same Pastime sketch before adding the dark in the windows

When we finished and shared our work, I realized that in the original sketch above, I ignored the fact that it was dark outside. So when I got home I painted all the windows dark. I’m not sure which I like better. What do you think?

Accomplishments and Things Learned in 2011

STUDIO

  • Converted a 440 square foot garage into my new studio including a patio door onto a deck off the studio, insulation, sheet rock, flooring, electrical, and water. Once I have everything moved in I’ll post the story with pictures.

PUBLICATIONS:

ART-LIFE

  • After a brief (and briefly successful) venture into painting things to sell, returned to following my whims and inspiration instead of worrying about making work that would sell. This led to the series of 16×20 portraits of people at work in my community, now well underway.
  • Learned from Rose Frantzen video (see clip here) to say “Oops, made a mistake…but that’s ok I can fix it!” instead of “Now I ruined it!” followed by self-critical name calling. It’s downright liberating!
  • Realized that while I value and enjoy many different artists’ styles and techniques, I’ll never be as good as them at painting like them so I’m focusing on painting like me instead, which I can get good at.
  • Learned to ask myself, “What do I want to do with art today,” and doing that, not what some imaginary critic or the illusion of an audience is demanding that I should be doing.
  • I heard Robert Genn say that one’s style is often the thing one doesn’t do right, that it’s your mistakes or the rules you break that make it yours. I’m learning to relish and appreciate my wonkiness. Perfect is boring.
  • When someone plays piano and finishes a tune, there’s nothing left, just quiet. Why not paint that way too, focused on the line, the brush stroke…enjoy the process and let go of the product.

TECHNIQUE AND MATERIALS

  • Abandoned water-soluble oils and acrylics for regular oils after learning from my friend Kathryn Law how to reduce the use of toxic chemicals and still get the consistency I like.
  • Started watercolor sketching instead of oil painting at plein air paintouts to quickly capture a scene and keep moving instead of standing in one spot for hours while the light changes completely.
  • Tried a bunch of different pens, from expensive Namiki Falcon fountain pen that I didn’t love (sold it) and inexpensive uni-ball Vision Roller Ball, but returned to my favorite, Lamy Safari Extra Fine Point Fountain Pen with Carbon Platinum ink. Both hold up well on the watercolor paper I use in my journals.

STUDY/WORKSHOPS:

  • Registered for a week-long Alla Prima Portraiture class with Rose Frantzen at Scottsdale Artists School in February 2012. (So excited!!!) It is way out of my comfort zone (and budget) but I adore her work  and her book, Portrait of Maquoketa and she is a fabulous teacher.
  • Took a 3-day workshop with Peggi Kroll-Roberts in her studio after studying her series of CDs. Learned how to mix/use juicy luscious paint and more. She said I needed to work on my drawing.
  • Studying the Loomis books Drawing the Head and Hands and Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth to improve my people-drawing skills. Unlike a painting of a pear which can succeed even if the drawing is a bit off, a portrait will fail. It may still be an interesting painting, just not of the person you’re painting.

SKETCHING AND BOOKBINDING

  • Continued to sketch nearly every Tuesday night with my Urban Sketchers group and regularly sketch my world. As a group we have committed to a sketch a day in January.
  • Finally mastered binding journals using the method in my directions and can create a journal in a few hours instead of days.
  • To mix things up I switched to a Moleskine when I finished the last journal and am already missing my handmade sketchbooks with their really nice multimedia paper.

ART BUSINESS/SALES

  • Made the decision to wait until I leave my day job in a year to put effort into art biz/marketing and just concentrate on painting until then.
  • Sold a number of paintings early in the year on DailyPaintWorks.  Recently sold a sketch of Der Wienerschnitzel for their corporate collection.

BLOGGING

  • Found balance by prioritizing making art and living life above blogging about it.
  • Celebrated my six-year blogging anniversary with 180,000 views in 2011 (982,746 total); 141 new posts (total 1,004) and 418 pictures uploaded in 2011.
  • Posted regularly and administered the Urban Sketchers S.F. Bay Area blog.
  • Regularly follow about 30-50 other art blogs.
Categories
Ink and watercolor wash Landscape Painting Places Plein Air Sketchbook Pages Urban Sketchers

A Walk By the Park, A Guy on the Roof

Putting Up the Xmas Lights by the Park, Ink & watercolor, 7x5"
Putting Up the Xmas Lights by the Park, Ink & watercolor, 7x5"

It was such a beautiful sunny day (our drought continues) I decided to go for a walk and find a spot to paint outdoors instead of in the studio. I walked the mile to Peet’s Coffee and then, with a cup of their dark, rich (decaf) coffee in hand, I turned towards home, still looking for inspiration.

I passed the little urban creek behind Peet’s, and considered sketching it but it was shaded by trees and very chilly.  As I walked by the little pocket park alongside Albany Hill, this little cul-de-sac called out, “Paint Me!” With a handy picnic table right there to lay out my paints, how could I resist?

Although I usually sketch directly in pen, this scene was so complicated I decided to draw in pencil first. As I was completing the drawing I spotted a guy on his roof with a string of holiday lights. Do you see him? I know it looks like he’s standing on top of a tree but the roof of his house is just behind the tree. I think I made him a bit of a giant!