Maine Sketches from Photos

These were sketched from photos taken at Pumpkinfest, on my recent Maine trip. 

An Online Sketching Class

I'm taking an online sketching class, the object of which is to learn to sketch quickly while traveling.  The first lesson is to sketch with a single line (or a few single lines if needed).   These were done from a couple of photos from my recent Maine trip.

Two sketches I did today while waiting for the Damariscotta Pumpkin Regatta to begin.

Maine Fall Foliage

I'm in Maine, visiting my sisters and enjoying Pumpkinfest, as well as the fall foliage.  We took a little ride to Bristol Mills, where I did this watercolor sketch.

Scavenger Hunts

There is a thread on the Wetcanvas.com "Artwork From Life" forum called the Scavenger Hunt.  It's been going on, well, almost forever.  I join in sometimes, but haven't for a long time.  I needed a motivational boost to start sketching regularly again, so I started a few days ago on the current "list".  There are 26 items, and you can sketch all, or as many as you can.  I'm only posting a couple of pages here.  It's an interesting list, but I don't have easy access to all of the items, so I probably won't finish all 26.  But never fear, a new list will be out soon. 

Three Summer Sketches

I sketched these this summer, but forgot to post them.  It was a busy summer!  The first is a scene from the Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary in New Paltz, NY, done on a hike with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew.  The two California sketches were done while staying at Manhattan Beach to attend the wedding of another nephew. 

Digital Sketches on the Plane

Flying home from my nephew's wedding on Sunday, I was bored, and started to read some posts on Facebook.  There was a post about digital sketching, and bamboo paper was mentioned.  I decided to try it.  I did the first 4 on the plane, sometimes during a little turbulence.  I started  with my finger and then found a stylus that came from the Dollar Store.  It was very entertaining.

Sketching With My Grandkids

My grandchildren like to sketch, and some of them are quite good.  Unfortunately, they don't live near me, so our opportunities for sketching together are limited to occasional visits.  So I decided to try a virtual sketch challenge.  Our first subject was animals.  They didn't have to be real.  I did one of my stuffed bears, and Brandon and Matt followed my lead.

My "Kiss Kiss Bear"

Matt's "Vincent" a Beanie zebra

And Brandon's stuffed bald eagle from scout camp

This was fun, and I hope we can continue it, and perhaps even get more of the grandchildren interested in participating.  Our next subject is "buildings".  I can't wait so see what the kids do this time.  Maybe if this project takes off, it can get a blog of its own.

Presby Iris Garden 5/20/15

Two sketches that I did today while at the Presby Iris Garden with Joan.  Done in my Super Aquabee sketchbook with mini travel palette and water brush.  I also used a pen on the first (closeup) sketch.

Mothers' Day Flowers

Three sketches of my Mothers' Day flowers.  The last one is done directly with watercolor, without any preliminary drawing.

Three More Flower Journal Sketches

I did these last weekend of my neighbor's tree and plant, and some colorful "weeds" in my backyard lawn.

Mini Daffodils

Every few years I start a flower journal as soon as I see something peeking out from the ground.  It's been a tough winter, so I'm not sure what has survived this year, but today I found some mini-daffodils that I bought last year.  I was sure that they wouldn't make it, but they and one purple crocus have appeared.  That gives me hope that there will be more flowers as it gets warmer.  So this is the start of my 2015 flower journal. (pen and wash in my Super Aquabee sketchbook).

Fake Journal 2015

This month I've been working on my fake journal - and there are only a few more days left.  www.michellesfakejournalblog.blogspot.com

I have a few projects lined up for May, and have started one of them already.  See the next post for today.

More Faces

I haven't been keeping up with every day face sketching, but here are my latest.

Imitating Homer

Today's prompt for the AJW January challenge was to depict one of our favorite 19th century paintings.   I got to see Winslow Homer's paintings several years ago at the  Brooklyn Museum.  I really liked all of them, but my favorites were his Adirondack paintings.  This one is called "The Blue Boat".

Face A Day #4, 5 and 6

More faces - Grandsons Ethan, Brandon and Matt. It's hard to get a good likeness from a small photo. 

Continuing the January sketch challenge

The January sketch challenge continues, with Day 4 - an animal, Day 5 - a bridge, and Day 6 - seeds

Another Face, Thumbnails and a Vignette

The face for today is my maternal great grandfather.  He looks rather stern, and I'm sure that my grandmother mentioned on more than one occasion that he was. 

The second page was done in my large flexi-sketch book.  I did some thumbnails of winter scenes from photographs.  I may make them a bit larger next time.  Then I did a postcard size vignette based loosely on one of the thumbnails.  It was something new and fun to do on a cold, snowy day.

January 1 - and Two Challenges

I've now got two challenges going.  First is my "selfie" of when I was a baby, for the "Face a Day" that I started two days ago.  The second is for a challenge started by Palma Rea on the Artist Journal Workshop Facebook page.  Day 1 is to sketch something that should be thrown out but you don't have the heart to do it.  I was wondering what I could do for this, and then noticed that this darn balloon is still hovering in a corner of my kitchen since March.