Category: Sketchbook Pages

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Drawing Faces Self Portrait Sketchbook Pages

End of Journal Self Portrait

End of Journal Self Portrait, graphite, 8x5"
End of Journal Self Portrait with New Glasses, graphite, 8×5″ 11/2014

I’ve been doing more oil painting than sketching lately so it’s taken longer than usual to fill my journal and get to the last page that I always save for a self-portrait (above). It’s interesting how each sketch in the collection below shows a progression upwards in age and (occasionally) in skill and how only bits of them resemble me at all. Also interesting how many of them were done on days I was feeling grumpy and/or tired (probably wisely choosing to sketch myself instead of working on something that “mattered” when I felt that way).

Below is a little gallery of self-portrait end-of-journal sketches since 2009. You can click on any image to see it larger, if you must.

End of Journal Self-Portrait, graphite, 5×7.5 in
End of Journal Self-Portrait, ink & watercolor
End of Journal Self-Portrait, February 2013, Pitt brown Brush Pen and watercolor, 8×5″
End of Journal Self Portrait, graphite and watercolor, 7.5×5″
End of Journal Self-Portrait #1, ink & watercolor, 7×5″
End of Journal Self Portrait, colored pencils, 7×5″
End of sketchbook self portraits, ink & watercolor
End of Journal Self-Portrait #1
End of Journal #2 (Ick!)
Self Portrait B-1, ink & watercolor
Tortured sketch (in mirror), Pretending sweetness (from photo)
Self portrait with birthday flowers
Grumpy Strained Self-Portrait, ink & watercolor, 10×8″
Self portrait with grey sweatshirt, ink & watercolor, 7×5″
Self portrait with ponytail
Line drawing for self portrait scanned from bad watercolor sketch
Birthday Flowers Self Portrait, ink & watercolor, 7×5″
End of Journal Self Portrait #3
Self Portrait with Skethbooks and Tea, ink & watercolor
Self Portrait B-2, ink & watercolor
Back to Real Me, ink and watercolor
Last page self portrait. Ink & watercolor
Thank You Roz! (Gouache & Ink)
Categories
Flower Art Ink and watercolor wash Sketchbook Pages Still Life

Shower Flowers Sketches: Dahlias, Pansies and Paper Bootie

More Shower Flowers: Pansies, ink and watercolor, 8x5"
More Shower Flowers: Pansies and Paper Bootie, ink and watercolor, 8×5″

My daughter-in-law’s mother (Why is there no name for this important family relationship: “Son’s Mother-in-law” and “Daughter-in-law’s mother” are so awkward!) decorated Brittney’s baby shower so brilliantly. She covered the tables with colorful vases filled with dahlias and a little pot of pansies at each place setting. She decorated the walls with banners hung with pages from all our favorite old Little Golden Books classics.

I took home my pansies to sketch (above) and a vase of dahlias to sketch (below) and paint (see previous post). Each place setting also included a little baby bootie (in sketch below) that she made from different decorative papers and filled with chocolate.

Shower Flowers Sketch: Dahlias, ink and watercolor 2-page spread in Moleskine 16x5"
Shower Flowers Sketch: Dahlias, ink and watercolor 2-page spread in Moleskine 16×5″
Categories
Animals Bay Area Parks Landscape People Quick Sketch Sketchbook Pages

Random Little Moleskine Sketches

Wildcat Canyon trail trash can, ink in pocket Moleskine notebook
Dog on wheels at the dog park, ink in pocket Moleskine
Meeting Stuff, sketches in pocket Moleskine
Sketch during Father Keating movie, ink in pocket Moleskine
Wildcat Canyon Wildflowers, ink, colored pencil, gouache in pocket Moleskine

Here are some random sketches from hikes and walks with my dog, sitting in meetings, a movie shown in a library and at the dog park. These are all in my pocket Moleskine that I carry with me all the time. Hover over images to read captions or click on them to see them larger.

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Sketchbook Pages

Yessie at 15: Quinceañera Portrait

Yessie's Quinceanera Portrait, Watercolor, 15x20 in
Yessie All Grown Up; Quinceanera Portrait, Watercolor, 15×20 in

My next door neighbors are like family so I was delighted when they asked me to participate in Yessie’s Quinceanera, a very special and elaborate traditional celebration for Mexican girls on their 15th birthday, that marks the transition from childhood to womanhood. They asked me to paint a portrait of her to be on display at the party for 200 people where the girls dress in evening gowns and the birthday girl and her “court” go from Mass to the event hall in a limo.

To prepare for the big event Yessie went to a salon for a trial makeover and then came over for me to take photos of her all made up, with false eyelashes and all. The photos weren’t easy to paint from because of the challenging light conditions that afternoon (and because I’m not a photographer!), but were better than the little cellphone snaps they originally gave me.

Here is a painting I made of Yessie back when she was just a tot, at her baby brother’s christening.

Yessie at her brother's baptism when she was just little, watercolor
Yessie at her brother’s christening when she was just little, watercolor

I painted her brothers back then too; you can see big brother here and my favorite portrait I’ve ever done: her little brother here.

My first attempt at the painting went well until it was almost done and then I had a problem that I couldn’t fix so I started over. Here are a couple of steps from the first attempt.

If I wasn’t running out of time I’d make another attempt. I was rusty at watercolor portrait painting when I started the project. Now I feel like I’ve got the hang of it again and could do it better. But they’re happy with version two and it’s framed and ready to go. I still might give it another try even if I can’t get it done in time for the big party, just because.

Categories
Flower Art Ink and watercolor wash Plein Air Sketchbook Pages Walnut Creek

Lilly Pond at Ruth Bancroft Gardens

 

Water Lilies at Bancroft Gardens, sepia ink and watercolor, 5x8 in
Water Lilies at Bancroft Gardens, sepia ink and watercolor, 5×8 in

It was a gorgeous day at Ruth Bancroft Gardens in Walnut Creek when my plein air group visited. I walked around looking at all the beautiful plants, sculpture exhibit (and buildings in the private area we were given access to, where the 105 year-old Mrs. Bancroft still lives). With less than an hour before our session end I finally settled on sketching at the lily pond.

I painted the old barn the last time I was there and that barn sketch is one of my favorites ever.

Here is my sketch with the scene behind it and artist Catherine Fasciato painting a lily with oil paint. I sat right between her and the sculpture, choosing shade first and subject matter second on this very hot, sunny day.

Water Lillies and their sketch at Bancroft Gardens, ink and watercolor, 5×8 in
Catherine painting in Bancroft Gardens
Categories
Berkeley Ink and watercolor wash Landscape People Sketchbook Pages Sketchcrawl Urban Sketchers

Sketchcrawl #44, UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley Center Street Entrance, ink and watercolor, 5x8 in
UC Berkeley Center Street Entrance, ink and watercolor, 5×8 in

I had a great time at Sketchcrawl 44 on the University of California, Berkeley campus. I missed the starting meet up at 11:00 because I stopped at the entrance to do the sketch above (and to be honest, because I arrived an hour late due to my seeming inability to get out of the house on time in the morning no matter how hard I try). Most of the students are gone for the summer but there were hundreds of visitors from all over the world and families doing campus tours with their high school students and large groups of teens in summer programs on campus.

UC Berkeley Sather Tower Campanile, ink and watercolor 8x5 in
UC Berkeley Sather Tower Campanile, ink and watercolor 8×5 in

At lunchtime I met up with Cathy and some other sketchers, and had lunch sitting on white chairs set up for a wedding in front of the Faculty Club. Then I sketched at our meet up spot, Sather Tower, aka “the Campanile,” a tall clock tower in the center of campus. I rode the elevator up to the top and was going to sketch the panoramic view when I noticed someone looking up at the huge bells just over my head. I would have totally missed that sight (until the bells sounded excruciatingly loudly at 2:00 as I was drawing the one bell above). I skipped drawing the panorama since it took so long to understand and draw the bell. Then I took the slow elevator back down and sketched the tower. I only got the top 3/4 in the sketch on the right so added the base with a statue and stairs on the left.

Gary Amaro, Pete Scully and Me
Gary Amaro, Pete Scully and Me

At our 3:00 meet up time I was delighted to spot my friends and fellow Urban Sketchers Pete Scully and Gary Amaro. It was such a treat to see them again and get a chance to look through their amazing sketchbooks. I told Pete I wish I could live in the world he draws. I so love the light and depth and detail in his sketches! Gary’s gouache and ink sketch of a campus building is really gorgeous in person.

Living Room with 2 Rolls of Shredded Paper Towels
Living Room with 2 Rolls of Shredded Paper Towels (my couch isn’t really that yellow…ick)

I’ve missed going out sketching all the time like I used to. 2014 so far has been the year of the dog. Unfortunately, having been rescued from the streets of Taiwan, Millie is not fond of urban environments, making urban sketching with her rather difficult. She shivers and shakes on busy streets so much that her teeth chatter. Even though she did get into trouble while I was out (see above) in the hour before the dog sitter came to take her to the park, I’ve really enjoyed the time I spend with her and she’s becoming a great studio dog (see below).

Studio Pup Millie
Studio Pup Millie
Categories
Sketchbook Pages

Oakland Aviation Museum Sketches

P-51 Mustang. Ink and watercolor, 5x15 inches
P-51 Mustang. Ink and watercolor, 5×15 inches

A visit to the Oakland Aviation Museum was a great opportunity to sketch. The museum was the site of the original Oakland Airport and is full of interesting history and planes. This one was a 3/4 scale replica of the P-51 Mustang, a World War II long-range, single-seat fighter plane. This is the plane used by the Tuskegee Airmen.

I recently read several books about World War II that had parts about fighter pilots including The Caine Mutiny and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (both brilliant and fascinating). Seeing these flying tin cans up close brought home how terrifying their flights must have been and how courageous those pilots were.

Hiller 1099 Helicopter and N45LE Plane. Ink and watercolor, 5x15.
Hiller 1099 Helicopter and Sea Plane. Ink and watercolor, 5×15 inches

The people who work/volunteer at the museum were really into old planes and their history. They were enthusiastic about sharing information with our group. I’d like to go back and sketch there again.

Categories
Bay Area Parks Colored pencil art Outdoors/Landscape Plein Air Sketchbook Pages

Change Is…

Stege Marsh, ink and colored pencils in pocket Moleskine
Stege Marsh, ink and colored pencils in pocket Moleskine

I started to title this post “Change is Good” and then I thought, yeah, but change can be difficult too. As I thought of all the things change is (hard, exciting, scary, growth) I realized that if nothing else, change is constant, it just IS; thus the title.

So what about change? Well, the most obvious change is my blog’s appearance. I’ve begun the process of converting it to a website that will host both this blog, JanasJournal.com, and my art portfolio website, now at JanaBouc.com. It’s a work in progress so please, if you notice any bugs, let me know.

The sketch of Stege Marsh above reflects another change in my life; it’s one of the first sketches I did while out walking my pup. I waited until after we’d walked about 3 miles through the huge off-leash dog park at Pt. Isabel (well I walked 3 miles, she was off leash and probably ran 10 miles running off and coming back). By the time we got to this spot she was happy to rest while I sketched this view along the Bay Trail. I carry a little bag of colored pencils and a small Moleskine sketch book in my bag all the time as it’s lighter than my watercolor kit for long walks so that’s what I used to color in the ink drawing.

Categories
Flower Art Ink and watercolor wash Sketchbook Pages Still Life

Hydrangeas and the Last of EDiM 2014 (Fan and Remote)

Hydrangeas in Glass, ink and watercolor, 7x5 in
Hydrangeas in Glass, ink and watercolor, 7×5 in

My hydrangea bush is doing great this year, probably because it’s on the side of the house that is now a dog run and every day I empty the dog’s water bowl on the bush. Also it’s no longer competing with its two siblings that I removed because one never blossomed and the other had annoying teensy flowers that shed all over the table.

EDim 22 Remote Control, ink and watercolor, 5x7 in
EDiM 22 Remote Control, ink and watercolor, 5×7 in

These remotes live in the studio and operate a little combo TV/VCR, a DVD player and the stereo. There are another half-dozen that live in the house. I’m glad remotes were invented but they are ugly and annoying. I so wish I had this remote (a brilliant sketch and concept!)

EDim 23 Fan, ink and watercolor, 5x7 in
EDiM 23 Fan, ink and watercolor, 5×7 in

As I noted in my journal above, drawing a fan seemed like it would be even more boring than drawing the remotes but in fact it was really fun. I was really surprised as I sketch to discover all kinds of interesting design features I’d never noticed before when just turning it on or off (without the using the remote that came with it, which I’ve lost).

So I didn’t make it to every day in May, just 75% of them. I went away for a 3 day retreat and when I came back had lost the momentum. Oh well.

Categories
Ink and watercolor wash Sketchbook Pages

EDiM 19, 20, 21: Rope, Pickle Fork, Close-Ups

EDiM 19-20: Dog Rope and Grandma's Pickle Fork, ink and watercolor, 7x5 in
EDiM 19-20: Dog Rope and Grandma’s Pickle Fork, ink and watercolor, 7×5 in

My dog’s favorite pull toy: a knotted rope for EDiM 19. The packaging asserts it’s good for their teeth, acts like dental floss. I don’t think that makes much sense, but at least it is one toy she hasn’t been able to shred, turn inside out and/or unstuff.

I think this little plastic fork for EDiM 20 was one that my grandmother used when putting out her fabulous dill pickles. It probably was a copy of a more elegant model originally made of ivory. It’s about the length of a dill pickle.

EDiM 21: Closeups, ink and watercolor, 7x5 in
EDiM 21: Closeups, ink and watercolor, 7×5 in

These close-up views of things for EDiM 21 are probably pretty easy to figure out: clockwise, a petal and leaf from a hydrangea, a spray bottle, an old pencil sharpener from the days when office products were all IBM beige, and a pliers from my toolbox.