Category: Watercolor

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Drawing Illustration Friday Life in general Watercolor

Illustration Friday: Dance (for the polar bears)

Polar Bears Dancing

Polar Bears: Dancing on Thin Ice

Polar Bears are at risk of extinction due to global warming-related starvation (they can’t get to their food all spring and summer as the ice retreats). If the current rate of ice shrinkage and related weight loss continues, bears may become so thin by 2012 (SIX YEARS FROM NOW!) that they may no longer be able to reproduce. “Once the population stops reproducing, that’s pretty much the end of it,” said Dr. Lara Hansen, chief scientist, World Wildlife Fund. Click here for some surprisingly easy and simple things that individuals can do to make a difference (on the “Inconvenient Truth” Climate Crisis website). Let’s do what we can before it’s too late!

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Drawing Life in general Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Yippee! I’m on vacation

Vacation-trikes

Today was my last day of work until July 5! I'm really happy to have wonderful weather, good health again at last, and more than two weeks of time to just wallow in Jana's world, enjoying painting, relaxing and playing. After dinner I looked out my window saw that the sweet kids next door had their tricycles lined up in my driveway. Before I could draw the third one the little girl rode off on it. So there's only two in my sketch. Yippee anyway! (Micron pen, watercolor pencils in Moleskine watercolor notebook.)

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Drawing Life in general Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Lunchtime stroll by Snow Park in Oakland

Oaklandman-chair

I met my photographer friend Mike for lunch today and we took our cameras for a walk near Lake Merritt and Snow Park. He was teaching me how to take pictures without looking at the camera, just holding it at our waists and shooting, trying to get our subject in the lens–it's really hard to do! I took a picture (using normal method) of this fellow wearing 3 hats and knickers, carrying a chair and a conversation with himself. I liked the contrast with the guys in suits in the background. I did this drawing in my sketchbook at home from the photo with ink and watercolor. I think I'll make a full-sized watercolor painting of it later.

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Drawing Dreams Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Jennifer Aniston’s life-jacket party outfit

I dreamt Jennifer Aniston was giving a party dressed in a life jacket and matching mini-skirt–another new fashion trend seen first in my dreams? First Bling Bling suspenders, now life-jacket party wear. Meanwhile, my blind neighbor sent her German Shepherd out for a chicken sandwich. (I don't have a blind neighbor.) Amazing what those guide dogs can do! I have no idea what this dream means (other than don't eat popcorn at bedtime).Dream of Jen

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Drawing Life in general Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Busby’s Sunday Nap

Busby-nap

Busby taking a Sunday afternoon nap on the studio window seat and giving off that addictive kitty-sleep aura that always makes me want to snuggle in and take a nap too. (Quick sketch–Ink & watercolor in Moleskine watercolor notebook).

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Drawing Sketchbook Pages Watercolor Wet Canvas

Oregon Lake – Wet Canvas WDE

Oregon-lake

Here's this week's Wet Canvas Weekend Drawing Event post. The original photos available for painting this weekend all had that grey sky look that I'm so familiar with here in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's been winter again in my neighborhood for days–nothing but gray foggy skies and constant wind blowing in from the Bay.

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Drawing Illustration Friday Life in general Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Illustration Friday: Jungle

Leaf Cutter Ants

Leafcutters-at-work
When I was in the rainforest in Costa Rica several years ago I saw what looked like a long green ribbon trailing through the jungle. It turned out to be leaf cutter ants that chew off and carry pieces of leaf that weigh at least 20 times their own body weight–like a human carrying a tractor. Leaf-cutter ants don't eat the leaves–they use the leaves to feed fungus that they cultivate and eat (yum). They live in colonies with three to eight million ant buddies. A friend of mine who lived in a small town in Guatemala for a year had problems with leaf cutter ants coming into their little house and stealing their vegetables piece by piece. Since the jungle had been cleared in their area, the ants had learned to shop for their greens in people's kitchens–made easier since there were no refrigerators and the produce was sitting out on the table. And I thought I had an ant problem! (Ink and watercolor in Moleskine watercolor notebook.)

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Drawing Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Lake Merritt Gooslings

I know it's supposed to be goslings, but I like gooslings better–better describes these little fuzzballs. It's so much nicer to get out for a walk around the lake at lunch instead of sitting in my office looking out the window at the lake and seeing the little ant-like people out there enjoying themselves while I'm working, working, working. 

Gooslings

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Drawing Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Watercolor and Golf (!?)

I took a watercolor workshop Saturday at the California Watercolor Association's storefront in the luxurious but ghost-town like Blackhawk Mall. Blackhawk is in a very snooty, upscale suburban area, full of pretentious identical McMansions, all with lush landscaping (requiring major irrigation in this hot, dry area) against a backdrop of arid, golden hills. There was an art show on display in the front room and half the paintings had been awarded big green ribbons which made me think of the green golf course lawns and the similarities between golfing and painting in watercolor.

golf-watercolor

Like golf (which I admit I've never played except for peewee golf as a kid) there are skills and techniques and equipment to learn, some body parts

Continue reading “Watercolor and Golf (!?)”
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Drawing Sketchbook Pages Watercolor Wet Canvas

Calves and Kid – Weekend Drawing Event for 6/2/06

Here's this week's entry to the Wet Canvas Weekend Drawing Event. The photos this week were from a South Dakota farm. I changed the composition a bit–adding an extra calf and a bale of hay and then did a quick ink and watercolor sketch. Calves-N-Kid