Finally, an Outdoor Sketch - Day 42 of 75

After several miserably cold days, today was in the 50's, and although the sun disappeared by the time I managed to get out to sketch, it was still pleasant enough to sit out to do this small sketch at our local wildlife center.

Full Blown Amaryllis - Day 41 of 75

The amaryllis has been fully open for a couple of days now, and it's just so lovely!  I wish there was a way to show all four flowers at the same time!  As you can see, there is a new bud pressing close from underneath.  I've never had this happen before.  Usually the second shoot waits until the first one has died off before coming up.  It looks like the new one will be looking for space to open up.  I may have to lop off the first one before it's really ready to go.  Will I be documenting the second blooms also?  Only time will tell.

"Evita" - Day 40 of 75

Yesterday my son and daughter-in-law went to see one of the last showings of "Evita" on Broadway. They took some photos outside the theater, and I thought this one would make a good sketch.  The billboards were sort of out of focus, so I didn't have to worry too much about accuracy.

Another Bare Tree - Day 39 of 75

I love looking at the branches of the bare winter trees, and the spidery shapes they form.

Kitchen Table Shadows - Day 38 of 75

I was trying to decide whether to sketch the amaryllis again, when I looked over at my kitchen table and saw the shadows made by the amaryllis, my poinsettia, and my vertical blinds.  It looked like a great subject for a sketch.  I'm a day behind, so even though I did this one today, it's really "yesterday's" sketch. 

"Zero" the Penguin - Day 37

This morning it was 4 degrees.   Brrr.....!  When I was looking for something to sketch, I thought of my Beanie Baby penguin, who seemed to be an appropriate subject for today's sketch.

Amaryllis in pen and ink and watercolor - Day 36 of 75

I just had to do at least one with added watercolor.  My Flexi-Sketch sketchbook is not the best for watercolor though.  The paper buckled a bit which will make sketching on the reverse side a bit more difficult.  Also, I found that all hatching with the pen should be done before adding the watercolor for best results.

Two Almost Fully Open Flowers - Day 35



I now have one fully open flower, and one almost fully open, and the two side ones should open up tomorrow or then nest day.  The flowers are a deep orangey-red in the light, and a maroon in the shadows. 

Continuous Line Faces - Day 34

These are a couple of "continuous line" (contour drawings) faces.  I had seen some of these on Pat Howard's blog and hers looked really cool and it looked like a lot of fun.  Well, they are NOT as easy as it looks.  LOL!  But I like the idea of learning to draw faces this way, so I will be doing some more of them from time to time. 

Amaryllis with border - Day 33

I tried something different with my amaryllis today.  I'm thinking that this would also make a good watercolor.

One more for the Sketchcrawl

When I was posting the Sketchcrawl sketches I missed this one, the first one I had done today, of my breakfast from McDonalds.  Because of the glitches in the uploader I can't just edit it into one of the previous posts.

Sketchcrawl #38 and Day 32 (continued)

I sketched a Valentine kiosk, and an almost lifesize poster in the window of Victorias' Secret.  I had trouble with the hands of the model on the poster, but luckily the lettering covered up some of it.

One or all of these sketches will count for Day 32 of the 75 day sketch challenge.

Sketchcrawl #38 - And Day 32 of 75

Today is Sketchcrawl #38.  I did a solo crawl indoors at Paramus Park Mall.  I've done outdoor sketchcrawls in January and they are NOT fun!  I started out with breakfast at McDonalds, and then sketched the people at the table in front of me.  I sketched the "Wild Turkey" sculpture in the food court, and sat at the entrance to Sears and sketched the Lands' End sale.  I sketched a man waiting for his wife.  I liked the decorative tree with strings of lights and hanging red and pink ornaments.

Amaryllis Opening More - Day 31 of 75

Another sketch as the amaryllis opens even more.  There is also a new shoot with a new bud sprouting up, and I tied it to my too short stake also.

Floral Bouquet - Day 30

A floral bouquet that my friend Anna had on her hall table.  I seem to have chopped of a bit of the right side when I scanned it.

Bare Tree - Day 29

We had some snow and sleet last night, and this morning the lawns and sidewalks were covered, and there was just a tiny bit of snow on the branches of the trees.  This tree is visible from my living room window.

Opening - Day 28 of 75

My amaryllis has started to open, and I can see a tiny sliver of the red flower peeking out.  The stalk has grown so tall that my meager efforts at staking it are barely adequate to hold it straight and keep the plant from toppling over. 

I know this sketch can't top the sketch of Riley from yesterday, but I wanted to document this stage of the amaryllis before it opens fully in a couple of days.

 

Micron 05 pens in sepia, green and red.

"Riley" - Day 27 of 75

This is Riley, my friend Angel Sharum's dog.  Done from Angel's photo.

Snow Scene - Day 26 of 75

This snow scene is from one of my photographs.  I am working on a watercolor of this and thought it would make a good pen and ink sketch too.

Justin Painting - Day 25 of 75

Today five of my grandkids were visiting. I set them up with paints and paper, thinking that I would be able to sketch without worrying about them moving too much.   Wrong!  Justin found about 1,000 positions to move his arms, hands and face.  I ended up making his head too big, or his arms too small.   I will have to try this again next time they visit.

The Dip Pen - Day 24

A few years ago my sister Joan brought me a cool glass dip pen from her trip to Italy.  I had intended to learn  how to use it then, but I put it away and forgot about it.  When I started this challenge, I knew that I would have to practice with it, so today I got it out and made a few marks to see how it felt, and then did a couple of little sketches.

African Violets - Day 23

On Thursdays I paint with some of my friends.  But today, before I started my snow scene  painting, I did a quick sketch of Anna's African violets.

Winter Shoe - Day 22 of 75

One of my winter rain/snow shoes, kind of a cut off of an LLBean boot, with shearling liner.

Watercolor Palette and Hand - Day 21 of 75

My hand holding my small watercolor palette.

Clay Horse - Day 20 of 75

A clay horse that was made to look like it was carved out of turquoise.

Bookshelves - Day 19 of 75

My living room bookshelves, with some photos and treasures.

Tap Show Tomorrow - Day 18 of 75

These are some of the pieces of my costume for our Senior Tap Dance show.  

A Stem and a Bud - Day 17 of 75

The second phase of my Amaryllis plant, the start of a stem and a bud. 



A Few of My Glass Menagerie - Day 16 of 75

Here are three of my many glass animals - a cat, a dolphin, and a little bird.  There was actually some sun coming in my window today, making shadows, but with all the reflections, refractions, and shadows inside the glass, I only lightly suggested the cast shadows.

Three Elephants - Day 15 of 75

These are three of my elephants, a small glass one, a larger metal one, and an onyx carved one.  My pens are beginning to wear out, so I will have to make a trip to Michael's for some more.

Happy New Year! - Day 14 of 75

I mentioned to my daughter-in-law that I wanted to sketch some champagne for New Year's Day, but that I didn't have any.  She found a bottle from their wedding, and I found a couple of glasses, and so here's a toast to the new year.