Category: Sketchbook Pages

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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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Gardening Sketchbook Pages

Marsha and Jana Plant a Hydrangea

Marsha was cleaning up her garden and had a couple hydrangeas she didn’t want anymore so she brought them over and we planted them in my barren side yard.

Hydrangea-cartoon

Once we got them planted I decided to sit and draw one even though it was very wilted and shaggy looking and the sun was setting.

Hydrangea2

Hopefully they’ll like their new home and will make pretty blue popcorn ball flowers for me. I used to think hydrangeas were plants for old ladies but now I think they’re cool!….uh oh…are they cool or am I just turning into an old lady?

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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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Sketchbook Pages

Strong medicine

A week into my birthday month, at a time when I'm normally revelling in being a happy birthday brat, I'm still fighting a month-long evil cough and cold. Therefore, as Queen of the Month of June I hereby declare that being sick is entirely and completely unacceptable any longer and proclaim that upon awakening tomorrow, all signs of illness shall be gone. Also banished shall be all medicine bottles (even that yummy codeine cough syrup), pills, nose sprays, cough drops, kleenex, jars of vap-o-rub, trips to the doctor, antibiotics, herbal remedies, folk remedies, thermometers, and flannel jammies.

Medicine-bottle

I painted this little medicine bottle sitting on the cigar box (the bottle was sitting, not me) I use to hold erasers and prop up my drawing board. The technique for painting the patterns (circles at top and designs on cigar box) is something I learned from Judy Morris–they're first painted with latex house paint matched to the color of my Arches watercolor paper and then painted over with watercolor.

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Sketchbook Pages

Wednesday Laundry

I woke up looking forward to folding laundry this morning. I like waking up with a simple task to start the day…laundry, washing dishes, scooping the cat litter. It gives me a chance to enter the day slowly with purpose rather than jumping up and rushing around. I have this cool gadget (I love gadgets) called a "Flip Folder" that folds shirts into a nice smooth square. I love the way the pile of t-shirts looks afterwards, like a vertical rainbow. Enjoying the aesthetics of a pile of colored shirts reminds me of an art teacher who told me that when she was had a baby and couldn't paint, she made art from her colored dryer lint. I wonder if she washed separate loads for each color so she'd have a nice palette.

Laundryfull
Here's a picture of my "FlipFold". laundry flip

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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

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