Merry Christmas

I spent several days during Christmas at my son and daughter-in-law's house.  I took my watercolor sketching stuff with me, as I expected to do a bit of sketching with my seven grandchildren.  But with seven kids and three adults, assorted presents, cookies, food prep, etc., there wasn't enough room to do much.  Plus, the kids had choir practice and someone always had some activity they had to go to, not counting video games and nerf gun chaos.  So I only got one sketch in, and only two of the kids painted with me.  I did have a lot of fun though, and didn't eat too many cookies. 

Leaves and Bears

I haven't sketched in my Spanish journal for quite a while. I'm starting to forget some of the words I knew. Here are two new sketches I did this week.

My Car Journal

These sketches are from my new "car journal".  I keep it in the car so that when I'm out running errands I can stop somewhere to do a quick sketch. 

Giant Decorated Pumpkins

These are two of the giant pumpkins sitting outside businesses and shops in downtown Damariscotta. I sketched them after returning home, from photos I took on the trip.

Sketching in Maine - October 2013

Well, as you can see, I didn't keep up with my second 75 day challenge.  I do regret it somewhat, but, well, I just got involved in other things. 

This past week, I spent a few days in Maine with my sisters.  We sketched at various of our favorite spots.  It was cold, but we had fun anyway.  Here are the sketches.

They are, from top to bottom: Pemaquid Lighthouse, viewed from down on the rocks; a boat in the town of Rockland; the waterfront in Camden; some boats in the water at the Colonial Pemaquid Restoration; and two views of beautiful Ocean Point, sketched from the car at one of the "visitor" parking spaces along the loop.

Second Time Around - Day 31

Another sketch of my little jade plant.  I'm falling behind again.  I had planned to take my sketchbook with me to the pool today, but I forgot.  I'm going to need a few "catch-up days".  I did a much better job of sticking to a sketch every day the last time. 

Second Time Around - Day 28*

I took a little hike at the local wildlife center, and did this sketch in "the garden".  No flowers, just lots of ferns.

* This sketch was posted in the correct order, but Blogger must have eaten it, necessitating my posting it again.

Second Time Around - Day 30

Still too embarrassed to sketch people at the pool, so I sketched my own feet before I swam my laps this time.

Second Time Around - Day 29

I saw a sign at the nursery that said they had local tomatoes and peaches, so I stopped to get some, and bought a little jade plant.  I love jade plants, and they are supposed to be hardy, but I've killed a few in my time, so I hope this one hangs around for a while.  I may do a couple of little paintings of it.

Second Time Around - Day 27

I usually work in a 9 x 12 Flexi-Sketch, but today I took a small 4 x 6 sketchbook with me to the town pool, and I sketched the lifeguard before doing my laps.

Second Time Around - Days 25 and 26

These two were done from photos.

Second Time Around - Day 23 and 24

Well, these two caught me up - temporarily.  The canna and the bunny/wagon lawn statue were found in my next door neighbor's front yard.  I've been wanting to sketch or paint the canna for a long time, and I recently saw some artwork that I liked of statues, so I thought I would try my hand at the bunny.  After these two, I got distracted by other things and fell behind again.  The next few will be "catch-ups".

Second Time Around - Day 20, 21, and 22

If I do a sketch today, I should be all caught up.  :)

Second Time Around - Day 17, 18 and 19

Second Time Around - Day 16

Kateri and her hat.  We all made foam visors this week.

Second Time Around - Day 15

Jadyn painting her visor.  I decided to play it safe and avoid her hand altogether.

Second Time Around - Day 14

Kateri and Caramel Puppy watching TV.  Having a bit of trouble with hands, feet and legs, especially when they don't stay still.

Second Time Around - Day 13

This is my granddaughter Jadyn.  She was engrossed in a tv show and asked if she could continue to watch while I sketched her.  I had a bit of trouble with her nose and feet, but I think I got a fairly good likeness.

Second Time Around - Day 12

This is "Caramel", Kateri's Build-a-Bear puppy.  She got him eyeglasses like she has.

Second Time Around - Day 11

My 2 granddaughters are staying with me this week.  This is Kateri, who sketched me too after I was done.

Second Time Around - Day 10

I had fun with this one, but got a little lost at times.  The roses are actually dark red, but I thought they would show up better left light against the dark background.

Second Time Around - Day 7, 8 and 9

Second Time Around - Day 5 and 6 - Hibiscus and Waterlily Pond

Second Time Around - Day 4 - Calla Lilies

Three white calla lilies.

Second Time Around - Day 3 - Two Day Lilies

Getting behind already.  Here are two more day lilies. 

Second Time Around - Day 2 - Daylilies

Whew!  98 degrees out and I'm sitting in the backyard trying to sketch my daylily patch. 

The Second Time Around - Day 1

I completed the 75 Day Sketch Challenge in March, and since then I've only sketched sporadically.  So I decided to start over with another go round.  This is my sketch for Day 1, the second time around. 

Purple Calas

Another flower doodle - this time purple calas that were an Easter gift.  I love the shapes of both the flowers and the leaves.

A Small Outdoor Sketch and a Flower Doodle

This is a small sketch in my moleskine sketchbook of a scene looking out from Union Square Park, where my sister Joan and I stopped to sketch before stopping in to see the American Watercolor Society Show.

This is a flower "doodle" of a pink hydrangea that I got last week for my birthday.  It's done on a 5x7 greeting card, which I hope is the start of a series.

Springmaid Sketches

The above sketches were all done during my stay  at Springmaid Beach in Myrtle Beach, SC.   The small watercolor sunrise sketch was done very quickly on a freezing cold morning.   The scanner left out some of the lighter blues in the sky and water.