My Current Project

Sketching in the Park

This was done in my 3 x 5 Handbook journal at the James McFaul Environmental Center (the Wildlife Center).

Inktober 2017 - Last Day

I was watching  a Gerald Brommer video called "From Line and Shape to Complex Surfaces", and was inspired to use one of my NY barn photos for this drawing.  I will be adding some color "shapes not related to line" later.

Inktober 2017 - A Little Artist Friend

Little Annalee artist mouse.

Inktober 2017 - A Nasty, Rainy Day

A sketch of my "fake Sherpa" lined rain boots.  They come in handy for a rainy day like today.

Inktober 2017 - Chocolate

A sketch of me holding Chocolate, my "Beanie Baby" moose.

Inktober 2017 - St. Luke Cemetery

A sketch of the old section of St. Luke Cemetery.  There is such a variety of shapes and sizes of the tombstones, even though most of them include a cross.  There are even some with just metal crosses, and no stone.  The names and dates on many of these are barely readable.

More Inktober Sketches

I haven't been keeping up with both my Inktober sketches, and posting them here.  Here are the additional ones that I've done so far.

Inktober 2017

These were both done with Micron 05 sepia pen on white paper.  The tint is from the time of day that they were photographed.  

A little side portrait sketch from Youtube

I was watching a YouTube video from the SketchbookSkool staring Koosje Koene, who was describing how to sketch a building.  She was such a cheerful, smiling person, and stayed in more or less the same position as she spoke at the beginning of the video.  I had my little Handbook journal nearby, and grabbed a ballpoint pen and started to sketch her.  I think I liked using the ballpoint better then the Micron pen as I could vary the value of the shadows more comfortably.  The wide line on the right is actually the ribbon bookmark for the journal which sneaked into the scan. 

Sktchy 9 and 10

Sktchy No. 7 and 8

Iris Sketch

I did this sketch yesterday in my backyard, in my 9 x 12 Super Aquabee sketchbook.

Sktchy Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6

Summit Ave. in Spring Sketch

Done in 3 x 5 inch Handbook journal with markers.

May Sktchy sketches 1 and 2

I'm going to try doing a sketch a day from the Sktchy app.  I have to make sure it's a good close-up, because I'm working from a small size iPhone, and many of the photos are too small to make a good reference.  The first one was a cute pose, but I don't think I got much of a likeness.  The second one was better.  The photo was an older black and white, and I think I got a pretty good likeness, except that the mouth is a little too wide.  I have trouble doing shadows on the face with pen, because it always looks too stark.  I'm using a pen which is somewhat dried out, and even then I'm not sure that I like the way the shadows look.  I may have to resort to pencil. 

I do plan to do other things in May, hopefully outdoor landscape sketches, or flower studies, while everything is in bloom.  But I won't be doing these daily.

IFJM 2017

April was International Fake Journal Month, and this year my alter-ego was a 10-year-old.  My "fake journal" can be found here:
www.michellesfakejournalblog.blogspot.com

Lent Journal #9

I'm certainly not managing to do a page every day, but I'm finding that the quotes that I pick are inspiring me, which is the whole point of this project.  (scanner is not picking up the sky color)

Lenten Journal Page 8

Lenten Journal Page 7

I haven't kept up with an every day post for my Lenten Journal.  I have a lot of ideas for inspirational quotes, but not necessarily for a sketch to go with them.  The Prayer of St. Francis seems to sum up a lot of the readings that I have done in the past couple of weeks, and something that I want to live by.

Lenten Journal Day 6

I found this quote in my "Little Black Book".  I like to think that all the art we make are visual prayers. 

Lenten Journal Day 3 and 5

Here are the next two entries in my Lenten Journal.  And yes, I missed a day already. 

My Lent Journal

I was trying to think of a project for March, and it just so happened that March started with Ash Wednesday this year. So I decided to make a Lenten Journal. I've never done this before, and am embarrassed to say that the last few years Lent has flown by with not much attention from me. Here are my first two entries.

The Remaining February Toned Paper Sketches

February 14 quick sketch

A quick sketch this morning from a Wildlife Center photo.  I missed a couple of days and wanted to be sure that I got one in today.

Febuary 10 and 11

Small section of St. Patrick's Cathedral, from photo.

Pemaquid Lighthouse from photo.

February 9 - Snowstorm!!!

Today is day 9 and I'm surprised that I've made it this far.  It's a snow day, just as predicted.  About 7 inches so far.

February 7 and 8 Sketches

February 5 and 6 sketches

The first sketch is from "life" of my Beanie Baby cat Prance.  The second is from a photo of some barns taken out the window on a car trip.

February 2, 3 and 4 sketches

More February sketches on toned paper.  I like the way the whites and light colors pop on these sketches.  I'm hoping to do a toned paper sketch every day this month, although my track record for these challenges is not stellar.  So far, so good!