Cogito Ergo Suma | Suma CM's Blog

Sketching at The Salty Pig, Back Bay, Boston

2012-01-08T20:16:00.000-05:00

The Salty Pig. Right across from the entrance to Back Bay Station in Boston (the Dartmouth Street side). Lunchtime Friday, between work meetings and the afternoon train to Stamford. Mushroom pizza with a farm egg. Thin crust, gooey deliciousness. Between sips of herbal tea, a few sketches.

Date Night: Inakaya New York, Stephen Merchant Live

2011-12-22T10:39:00.000-05:00

Was sitting in my borrowed office at 5 Times Square yesterday evening, wondering where to go to dinner before seeing "Stephen Merchant Live: Hello, Ladies..." at Town Hall.

It had to be nearby. And had to be a bit touristy, a bit dramatic, to get us properly in the mood for slightly off-kilter stand-up. I scrolled the New York mag online restaurant listings and hit upon Inakaya.

It's a robata-yaki restaurant, featuring vegetables and seafood/meat grilled while you watch. Yes, it's a bit over-the-top, but the minute we walked in and heard the host and chefs singing out greetings, I wished I'd brought my sketchbook along.

Fortunately I happened to have a sheet of plain Levenger heavyweight paper in my day planner and a Platinum Preppy fountain pen, so I dashed this off while waiting for our various courses to arrive (on long wooden paddles, accompanied by more theatrics). Sadly the ink in the pen isn't waterproof, so I had to be careful when I added color.

Enjoyed the food and fun, and laughed our heads off at Stephen Merchant later on. Totally worth it!

A Fleeting Shot of Warmth

2011-12-03T20:45:00.000-05:00

It's cold up here in Connecticut, but this past Monday, I was eating lunch outdoors at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes in Orlando, Florida, and soaking up some sun.

Rail Trailing

2011-10-24T10:23:00.001-04:00

On Sunday, biked a few miles along the Norwottuck Rail Trail going east from Northampton, Mass., and then stopped to do a quick watercolor sketch of the dying light on the hills and fields somewhere in Hadley. Started rushing at the end because it got quite cold! Added a bit of ink later, to provide some contrast.

Vermont Sketchbook

2011-10-14T22:20:00.000-04:00

Was glad to be in Vermont, truly -- after it was ravaged by Tropical Storm Irene, I really wanted to support the state, spend money in its restaurants, eat maple candy and gawk at the glorious foliage. How fortuitous that I'd signed up for Susan Abbott's fall Vermont landscape workshop, I thought.

Well, we did the first three. The foliage (what there was of it) hid behind mists and drizzles and on-and-off downpours. Not the most auspicious weather for plein air landscapes. Despite my moodiness, and the bugs, and the mud, there was sketching. And painting. (Some outdoors, even.)

We stayed at Pie in the Sky B&B in Marshfield for the first two nights. They have sheep. (And a guard llama, which didn't stay in one spot long enough to make it into my sketchbook.)

Later in the week we stayed at Emergo Farms B&B, in Danville -- it's a dairy farm that supplies Cabot.

While it rained, we did exercises in the studio:

And when the clouds parted, we rushed outside hoping to avoid the ambush of sudden showers.

The rain helped paint this one:

It's hard to be spontaneous when faced with a sheet of Arches paper. I like this color sketch better than the actual painting I did right after.

We sketched and painted on lands private and public. People have a lot of land up there.

So? Go! Go wander Montpelier and buy art supplies at The Drawing Board, eat at Tip Top Cafe in White River Junction and Elements in St. Johnsbury. Bike the Kingdom Trails rain or shine. And at the end of the day, savor a maple creamy at Bragg Farm. Yum.

Up, Down and Around -- and a Little LOVE

2011-09-18T22:40:00.002-04:00

If you're in the Westport, CT, area, please visit Love: In the Eye of the Beholder, the fall group members juried exhibition at the Westport Arts Center. My abstract ink-and-watercolor work "At First Sight" is in the show and available for purchase. The show runs through the first week of November. More information here.

And now, a late-summer journey through my sketchbook.

In August, M. and I were in Mystic for a family reunion. Fair weather generally means lawn games, such as the Ohio staple cornhole and an old favorite, croquet.

For my birthday, we were in Boston on a very muggy weekend. Sadly, this is all I could bring myself to draw in that sticky heat -- a dashed-off sketch of the Public Garden.

Yesterday, we were off in rural Pennsylvania, visiting a friend in her country house. Her cats -- apparently quite active by night -- dozed lazily all afternoon in the warmth of the woodstove.

Pie, Anyone?

2011-09-05T18:29:00.001-04:00

It's been a while, I know -- after Lisbon, first I spent several weeks just enjoying not being on a plane, and then came the drama of Hurricane Irene (which, thankfully, spared us). I have been sketching here and there, and I'm getting ready for a painting workshop at the end of the month, but here are a few things from the summer to tide you over. These two watercolors are companions to the piece that was accepted into the Connecticut Watercolor Society show earlier this year. I had originally created them as a triptych for a different show that didn't pan out.

Back from the Urban Sketching Symposium in Lisbon, Portugal!

2011-07-28T22:09:00.000-04:00

Four days in and around Lisbon. Gorgeous cloudless weather. So many amazing artists I'd only known online -- in one place. And nothing to think about all day but "What shall I sketch next?"*

*Okay, those of you who know me can probably guess that I was also scouting out where we'd eat next, too. Turns out it's NOT so hard to be vegetarian in Lisbon after all.

But on to the important stuff. Here's my visual diary of our workshops and Sketchcrawl.

We started with a bit of anthropology -- a study of urban ethnography in tiny Largo de Barao de Quintela. At first glance, not so visually interesting, but we were in the midst of a veritable turf battle among pedestrians, vehicles, recycling receptacles, fire trucks, dogs. So I sketched one perspective first, and then turned around and drew another.

The Environments workshop had us peering down a steep staircase toward the typical Lisbon sea of terracotta roofs and pastel walls, with the castle looming in the distance.

Then we ducked into a little cafe, to capture some interior life.

We began the second day with a panel discussion; most of us were already walk-weary from the cobblestones lining the alternately soaring and plunging terrain.

In the Contrasts workshop, we negotiated stairsteps on Rua da Bica alongside iconic yellow-and-white trams, painting as they ferried passengers up and down.

By that afternoon, I was cranky-tired and not in a drawing mood (sorry, Cityscapes workshop!). But after dinner by the docks, I had enough energy for a sketch of the scene in the twilight.

Our last day began with "Light of Lisboa" -- an attempt to force the brilliant light of the city onto our sketchbook pages. First, in graphite:

And then, in watercolor:

We closed the symposium with the 32nd Worldwide Sketchcrawl, in Praca do Comercio.

Only one question remains: Where will next year's symposium be???

Picnicking on Sheffield Island

2011-07-15T18:07:00.002-04:00

Woke up last weekend craving a boat ride -- and remembered that the Norwalk Seaport Association runs ferry cruises out to Sheffield Island. Packed up a picnic lunch and headed off to the dock in SoNo. The three-hour excursion went by fast! I barely managed to dash off this quick sketch after our lunch, lighthouse tour, and hike. Lovely outing for a gorgeous summer day.

A Rainy Day at Bermondsey Square

2011-07-13T06:34:00.000-04:00

On the last day of my second trip to London for work, I woke up around 4 a.m. to see the Bermondsey Square Antiques Market. Figured since I was staying at the hotel directly above, I shouldn't pass up the opportunity.

Unfortunately the skies had decided to open up, so there was little other than a few grumpy vendors complaining about the rain (in London? really?) until well past 6 a.m.

While I waited for more dealers to set up, I trekked 20 minutes north to More London to find a working ATM, but even by the time I got back there was nothing compelling to buy. So I had breakfast in the hotel and sketched the scene outside.

Journeying

2011-07-04T22:09:00.000-04:00

In the last three weeks I've been in two countries and five states (seven, if you count airport layovers). My sketchbook came along for the ride, but it wasn't always easy to find time for drawing. And sometimes the weather was just plain uncooperative (NoLa, I'm lookin' at you).

My first jaunt was to Cleveland. Naturally I timed my arrival to coincide with that of the midges. They were everywhere -- swarming cars, storefronts and all. Still, I did manage to step outside and fend them off long enough to do a quick sketch of the skyline from the plaza outside the Marriott Key Center.

A week later, I was in London. No sketches this time -- was wandering a new neighborhood between back-to-back meetings and dinners.

The end of the week found me in New Orleans -- where it was hot, sticky, and uncomfortable. I mostly sketched from the coolness of the hotel room, 10 floors above the Mississippi River.

Oh, and I did manage to draw between courses during Sunday jazz brunch at Commander's Palace:

Hoping my next two trips -- back to London, and then to Lisbon -- will offer better weather...

Finally Done: The Road, Donegal

2011-07-01T10:36:00.000-04:00

It's been some time in the making, but I finally redid the sky, added the houses, and signed it. It's quite different from the photo it's based on -- I took the photo in bleak winter many years ago, and clearly the painting is of a much sunnier time.

The Road, Donegal; oil on panel, 13.5" x 13.5" framed.

Another Lifeguard at West Beach, Stamford

2011-06-22T20:12:00.000-04:00

Yes, I paint lifeguards often, I know -- but then again, I do live near the beach, and I am fascinated by the graphic quality of their perch against the sky. This painting was larger before, but I wasn't happy with the other figure in it so I cropped and reframed it to include only the one.

Connecticut Watercolor Society Show

2011-06-16T08:27:00.000-04:00

My painting "Look Out" was accepted into the Connecticut Watercolor Society's 71st annual juried exhibition. It's on display (and for sale) until June 26 at the John Slade Ely House in New Haven, Conn. Go see the show if you're in the area!

A Beachy Start to the Weekend

2011-05-30T07:41:00.001-04:00

Walked off to the beach the other day for some inspiration and found it. Dashed off this quick sketch with a pencil, a small box of watercolors, and a waterbrush. As usual I like my sketch -- done in about 10 minutes -- better than the painting I did later over several hours! While I was working, two little girls, about 9 and 7, came up to see what I was doing. They asked if I liked to draw people. I said yes, but also noted that I have a hard time getting the faces to look right. I told them that's why I like drawing people from the side or back. The older girl promptly replied, "Well, let us know if you'd like to draw US from the back, and we'll freeze for you!"

Up and Down the Northeast Corridor

2011-05-24T07:02:00.000-04:00

No, not on the Amtrak -- but I HAVE been traveling several weekends in a row, can you tell? Here's a roundup post of all our adventures!

Before heading down to Philadelphia for my 15th reunion at Penn, M. and I went to Bar Rosso in Stamford for dinner on "opening" night. Glad they finally got everything worked out. Enjoyed the food and the view of the pizza oven from the second floor:

The next morning, we headed down to PA. Our first stop was the Northern Liberties neighborhood, to check out the interesting shops and eateries. We stopped for a hot drink at the perfectly decorated One Shot Coffee:

When we got to campus, I vainly attempted to sketch -- but the reunion tents had invaded! It was hard to get a good view of anything.

Here's a rather abstract view of College Green, with trees, tents and Ben:

Saturday morning we went to a flea market in West Philly's Clark Park, where some characters were hanging out and talking about the benefits of exercise and cranberry juice. Wasn't terribly happy with the sketch so I turned this one into more of an abstract compositional exercise.

This past weekend, M. spoke at the Gaithersburg Book Festival in Maryland. On Friday I toured the fabulous Baltimore Watercolor Society 2011 Mid-Atlantic Regional Exhibition at the Strathmore Mansion in Rockville and then took the Metro down to D.C. to see the Phillips Collection. After all that inspiration, I just had to draw -- so I parked myself in Dupont Circle near the fountain.

Saturday was gloriously sunny -- we went for an early morning ride on the hiker-biker trail at Rock Creek Regional Park, and then I sat at the playground and sketched various people at the Gaithersburg Book Festival. My use of a dip pen attracted a lot of curious attention!

We ended the evening with a swing dance at the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park -- such fun!

15 Years Ago ... A Penn Sketchbook

2011-05-10T18:40:00.000-04:00

Just a few more days till I head to Philadelphia for my 15th reunion at Penn. Hotel's booked, reunion schedule's loaded onto my iPhone, plans have been made with faraway friends.

Our class was one of the first to get email/Internet (Telnet and Mosaic, anyone?), so there isn't much of an electronic archive to pull up from my time on campus. Of course, I've dug up old photos and college house newsletters to laugh over; might even make an early '90s mix tape -- uh, iTunes playlist -- for the drive down from Connecticut. But for me, what brings back the memories most vividly are my sketchbooks. It was my way of navigating the college experience, learning my way around a new city, adapting to the unfamiliar.

So here's a look back at my Penn undergraduate experience, in works on paper.

When I moved into English House (aka Kings Court English) as a freshman, I found that my dorm room window overlooked the construction site of the law school addition. For the first few days, we didn't have any curtains up, so it was like living in a fishbowl. There were construction workers right outside, and they could peer in. So I peered right back, and drew them.

Some of my classmates had teddy bears for comfort -- they turned up in my sketchbook, too.

We didn't have laptops then, so when we weren't in our dorm rooms or computer labs, we studied with notebooks and pens. Furness (aka the Fisher Fine Arts Library, designed by Frank Furness) was a popular, and visually stunning, place to hit the books.

In nice weather, it was all about College Green.

Sometimes I killed time before classes by sketching the decor -- here's a rendering of the sunflowers in the Annenberg School building.

As an upperclassman, I lived in an apartment in High Rise East (Harnwell House) with three roommates. One of the first things I did when I got there was to sketch out a color scheme and layout for my room. (Very Martha, I know.)

Of course, one of the best parts of going to Penn was being a few steps away from all of Philadelphia. Here's a hasty sketch of the city that I did from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Since I'm on the reunion and class gift committees, there are a few must-attend alumni events over the three days I'll be on campus. But I'll definitely make time to feed my muse as well, with visits to the Sheila Hicks retrospective at the ICA, what's left of Secrets of the Silk Road at the Penn Museum, and Lauren Greenfield's Girl Culture at the Arthur Ross Gallery.

And naturally I'll be toting along my watercolors and a fountain pen or two, to record new memories of Penn. Go Quakers!

Something Completely Different...

2011-05-10T18:18:00.001-04:00

M.'s grandmother turned 90 last week -- so I embroidered a picture of her dog on a vintage handkerchief as a gift.

Yeah, I should really stick to watercolors, huh? :)

Loving New York All Over Again

2011-05-06T22:32:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just need to fall in love with the city again.

So, yesterday: Roamed Barnes & Noble in Union Square; sipped drinks in the cozy, technically guests-only lobby bar of the Bowery Hotel (sketched above); savored delectable tacos at Hecho en Dumbo; and then met amazing children's book illustrators at Scholastic's charity auction reception for their "Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life" literacy campaign. (Go bid on their work!) Humbled by what these artists do with brush, ink and paints.

Still glad I don't live in Manhattan anymore. Still glad I'm just an express train away.

My New Art Supplies from London

2011-05-02T19:37:00.001-04:00

I promised a post on the stuff I bought a few weeks ago in the UK -- and here it is! When I wasn't sketching London, I was busy touring its art supply stores. This time I went to some modern ones, though I do love the older classic stores like Green & Stone or L. Cornelissen & Son. There's a list of shops online here.

First, a visit to a familiar chain: Cass Art. I LOVE their tagline.

They even had a watercolor promotion going on to coincide with the "Watercolour" exhibition at the Tate Britain.

Then, I proceeded to London Graphic Centre where I just had to take a picture of their colorful doorway installation, made of pens:

And finally, a helpful person at the Royal Watercolour Society/Bankside Gallery told me about the veritable warehouse known as Atlantis Art Materials, on Hanbury Street near Brick Lane and Shoreditch High Street, with tons and tons of different kinds of paper, among other supplies:

So what did I purchase? Mostly, things that are either less expensive there or can't easily be found in U.S. stores near me.

A spiral bound Saunders Waterford artists' watercolor paper field book
A spiral bound brown paper sketchbook -- thinking it might work with gouache-y techniques
A watercolor travel brush with flat (instead of round) bristles -- loving this!
A small Winsor & Newton pocket set (which came with a watercolor postcard book)
A Daler-Rowney acrylic paper pad, to try with watercolors

(Yes, that's one tiny and rather useless travel brush that's included with the set; luckily I have others!)
I also bought some UK art magazines at the Bankside Gallery's little shop -- great for finding out about workshops, classes, etc.

Now I just need to get sketching!

Worldwide Sketchcrawl 31: Providence, RI

2011-04-19T14:25:00.001-04:00

Had a lovely time sketching in Providence on Saturday with the talented Bill Dennis and Ashley Tanno. I've posted my sketches here, but you can read all about it and see photos on Sketchcrawl.com/forum.

Travel Sketchbook: London and Cambridge

2011-04-16T06:33:00.000-04:00

Just got back from gloriously sunny wanderings in the U.K.! Seriously, the weather could not have been better for walking about and sketching -- blue, blue sky and near-summer temps. (So rare!)

The trip was quite art-immersive: I explored several art supply stores, took in the big (if uneven) "Watercolour" exhibition at the Tate Britain, and visited the Bankside Gallery for the Royal Watercolour Society show. I'll share the art supplies I found in another post, but first, the sketches.

The day we arrived, a friend and I took the Thames Clipper from Millbank to Bankside; we had to wait quite a while for the boat, so I took the opportunity to do a quick sketch of the scene:

Sunday found us in Cambridge. On the way there, I sketched a bit at breakfast and on the train:

We took in the River Cam in the traditional way -- punting on the college backs, with Scudamore's tour company. I challenged myself to sketch while we were on the boat; though it seemed to move along lazily through the water, it was tough to get all the details of a scene down before the vantage point changed!

As we floated by, our guide pointed out the details of the colleges, the bridges (including the famous Bridge of Sighs), and the gardens.

After our tour, I sat on one of the banks and attempted a more studied watercolor -- unfortunately, I hadn't used the paper before (Fabriano Satinata hot press) and it took me a while to figure out how the paint would behave on it. I used a Rotring pen to add linework later since I wasn't very happy with how it turned out.

Our hotel in London was in Pimlico, served by the excellent bus route No. 24. Sitting in morning rush-hour traffic, on the top deck, I was able to get in quite a few little studies:

On one of my excursions, I stopped in at the storied Fortnum & Mason for lunch, and sketched as I was waiting for my excellent goat-cheese and leek tart:

I'm already making a list of places to visit on the next London trip!

Weekend Sketchbook: Washington, D.C.

2011-04-05T22:29:00.001-04:00

Was all set to draw and paint cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin in Washington this past weekend, but the mercurial weather made a hash of those plans.

Nonetheless, I did get a bit of sketching in. Drew this one quite rapidly with a refilled Pilot Varsity pen while we were waiting to have breakfast with our congressman, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn. I'm calling it "The Constituents." The private Capitol tour following breakfast was a highlight of our weekend.

As we sat in Himes' office in the Cannon building, we heard our elected officials (on a small television screen) loudly and dramatically debating the merits of shutting down the government.

In between the sudden showers and gawks at stately architecture, I did manage to meet an artist friend in Old Town Alexandria. There was an interesting group of gentlemen sitting on a bench at the docks, but I chose to paint just the guy in the middle, who was relaxing with a cigar. I had to rush because I had to make it back to Arlington for a dinner reservation; in my haste the watercolor got a bit gouache-y and opaque. Touching it up with more paint later didn't really help!

By the Saugatuck River, Downtown Westport, CT

2011-03-28T16:00:00.001-04:00

Stopped in Westport after an event in Southington yesterday, just because. Once again, it was blustery. See a pattern in my posts? Apparently I go out and sketch only when the wind kicks up! Anyhow, I had a long, warm coat to shield me from most of it. Sat on one of the many benches near the Westport Library and sketched the view across the river.

(Lamy Safari w/ Noodler's Lexington Gray ink; watercolor added later.)

Biking and Sketching the Hudson in Nyack, NY

2011-03-19T08:15:00.000-04:00

After last weekend's successful bike-and-sketch excursion, we decided to do it again yesterday in a different locale, this time on two bikes. We drove across the Tappan Zee Bridge to Nyack, NY, and had lunch at the King and I Thai restaurant before heading to Nyack Beach State Park. (Aside: Really loved downtown Nyack -- will have to return to explore the little shops and cafes! And it's only a half-hour away! Hat tip to the Hudson Valley Painter blog for ideas on where to paint in the area.)

I toted my painting gear along in a small Tamrac camera bag -- found that it fits nicely on my bike rack with a net to hold it down. I went about 3/4 mile up the Haverstraw trail, found a flat rock to sit on, and took out my sketching materials to tackle the Hudson River view. M. went farther up the trail to explore the abandoned houses and structures.

It was warm-ish, but very, very windy as I painted -- the breeze dried the paint quickly but made it difficult to work nonetheless.

When M. got back, I took out my dip pens and ink for a quick 12-minute sketch of the view in the other direction. Yes, that's the Tappan Zee Bridge way back there in the distance.

I didn't bring along my custom drawing board this time, so handling the pen-and-ink outdoors got a bit messy. So M. had the idea of photographing/videotaping me while I work, to dissect the logistics and streamline the whole process. Can't wait to share what we find out -- and the solutions that MacGyver, I mean M., devises!

Sunday Scene: Stony Creek

2011-03-15T19:43:00.002-04:00

Ever been to the Thimble Islands? I haven't yet, but this past weekend we got mighty close. A spring-weather forecast motivated us to take the tandem bike (newly geared up by M.) on a 16-mile ride through the shoreline town of Branford, CT.

We saw the ferry leave the dock at Stony Creek for the islands but were put off from boarding by the strong winds. I took out a pen and sketched the dock and islands beyond, but the whipping wind chilled me to the bone.

(Sketched on the scene with black Pitt Artist pen; watercolor and watercolor pencil highlights added later.)

It was tough to get back on the bike to ride all the way back to the car -- the steep hills forced us to stop and catch our breath several times!

Another Handmade Crafternoon, This Time with Birds

2011-03-08T18:42:00.000-05:00

Went to another installment of the New York Public Library's Handmade Crafternoon series last weekend. The special guest was avian soft toy expert Abby Glassenberg, author of The Artful Bird.

The pattern provided was a bit small for my taste, so I just drew around it freehand and altered it. Loved the colorful scraps of batik they gave us to decorate our winged creatures!

Could also make a great Christmas tree ornament, of course, or Easter decor -- with some stuffed eggs, perhaps?

Tea at The Drawing Room, in Cos Cob, CT

2011-03-06T17:03:00.000-05:00

Aside: As I'm writing this, it's raining, and typing the word "tea" makes me want a cup!

A few days ago, M. and I had lunch at The Drawing Room, a boutique and cafe in Cos Cob, Conn., right off Route 1 on Suburban Avenue. The boutique is cute, though I find that many of the high-end home stores in this area tend to have a similar "shoreline preppy" aesthetic. I was interested more in their tea and light fare menu -- and how could I resist *drawing* in a place called The Drawing Room?

For some reason I brought along only a Moleskine sketchbook that I needed to complete. I just cannot bring myself to put away sketchbooks unfinished no matter how much I can't stand the paper. To draw with, I'd brought two Pilot Varsity fountain pens, refilled with Noodler's Golden Brown and Lexington Gray inks respectively.

My first sketch, with the Golden Brown, was atrocious -- the ink simply beaded on the paper's surface and refused to cooperate. I (sort of) salvaged it later with some Pitt Artist pens because I liked the subject -- the cafe's tiered Afternoon Tea. I've used the Golden Brown before quite successfully, so I'm pretty sure it's just this paper, which reminds me of elementary school oak tag or manila folders.

My second sketch (shown at the top of this post), using the Lexington Gray, felt much better -- the ink responded with a nice, thick line. I did highlight it a bit with Pitt Artist pens, but not too much.

Anyone else refilling Pilot Varsity pens for drawing? What's your experience with them?

(Now I'm off to go make myself that cup of tea!)

How to Modify a Drawing Board for Portable Pen and Ink

2011-03-03T08:52:00.001-05:00

A few years ago, as I was trawling the web looking for inspiration, I came upon the drawings of George Butler and Studio 1482. I was attracted to the reportage style, yes, but was especially excited by the spidery, uneven quality of their pen-and-ink lines.

While beautiful, though, dip pen is not the easiest plein air medium for today's busy world -- it's inherently messy and a little awkward.

So, how could I make it a bit more user-friendly? Oh, do I love a challenge!

My first breakthrough was to look for a screw-top, clip-on metal palette cup (the kind used in oil painting, for mediums and such) that could be used as an inkwell. I figured I could just clip it onto my drawing board. Doesn't hold a ton of ink, but a little India ink goes a long way.

What I didn't realize, though, is that most of the cheap ones LEAK! It took forever (and many trips to various art supply stores) to find some whose welds were actually strong enough to make watertight seals. Finally I found a few that worked. Now, what to do with the lid while drawing?

Enter my personal MacGyver (who, by the way, has a great new blog). I told him what I needed: some way to keep the palette-cup cap from getting lost; some place to put the extra pens when I wasn't using them.

Here's what we came up with.

At the top left are two drilled holes filled with rare earth magnets and secured with adhesive (epoxy, I believe), to hold palette cup lids while drawing.

On the right are holes of different sizes, to hold pens:

Here's the setup in action in the back porch, where I drew the overwintered geraniums shown earlier in this post:

And yes, I have taken this setup out in the "field" -- I just put the tightly capped, ink-filled palette cup and pens in a quart-size zip-top baggie. (I'm going to investigate see-through dry bags for this purpose though -- the kind that kayakers use to stash their gear -- since regular ziptop bags get worn out pretty quickly.)

If I want clear water (for lightening the ink/cleaning the pen nibs) I use an Aquatote or similar container.

Can't wait for the weather to turn warm again so I can take my gear to the beach or park!

How about you? What methods do you use to keep your pen-and-ink materials tidy?

Sunday in the City

2011-02-21T17:17:00.000-05:00

Had a lovely time in New York yesterday. Started off with a visit to the PrattStore -- the Pratt Institute's art supply shop -- in Brooklyn. (There are some supplies that only certain stores carry, so it's always fun to go to a new one and poke around.) That entailed a ride on the crosstown G from Long Island City, so while I waited for the train to start up, I sketched a fellow passenger:

The PrattStore does have some brands that I don't see in local CT stores, but what I was really interested in is their art supply buy-back program. The person who runs it wasn't there yesterday, but I might go back and sell off some stretcher strips and paints that I'm not using anymore.

I was also hoping that they just might carry the Noodler's flex-nib pen that Nina Johansson has been blogging about, but no such luck.

After a quick browse, I headed off to a friend's knitting get-together. Unfortunately I'd forgotten my knitting, so I spent the afternoon chatting, enjoying treats and sketching her two cats.

Ended the day meeting M. for a fabulous Portuguese-style dinner at Hotel Griffou -- no sketches, but yum! Definitely will be back there another evening to draw at the bar!

Sketching Neat

2011-02-18T21:34:00.000-05:00

A rare day of lovely weather today! Drove up to Weir Farm in Wilton on a whim, but unfortunately the ground was still quite muddy and covered in messy snow -- not ideal for exploring. Turned back and went to Espresso Neat in Darien instead. I'm not a coffee person but love the atmosphere -- and their delicious iced herbal tea.

Super Quick Sketches to Fill Space

2011-02-15T15:20:00.000-05:00

Eh ... I'm not loving my tiny 10 x 15 cm Dessin "Fort" sketchbook for watercolor work. I just want to fill the pages and get it over with. Although it's promoted for more ("Papier dessin, encre, gouache"), I'm guessing most people buy this particular size as a souvenir, to boast of having visited the Sennelier store in Paris. It's small with a thick backing board, so I thought it could take the place of my Moleskine watercolor sketchbook for a while. Mm, not so much.

Sketched the first while waiting to meet a friend for drinks in the city; the second is a quick study of musicians from the Stamford Symphony playing a kids' concert at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center.

Studio in the Sky, Part Two

2011-02-15T14:56:00.001-05:00

Okay, so here's the other side of the upstairs studio -- the art/painting area. It's not as tidy as the sewing space, but paints are messy things, after all. The table is a large piece of butcher block countertop from the As-Is section in IKEA, with legs attached. Above it are two mail organizers from Acorn, modified slightly and hung right next to each other, holding ink bottles and other small items. Under the table is a set of Elfa drawers from the Container Store, for various art supplies.

Here's a close-up of the mail organizers:

On the desk is a pen/pencil caddy custom-made by M., with holes of varying depths (like stadium seating for pens!) in a wooden block:

This is what the whole space looks like, with my easel:

M. said the right half of the following shot looks a bit like a Levenger catalog cover -- I agree!

Studio in the Sky, Part One

2011-02-13T10:15:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited about my new and improved upstairs studio space! It's divided into two -- one area is for all of my art/painting materials, and the other is for sewing and yarn and such.

Here's a little tour. First, the sewing space:

The table is made from a solid-core Jeld-Wen interior door from Home Depot, carefully sanded and varnished by M. on the top. The legs are from IKEA. It's a huge surface, providing ample space for laying out and cutting patterns. Antique printers' trays on the back wall hold spools of thread, both vintage and new. I bought the dress form (currently sporting a few embroidery hoops on its neck) at an indoor flea market in New Milford, CT, and the wooden chair was salvaged from someone's cast-offs in the neighborhood.

Since pattern pieces can fly off in a breeze if the window's open, I use a vintage shoe-stretcher as a paperweight.

Yarn is corralled in an old pickle jar, picked up on a trip to the Brimfield Antique/Flea Market. Looks yummy, no? Hope to find another like it sometime.

My sewing machine is nothing fancy -- just a Kenmore Mini-Ultra I've had for nearly 10 years. The polygonal wooden thing behind it is a Pottery Barn Kids desk carousel, for scissors, notions and random vintage patterns.

My first project post-studio-reno was the little seat cushion for the chair, with brown velvet ties. I'm hoping to make a matching sewing machine cover (was inspired by this project from blogger Six One Seven) from the remaining fabric.

Just next to the little sewing alcove is a television (I do love some Cooking Channel), which sits on this vintage thread cabinet. At least that's what I think it is -- anyone know for sure? From a quick Internet search, I think it appears to be promoting Clark's "Our New Thread" Fast Black and probably dates from the late 1800s or early 1900s. Anyway, not sure of the exact provenance of this piece, but I can tell you we got it from a yard sale at the home of none other than the now-governor of Connecticut, Dan Malloy.

In the next post, I'll show you the art/painting half of the space, directly opposite.

Valentine Crafternoon at the New York Public Library

2011-02-07T17:56:00.000-05:00

The drizzly, messy weather didn't stop loads of people (including me) from attending The New York Public Library's Handmade Crafternoon, co-hosted by Crafternoon author Maura Madden, on Saturday. It's held regularly -- wish I'd known about this before! Martha Stewart Living featured the event in its February issue, so several MSL staffers were on hand to share the Valentine love and raffle off crafty goodness. We were seated at tables in a large room and given various materials including origami paper, tissue paper, hole punches, and doilies. As inspiration, co-host and librarian Jessica Pigza had pulled some books from the NYPL's collection featuring vintage valentines. I enjoyed meeting the other crafters at my table -- and we all agreed that we'd be back for more Crafternoon fun in the future.

Experiments with Painting on Tiles

2011-01-31T11:37:00.002-05:00

Inspired by the work of ceramic artist Helen Beard, I dusted off my Pebeo Porcelaine paints and found some leftover tile from an old bathroom project to see what I could do. To get acquainted with the consistency of the paint, I first used a henna pattern stencil (still had these in a drawer from my wedding!) to see how that might work. Encouraged, I then used a dark pencil to carefully transfer a small part of a larger digital painting of West Beach to another tile and drew the lines with a brown Porcelaine outliner. I used various combinations of yellow, blue, green and magenta paints for the color.

To set the colors, I baked both tiles in the oven for 35 minutes at 300 degrees as indicated on the paint jars. I'm pleased with the results and may do a series of similarly themed tiles; perhaps I'll even be motivated to try my hand at pottery one of these days!

Sketchcrawl at Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History

2011-01-23T07:35:00.000-05:00

A friend and I crawled at Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History this morning. We started off in the great hall with the dinosaurs and reptiles.

First I drew this Galapagos tortoise:

There were lots of skeletons to draw, but I was distracted by the people as usual:

As I was drawing, a young man rolled a cart in and took out some fossils. Manning the "fossil cart" was a high-school student volunteer who showed kids various fossils and bones as they passed by:

I knew I had to draw at least ONE of the many skeletons gracing the hall, so I did:

We then moved on to a higher floor, with floor-to-ceiling glass cases full of stuffed birds. The display explained which ones were full-time residents of Connecticut, and which ones visited only briefly or during the summer. I'll have to come back and study them more closely another time so I can identify some of the shore birds I see on kayaking trips along the coastline.

After our two-hour crawl of the museum, we had lunch at the fab Miya's Sushi in downtown New Haven -- amazing and sustainable deliciousness!

Hope to see some more people joining us on our next Sketchcrawl!

Join Us for the 30th Worldwide Sketchcrawl -- Saturday, Jan. 22

2011-01-18T14:32:00.000-05:00

Are you crawling? Find a group, grab your sketchbooks, refill your pens, sharpen your pencils! The 30th Worldwide Sketchcrawl is this Saturday, Jan. 22. If you're in the New Haven area, join us at 10 a.m. at Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History.

On the Way to Knit, a Sketch

2011-01-17T11:33:00.000-05:00

Found myself standing yesterday on the Metro-North train as I headed to Brooklyn for a friend's Sunday afternoon knitting get-together. This rider was absorbed in a book -- the perfect motionless model -- when I started this sketch. Sadly, he tired of it and moved just as we were entering the Bronx, so I had to rush to remember what he looked like in his original pose.

(Finger-drawn using the Brushes app on the iPhone, then cropped and retouched a bit in Photoshop.)

Playing with the Pen Tablet

2011-01-14T11:20:00.000-05:00

It's a coooold day here in Stamford -- 16 F, feels like 7, says Weather.com -- so I've been indoors playing with Photoshop, looking for interesting (and possibly painting-worthy) compositions in my photographs. Here's one of some skaters at nearby Terry Conners Rink from earlier this year, cropped, altered and hand painted with my Wacom pen tablet in Photoshop.

Scenes from an Inauguration

2011-01-09T15:49:00.000-05:00

On Jan. 5, our Shippan Point neighbor and former mayor, Dan Malloy, became the 88th governor of the state of Connecticut. The inauguration was held at the William A. O'Neill Armory in Hartford.

As the crowd filed into the building, the band played standards to get everyone in the mood. What standards? You know, the usual -- some Sousa, some Michael Jackson tunes, the theme from "Superman"...

The doors to the Armory opened at noon, but the inauguration wasn't to start until 2 p.m., so people spent the time saying hello to friends and/or getting their pictures taken with the new officers-elect (or sketching, in my case).

Connecticut poet laureate Dick Allen read his poem "Intuition" in honor of the occasion.

So where are the sketches of Gov. Malloy? Sorry, wasn't able to draw him since he stood at the far lectern on the stage; even my camera had trouble getting a sharp picture at that distance, but here he is!

North Country Sketchbook

2011-01-03T10:05:00.000-05:00

For a long time, I had wanted to experience a ski lodge in the mountains somewhere. Now I didn't really care so much about the skiing part; I was more interested in the "lodginess" of the place -- you know, big (preferably stone) fireplace, high ceilings with log beams, typical ski-country decor. Well, my wish came true this past weekend, as we spent New Year's in the Adirondacks.

Local resident and author Russell Banks (Rule of the Bone, Cloudsplitter) recently told Amtrak's Arrive magazine that you won't see wilderness like this again till you get to the Rockies. I can believe it. ADK is a woodsy, wintry vastness, and I can't wait to go back and see it in other seasons.

We snowshoed, rode in a horse-drawn open sleigh, skated on the Olympic Oval, and watched the dogsleds go by on frozen Mirror Lake. We stayed in Saranac Lake, at the lovely Porcupine Inn, and had "Eve of New Year's Eve" dinner in the spectacular setting of Kanu at Whiteface Lodge. New Year's Eve dinner was at the newly restored pub at Interlaken Inn, and we enjoyed drinks, live music and pool at Maggie's Pub at Lake Placid Lodge. Cozy, warm, lodgy lodginess -- basically, what you'd get if you turned a big mug of mulled cider into a vacation spot.

Drew this next one with a pencil as we bumped along in the sleigh -- not an easy task (watercolor added later). I always thought sleigh rides were fast, swooshy and smooth -- you know, "dashing through the snow," and all that. Not so.

A Snowbound Christmas in Mystic

2010-12-28T21:06:00.000-05:00

Like many in the Northeast, we celebrated the holiday and then hunkered down for the impending storm. Luckily southeastern CT seemed to suffer more howling wind than actual snow accumulation, but since we found out that we had lost power back at our house in Stamford, it meant a longer visit than usual with family -- and LOTS of board games, puzzles, crafting and sketching to pass the time.

Our Christmas Eve routine generally involves going to 5 p.m. services at St. Patrick RCC super-early to ensure we all have seats. By about 4:30 the church is standing room only (read: a fire hazard). I pass the time by sketching, but over the years I've drawn most of the stuff I can see over the tops of people's heads -- so this time, my subject was some random architectural detailing -- and then people's heads.

While we spent much of the post-Christmas blizzard-holiday trying out the new games that had been gifted and unwrapped on Saturday, we also broke out the classics. Here, the family decided to play Monopoly, thinking it -- and the storm -- would last us quite a while. Surprisingly, the game ended in mere hours, barely giving me enough time to finish this sketch!

Watercolor Experiment on TerraSkin

2010-12-22T15:14:00.000-05:00

A friend gave me some sample sheets of TerraSkin -- the environmentally friendly "paper" made from mineral powder and nontoxic resin -- and I decided to try a loose watercolor on it. The subject is a farm building from a photograph I had taken somewhere on the road between Red Hook and Hudson, NY, earlier in the year.

As many other artist-bloggers have noted, it's not easy to erase pencil lines on this surface. I do like the way the watercolor puddles on it (and granulates -- probably picking up a bit of the mineral dust -- if you work into it a lot, as in the sky). It forces me to give up control, which is a Good Thing For Me! :) Lately I've been looking again at the watercolors of Hopper and Homer and Sargent, trying to see (and paint) simpler shapes and values.

Another Mystic Memory

2010-12-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Watercolor of a small outbuilding that I had photographed in August, near M.'s parents' home in Mystic, CT. A little overworked, unfortunately -- didn't make the sky quite blue enough at first, and then used too much dark cobalt in the second glazing. Think it would have worked better in something a bit closer to cerulean plus cobalt turquoise light. And of course I need to force myself to think "big value shapes" instead of picking over each tiny detail!

Metro-North Commuter Series, Framed

2010-12-19T10:34:00.001-05:00

M. had the idea of putting together several of my Metro-North commuter iPhone sketches -- so I found an old frame upstairs, and voila.

Summer Memory: Morgan Point Light, Noank, CT

2010-12-15T21:28:00.000-05:00

One of the highlights of M's annual family reunion weekend in Mystic, Ct., is a boat ride along the picturesque coastline in the area. As the Whaler bounces about on the water, it's fun to try to keep the camera dry enough to capture the scenery -- lobster shacks, lighthouses, sail boats, etc.

Since it was much too cold to paint outside today, I decided to relive the summer by painting from one of the photos I took on the boat ride earlier this year. Had to look up the name online, but the building is Morgan Point Light, in Noank.

As usual, it was tough to control the paint on the Hot Press surface, but I think I'm getting a little better at it. I used a goat hair mop brush for the clump of trees, inspired by Don Gore's experiments with roughly hacked off brushes. The colors are mostly Winsor & Newton with some Schmincke. (And I did use two Faber-Castell Pitt Artist pens on that vine-covered wall for a bit of texture.)

Scanning My Way Down Memory Lane

2010-12-13T18:28:00.001-05:00

On a whim -- and to test out some slideshow/album widgets -- I decided to scan in a bunch of sketches and small watercolors I had done while in high school, some 20-odd years ago. Here's a Flickr slideshow of what I've scanned in so far.

The View from the South Bank, Revisited

2010-12-08T14:31:00.001-05:00

Finally got around to adding watercolor to the ink sketch I did in London a few months ago. I've been playing with my new Schmincke 24 half-pan set -- the colors are super-bright, so I'm trying to learn how to control them so they don't appear garish. Here I used a mix of the Schmincke colors and my Winsor & Newton paints.

Penn's Homecoming: So Much More than Football

2010-11-05T07:02:00.000-04:00

Homecoming at the University of Pennsylvania is so much more than a game on the gridiron these days! Attended a two-hour life-drawing class there last weekend -- part of Penn's "Classes Without Quizzes" concept -- where we had to sketch a model who moved everything but the placement of a foot for each pose. It was very challenging -- I haven't sketched from a model or used Conte crayon in years!

Sketchcrawl in London (Sadly, Solo)

2010-10-22T10:27:00.001-04:00

I was really looking forward to the 29th Worldwide Sketchcrawl, as I was going to be in London for it. I was, and it happened, but due to some meeting place snafus (a long security queue at the British Museum) most of the sketchcrawlers didn't really meet up. Disappointing, but got some sketches in, nevertheless:

And then went off to the south bank of the Thames and sketched the view.

Sunday on Staten Island

2010-10-11T10:35:00.000-04:00

Quite literally spent most of the day with a friend on Staten Island -- didn't get to sketch or paint as much as we'd hoped because it took us so long to get to the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in the first place (the buses weren't running along Richmond Terrace in the morning due to the half-marathon, oh well). Did get one sketch in, of this building:

Flying Kites on the Beach in East Hampton

2010-09-28T13:05:00.000-04:00

My colleagues at ?What If! Innovation and their spouses/partners proved to be fairly adept kite pilots, as is evident from these scenes on the beach in East Hampton, N.Y. (strong winds from Igor helped, no doubt). I just watched and sketched and painted -- not an easy task with all that wind blowing around.

Sketching at Choate

2010-09-12T14:51:00.000-04:00

How fun to be on a school campus in September! Spent yesterday afternoon in Wallingford, CT, sketching at the Choate Rosemary Hall campus with a friend. I drew the Seymour St. John Chapel from across the lawn.

Weekend Sketchbook: Dutchess County Fair

2010-09-04T18:44:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, we went up to Rhinebeck, NY, for the annual Dutchess County Fair. (Between this event and Chelsea Clinton's wedding, Rhinebeck has sure seen a lot of action this year. We had dinner at the Beekman Arms, and the people at the bar were still talking about the wedding.)

Ah, county fairs, with their 4-H fun, husband-calling competitions, and unhealthy fare... I skipped the bloomin' onions in favor of my sketchbook.

The highlight of the fair was easily Rosaire's Racing Pigs. Yes, pigs, that "race" -- well, run or amble depending on their weight -- toward food:

When It Rains, We Paint!

2010-08-26T14:47:00.000-04:00

Spent a lovely afternoon painting with a friend at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The weather wasn't the best, so we had the pavilion at the Japanese hill-and-pond garden mostly to ourselves and took advantage of the sheltered benches. The lack of strong shadows made for some tough subject matter, though, and I ended up overworking my painting a bit.

While I waited for my painting to dry, I sketched a different part of the garden, and decided to color it later on with the muddy pigments left on my palette - just for fun.

A Horsey Birthday in Saratoga Springs

2010-08-22T23:10:00.000-04:00

Just spent a few days in Saratoga Springs, NY -- a curious assemblage of horses, over-the-top hats, and spring water spas. Friday was so sunny I just had to buy a hat -- and where else but at the art supply store (only in Saratoga can you find hats, sundries, stationery and art supplies sharing retail space -- at Soave Faire). Had time for a quick sketch of Broadway, the main drag:

Then it was off to a polo match, with the Saratoga Polo Association. And yes, we actually did go stomp the divots at halftime.

Saturday we went to see what for many people is the main attraction in the area -- the racetrack. Had never been to one before, and our visit confirmed that the whole racing culture is not for us. When we went to the gate and asked how to get tickets for the seats close to the actual track, the guards kept assuming we wanted to bet or to eat, both of which can easily be done quite far from the actual track due to the ubiquitous simulcast video screens. Seriously, people? Picnicking in front of a television?? If you take the trouble to go the racetrack, don't you want to see the action LIVE? Like I said -- this culture is not for us. People kept saying how beautiful the thoroughbreds were; frankly they just looked exhausted to me. And why people dress up in fabulous hats and outfits just to sit on the dust-laden seats eating ballpark-worthy junk food also escapes me. I know, I know ... tradition.

Mt. Monadnock, at the Summit

2010-08-16T15:20:00.000-04:00

Hikers savoring the view after the arduous climb up Mt. Monadnock in Jaffrey/Dublin, NH, via the White Dot Trail:

Every drop of drinking water we carried with us was precious that day (the temperature was in the high 70s to low 80s), so I had to use a waterbrush with my watercolor paints up there.

Weekend Sketchbook: Mystic, CT

2010-08-10T12:11:00.000-04:00

Was in Mystic for M.'s annual family reunion this past weekend, and was able to get a fair amount of sketching in (when not kayaking, biking, shopping or playing cornhole and Apples to Apples).

Here's a quick ink-and-wash impression of Stonington Village Fair in Stonington, CT:

Determined to get better at painting on Arches Hot Press paper, I painted a few views of this tree in the neighbor's yard -- getting more abstract each time:

And I finally got to return to Bluff Point State Park after several years. There's a great rock formation that's like a desk and chair, which I used to set up my equipment for this painting (also on Arches Hot Press paper):

Opening of "Summer" Show at Westport Arts Center

2010-08-06T21:51:00.000-04:00

Great turnout tonight at the opening of Westport Arts Center's "Summer" juried members' exhibition.

Work in Progress: The Road, Co. Donegal

2010-08-05T22:55:00.000-04:00

Have been working on an oil painting from a photo I took years ago in Ireland. I'm not quite happy with it, so I opened a picture of it in Photoshop the other day to play with it a bit. Here's the current painting:

And here's what I think I'll do with it:

While the "current state" is more true to life (it was a gray winter day, after all), I think the more colorful version would make for a better painting. Thoughts?

Westport Arts Center "Summer" Show Opens this Friday

2010-08-04T22:53:00.000-04:00

If you're in the Connecticut area, please stop by Westport Arts Center this Friday, Aug. 6, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for the opening reception of the juried members' show, "Summer," curated by Alexandra Munroe, senior curator of Asian art at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Included in the show is my oil painting, "AC Lifeguard." The show runs through Sept. 12.

Two of my paintings are also currently in the Stamford Art Association's juried show, "Faraway Places," which runs through Aug. 26.

28th Worldwide Sketchcrawl: Newport, RI

2010-08-02T22:21:00.000-04:00

Did a solo sketchcrawl this time in Newport, RI. Spent a few hours working on a plein air watercolor painting of the 40 Steps from an overlook point on the Cliff Walk:

Later in the day, I sketched some scenes at Easton's Beach, which is where we had parked the car:

Saturday Sketches, aka Waiting for the Tide in Milford

2010-07-19T12:09:00.000-04:00

Had the bright idea (thanks, Connecticut magazine!) of heading to Milford on Saturday morning with our kayaks before the heat got too intense, to explore the Charles Wheeler Wildlife Management Area -- basically, the salt marshes. It's a gorgeous place -- calm waterways and lots of birds and other creatures to gawk at along the way. We set off around 9:30 or so, scooting our kayaks through a few feet of mud before getting to the water.

I took some pictures with my camera and then decided to take out my little watercolor set and a waterbrush to capture M. paddling. Here's what I was able to do while bobbing along in the kayak and trying to keep from hitting the banks too frequently:

A few hours later, when we were through paddling (or so we thought) and wanted to head back, we realized that the few feet of mud had suddenly become several hundred feet of mud -- because of those pesky things known as the tides. Yep, we'd forgotten to check the tide charts.

I looked at maps of the area on my iPhone, but we couldn't find any other way to get back to the car. I finally pulled up a tide chart, and we found out that low tide had occurred at just after 10 a.m. So we'd have to kill at least a few hours before there would be enough water to get back to the car. And the sun was only getting higher in the sky, during a heat wave. Fab.

What to do? Well, we hitched our two kayaks together using a nametag lanyard from my Wharton reunion weekend (not sure why M. had this with him, but it sure came in handy) and M. paddled us along toward the (Route 1) Washington Bridge (figured it was better to wait near civilization and not in the marshes).

I took out my Lamy Safari pen and sketched in my kayak as he towed me (watercolor added later, in this case):

We stopped near the bridge to rest and stay in the shade, so I sat on the rocks and sketched a different perspective (again, watercolor added later):

Finally we paddled back past noon and had enough water to get back to the car -- though not without M.'s having to wade, nearly knee-deep, through several feet of thick, nasty-smelling mud!

Early morning, Shippan Point

2010-07-10T10:45:00.000-04:00

Tandem-biked on our bike & tag-along down to the end of Shippan Avenue early this morning before the cars came out; I took a camera, sketchbook and Lamy Safari pen along in the bike pannier.

Racing the Weather at Kent Falls State Park

2010-06-27T18:03:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we meandered up Route 7 toward Litchfield County, just because. It wasn't supposed to rain until late, or so said Weather.com. But as we passed around Lake Waramaug and took a long loop back toward Kent Falls State Park, the sky was threatening. I sketched the footbridge in pencil and took a photo for color notes; I used Arches Hot Press paper, which is a hit-or-miss experience. Then I sat by the waterfall and sketched in different media (NOT on the Arches paper but in a sketchbook). I tried dip pen and pencil but wasn't too happy with either, so I went back to my Lamy Safari for a last try. And then the sky opened up, so I had to pack up and go. (We did stop for handmade hazelnut ice cream at Belgique, of course, because, well, c'est necessaire!)

When I got home I added watercolor to both -- the footbridge painting has way, way too many layers of paint on it, and the tree shapes are bizarre. The other was a challenge because it's really hard to paint a waterfall.

How about you -- what tricks do you use with Hot Press paper and watercolor?

Shakespeare on the Sound - "Othello"

2010-06-27T17:46:00.000-04:00

Finally got a break in the weather and was able to go see "Othello" at Shakespeare on the Sound in Rowayton, CT. Was a bit rushed, so I sketched in fountain pen after eating a quick dinner from Rowayton Market and added color later on. The stage was ... different: a triangle-shaped pile of rubber gravel or something similar, in front of a raw plywood back board. Off to one side was a two-tiered catwalk. These modern interpretations are fine, and the actors really did a superb job -- but I would love to see a traditional, fully period-costumed version someday.

Getting away from it all in NYC?

2010-06-21T08:04:00.001-04:00

Another in my iPhone Brushes "Commuters" series. Think this one's more tourist than commuter though!

Sketchcrawl 27: Philadelphia, PA

2010-05-19T22:41:00.000-04:00

It was my B-school alumni reunion weekend, so I found myself in Philadelphia instead of New York/CT where I usually SketchCrawl. A friend and I met to sketch in Center City for a bit before I had to go to the Penn campus for reunion activities. Here are my two sketches from the day, drawn near Irving and Quince Streets.

They were both drawn with a Lamy Safari pen/Noodler's ink in Lexington Gray; the first was colored with various washes of Noodler's and Herbin inks, and the second with Pitt Artists markers.

New Mexico Sketchbook

2010-05-02T14:08:00.000-04:00

Took a spur-of-the-moment trip to New Mexico when our London trip plans fell through due to the Icelandic volcano. It was fabulous, though a bit colder than we had anticipated. It took a while to get adjusted to the weather and the high altitude, so I didn't end up taking my sketchbook out in Albuquerque. By the time we got to Santa Fe it had started to warm up a bit. I actually brought dip and bamboo pens and Higgins India ink along with me, so I used those to do a quick sketch of the plaza in Old Town, and used Caran d'Ache Neocolor water-soluble crayons for color:

From the same plaza area, I sketched a corner of the La Fonda hotel -- by this time I was getting a bit cold and the wind had started to pick up, so I wasn't getting the lines quite the way I wanted! I did like the new ink I'd bought, though, Noodler's Golden Brown, since it matched the color of the adobe-style architecture quite well.

Before I headed back to our inn, I stopped on a corner looking down Water Street and did another quick sketch of the buildings with the Sangre de Cristo mountains beyond.

We went on to Taos the next day, and stopped for lunch at Graham's Grille:

Dinner that night was at Joseph's Table, with its dreamy ambience and antiques-festooned interior. Reminded me a bit of ABC Carpet & Home.

Sketching in Central Park: Conservatory Garden

2010-04-11T22:28:00.000-04:00

Joined the Central Park Sketching Meetup Group on Saturday at the Conservatory Garden to draw for a few hours.

Spring Weather: Warren Street, Hudson, NY

2010-03-22T09:32:00.000-04:00

First day of spring, spent browsing through antiques stores in Hudson, NY. Kudos to the town for mostly keeping out the chain stores on Warren Street. And what a long, walkable, shoppable street it is. Finally walked down to the river on this visit; next time will have to check out some of the side streets, plus the other area towns.

Sunday Sketches: A Curling Experience

2010-03-03T08:06:00.000-05:00

Every four years, people suddenly rediscover an interest in the somewhat obscure sport of curling. They watch the hypnotic, focused rock-throwing-and sweeping (this year, after the market close on CNBC each day) and wonder how hard it could be and whether it should be in the Olympics at all. Well, whenever those questions start, Bridgeport's Nutmeg Curling Club stands ready to answer. It's apparently one of two curling clubs in Connecticut, with members who love curling and love to talk about it. Which is a good thing, because at their open house this past Sunday, the line of people waiting for a "curling experience" ($10 for 25 minutes of ice time) stretched out the door. We stood shivering in the doorway and listened to them talk about the rocks (granite, last 50+ years, 42 pounds each), the brooms (often microfiber, fairly inexpensive), and the shoes (OK to curl in sneaks but the pros have Teflon soles on theirs). When we finally got out on the ice, we found that yes, it's much harder than it looks to push a 42-pound chunk of granite across pebbled ice while twisting the handle the right way; and yes, it's equally difficult to sweep sideways and shuffle forward while not touching the moving rock and not tripping over other rocks.

Yes, there's a reason it's in the Olympics.

26th Worldwide Sketchcrawl: New Haven, CT

2010-02-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

Four of us met up at New Haven Green for Sketchcrawl yesterday There wasn't much snow on the ground anymore, but it was still a bit chilly so we headed to the Yale Center for British Art to start things off.

I began with a pencil drawing of a Yale University archway, drawn from one of the windows in the Center. I colored it later with watercolors and Pitt Artists markers.

Next, I sketched some of the objects (as well as a fellow SketchCrawler drawing) in the Center's exhibit "Promiscuous Assemblage, Friendship, & The Order of Things." It's an eclectic collection of skeletons, butterflies, curios and art -- it's what might inspire a store like Anthropologie's decor.
Apparently there's a sister exhibit at the Sir John Soanes Museum in London, which I hope to see when I'm there in a few months. (These were drawn in a Muji kraft paper notebook with a Lamy Safari pen/Noodler's ink in Lexington Grey, highlighted with a white Sakura Gelly Roll gel pen and colored with Pitt Artists markers and Caran d'Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons.)

Two of us then stopped to get some tea and then headed to the Yale University Art Gallery across the street. I drew a late 19th/early 20th century Suku mask from Congo, which is in the Laura + James J. Ross Gallery of African Art, and then a view of the gallery space.

Since the gallery was closing at 5, we headed over to Geronimo, a favorite restaurant on Crown St., and sketched while we waited for the other members of our party to join us for dinner. We watched the bartenders and staff preparing for the evening rush of customers, and then I sketched some of the customers at the bar.

Sketching the Olympics from TV

2010-02-22T15:53:00.000-05:00

I was inspired by Jennifer Lawson's EDM challenge sketches of Olympic athletes, so I decided to try some myself while watching the games.

First up was ski cross. Since I had recorded the afternoon's broadcast to watch at night, I paused the action and sketched the athlete on the left as he was doing some stretches to warm up. The sketch on the right was done "live" without the pause on -- much harder since these people absolutely zoom down the slopes!

Here are more ski cross sketches done from "live action":

Next I tried my hand at biathlon -- again, all done from the action except the one on the far right, where I paused the recording to get a good look at his shooting stance.

I then switched media and took out the dip pen and ink, for some quick studies of the downhill portion of the super combined:

And finally, an impression of U.S. ice dancers Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates skating their original dance program:

Island Time: Bahamas Sketches and Paintings

2010-02-03T21:21:00.000-05:00

Just got back from a six-day painting workshop trip to Elbow Cay, one of the "out islands" in the Bahamas. The workshop was taught by Susan Abbott, a wonderful artist and teacher whose sketchbooking workshop I had taken last year at the Art League in Alexandria, VA. We stayed at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge, and spent hours each day ogling the Atlantic, painting the lovely pastel-colored houses en plein air, and just watching the fronds of palm trees sway back and forth. I went snorkeling at the coral reef just off the hotel's beach, rode a golf cart to Tahiti Beach at the other end of the island, and climbed up the stairs of the island's iconic mechanically operated lighthouse. While the food options were a bit limited (there are only a handful of restaurants on the island, and anything stocked in the small "grocery" stores has to be ferried in), the views and weather more than made up for it.

We started off with a few quick sketches as we took a walk through Hope Town:

Then I set up my easel on the beach and did this larger painting:

As I walked through town, I'd spotted a bright red shutter on the firehouse and decided to paint that:

Here's a quick sketch of the water as seen from a bench on a bluff overlooking the beach:

And here's an alley in town, sketched at twilight:

When we went to Tahiti Beach, we came upon a group of kiteboarders with their colorful equipment. I had to work fast to capture them:

And here's a quick sketch of that beach:

A color study of a wall in town:

On our last day of painting, the weather wasn't very cooperative. I started this painting on the beach as the sun rose, but finished it under the hotel's awning as a torrential rain set in.

We did a color study exercise; I worked on this while waiting for the paint on my other work to dry:

The rain eventually subsided, and we sat at the Harbor's Edge restaurant and painted after lunch. It's not quite clear what time of day it is in this painting, as I made the sky rather too dramatic!

Mystic workshop sketches, part two

2010-01-22T09:18:00.000-05:00

Here are more sketches done during the three-day workshop I took in Mystic, CT. First, more of the sea shanty singers...

And finally, a caricature of an old gentleman looking at books on the neat, curvy bookshelves at the Seaport bookstore:

Mystic workshop sketches, part one

2010-01-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the results from the 3-day workshop I took at Mystic Seaport two weeks ago. Unfortunately it was very cold that weekend, plus it turned out that the rest of the class members weren't new to this and had been working on longer-term projects at Mystic, so it wasn't quite what I expected. Still, I suppose it did force me to draw for three days, so there's that.

We were supposed to document the restoration of the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan, but there weren't a whole lot of people working on it over the weekend.

I sketched this one from the warmth of the bookstore:

And this from inside the reception building (anything to stay warm!):

Perhaps the highlight of the weekend was a community sea-shanty sing, held in the German club building across from the Seaport. One after another, people young and old of all shapes, sizes and facial hair abundance got up and sang traditional sea songs ... and the audience couldn't help but join in the fun.

Apres-Skate

2009-12-30T08:49:00.000-05:00

After 40 minutes of getting the blood flowing by racing around Terry Conners rink in Stamford (dodging hockey tykes and those ridiculous walkers they use to teach kids to skate these days), I went up to the bleachers with my not-so-loved Moleksine sketchbook (I cannot WAIT till I'm through with this sketchbook, it's like drawing on a manila folder) and did a few chilly drawings. I know, some people do very well on these pages and use watercolor and dish soap to make it work. It's just not for me.

(Lamy Safari with Noodler's ink in Lexington Gray; colored with Faber Castell Pitt Artist markers.)

Happy holidays ... and a look ahead to the new year!

2009-12-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

As the first snowfall of the season starts melting away, I thought I'd share a little of what I've been up to over the past month... and what I'm looking forward to. First, here's a peek at what I've been up to while conspicuously neglecting my sketchbook:

That's my take on Ann Budd's Knit Father Christmas design, finished just in time to display in our house for the holidays. And right now I'm frantically knitting a sweater for my 6-year-old niece (hopefully it will be done by the 25th)!

But while I'm knitting and purling my way toward repetitive stress injury, I'm also packing my gear for two very exciting workshops I'm attending next month. The first will be a reportage workshop at Mystic Seaport from the folks at Dalvero Academy/Studio 1482. It promises to be intense, cold and a bit crazy. (Fingerless gloves? Check.) The second is a plein air workshop in the Bahamas, taught by Susan Abbott. The lightweight easel I've ordered from Judsons Art Outfitters is (according to UPS) slowly making its way across the country. I'll have to be careful not to pack too much for this trip, as part of the journey involves a small propeller plane. And in the middle of all this, I'm hoping to get a quick roadtrip in to the middle of Pennsylvania to see friends and learn to ski! Whew!

Hope everyone has a fabulous holiday and a very happy new year!

Sketchcrawl Results

2009-11-29T10:06:00.000-05:00

I know this is a week late, but as the weather gets colder I find myself getting busier!

We started our crawl in Chelsea Market near the Chelsea Wine Vault, with a good-sized crowd for once:

For this next one, I used a dip pen that I'd bought in New Orleans, along with Higgins India ink. It was the first time I used a dip pen "out in the field," so to speak. Surprisingly it wasn't too hard to handle the bottle, ink, paper towels, etc.

Then a bunch of us moved on to the High Line:

After that I left the group to meet up with M. and have lunch. All in all, it was a good crawl!

25th Worldwide Sketchcrawl is Nov. 21!

2009-11-20T09:21:00.000-05:00

Get out your sketchbooks, paints, and pens ... it's time once again for Sketchcrawl. This one marks five years of Sketchcrawling around the world!

New Orleans Sketchbook

2009-11-18T16:57:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when the weather is beautiful and you're in a new city, it's really hard to stop and sketch ... you just want to keep walking all over and seeing all you can!

Here's a quick sketch looking down Chartres St from near Jackson Square in the French Quarter. The balconies and buildings cast a ton of shadows everywhere.

Here's a look down the opposite side, still from a bench near Jackson Square.

And here's a super quick sketch dashed off while waiting for the Magazine Street bus, colored with Faber Castell Pitt Artists pens later:

E, I, E, I, O...

2009-11-04T14:24:00.000-05:00

'Tis the season for apple-picking ... or at least, it was. After reading the recent feature on apple orchards in Connecticut magazine, I wanted to go sample the harvest for myself. So we set out for Easton a few weekends ago, to a place called Silverman's Farm. When we got there, we found out that apple picking had ended for the season, though families were still mobbing the place for pumpkins and tractor rides. (Tractor rides are like hayrides without the hay, as we came to find out -- at least we got to ride up the hill through the apple orchard and see the view from above.)

It was a typical autumn "country" scene -- kids and parents quaffing cider in little single-serve sippy cups, toddlers trudging around with gourds bigger than their heads, strategically piled bales of hay, the whole works. But somehow the whole thing reminded me of what Ada Louise Huxtable wrote about in The Unreal America -- nothing was quite, well, genuine. The pumpkins weren't attached to anything -- selecting them from where they sat on the ground was really no different than selecting them from a bin in front of the supermarket. Most of the edibles, jams and jellies in the small market weren't made on the premises; they were made "for" the farm, as the labels indicated, by some wholesaler who made them for lots of similar farm stores. And I believe they even had stuff from that standby specialty brand of all "country" stores, Maine's Stonewall Kitchen (usually found next to their Ohio-based gourmet-foods cousins from Robert Rothschild Farm). I certainly understand why they sell all this stuff, but part of me wishes that these places still actually produced everything (or most of their wares) and didn't have to rely on all the wholesale private-labeled stock. There's no point in shopping at a destination if all I find there is the same stuff I've seen elsewhere with a different label slapped on.

Still, it was a lovely fall day, and I ended up dashing off some super-quick sketches of the animals in the farm's petting zoo.

Drawing Boats at Mystic Seaport

2009-10-05T21:18:00.000-04:00

Took a drawing class this weekend called "Anatomy of the Boat" at Mystic Seaport, taught by J. Susan Cole Stone of the Mystic Art Center. It was meant to be mostly plein air, but Saturday's relentless rain drove us all indoors. We started off with sketches of catboats in a small building:

During a very brief break in the weather, we sat by the water and drew the little wooden rowboats (dories, I believe):

But sure enough, the rain started up again; I chose to go with some of the class to the youth education building, from which we could see the sailing class getting ready for a race. Sketched the sailboats quickly with pencil and Pitt markers:

Sunday proved to be much sunnier. Started off with a pencil sketch of the Liberty:

Then it was back to the little dory boats -- this time I tried out a very rough watercolor paper and added watercolor (yes, I know, the boat in the foreground shouldn't be quite so pointy):

Finally, I used a small box of watercolor pencils for this sketch of the Breck Marshall; probably not the best medium, but I made do:

Portland, OR, Sketchbook

2009-10-01T10:10:00.000-04:00

Spent much of last week in Portland, Oregon, attending the AASFE (American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors) annual conference. Spent the weekend taking in the sights in and around the city. Here's a quick one done while waiting for dessert at the restaurant clarklewis, colored later with watercolors.

This one looks up Oak Street in Hood River, where we stopped for lunch during our driving tour of the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood. The weather could not have been more perfect the entire time we were in the state!

SketchCrawl #24 - Governors Island

2009-09-20T10:45:00.005-04:00

This time, the NYC group chose Governors Island as the SketchCrawl venue. The weather could not have been more perfect!!
Before heading down there for the SketchCrawl meet-up near Castle Williams, stopped at Republic on Union Square for some pad thai. Sketched the view looking north toward 18th Street while waiting:

Since M had brought along his folding bike, we rode with the bicyclists on the ferry going over to Governors Island. The boat was packed with people and their two-wheelers:

There was a festival on the island. These sculptures loomed over the tents and people:

I set up my folding stool in a patch of shade near Castle Williams and sketched the view of the Manhattan skyline beyond:

As I took the ferry back to Manhattan, I sketched the bright red structure above the ferry dock:

It was a very fun SketchCrawl day indeed!

24th Worldwide Sketchcrawl is on Sept. 19!

2009-09-17T10:02:00.002-04:00

Join your local group or go sketching on your own. Check out the forum and get your sketching gear out!

Main Street, Millerton, New York

2009-09-07T11:11:00.001-04:00

Biked the 10 miles on the Harlem Valley Rail Trail from the Metro-North station in Wassaic, NY, to Millerton, NY, yesterday, and sat on the bench in front of the Harney & Sons tea shop to sketch this view. Unfortunately the area was a bee magnet, so I had to get up several times to fend them off! Drawn with Koh-I-Noor Nexus Studio pen (which I'm not crazy about) in Fabriano Quadrato Artist's Journal and colored with Faber-Castell Pitt Artist brush pens.

Welcoming September at the High Line

2009-09-07T09:31:00.004-04:00

Took advantage of a half-day at work to visit the High Line, the new park that's been created from old rail lines above Manhattan's West side. It's truly a magical place. While I was there sketching, I saw another artist doing a plein-air painting and dozens of amateur photographers capturing every vista.
I used my usual Lamy Safari/Noodler's Lexington Gray ink to draw, and then experimented with my latest acquisition -- a host of Caran d'Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons. I'm still getting the hang of them, but I like the intense color they produce.

Maine sketchbook

2009-08-23T11:35:00.010-04:00

Woke up early to watch the sun rise from the summit of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.

Sat on the rocks near Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse to paint this one:

This is a lobster boat as seen from an overlook on the Ocean Path in the park:

A quick sketch of Main Street in the town of Southwest Harbor:

Here's Jordan Pond, as seen from the Jordan Pond House Restaurant in the park. (I thought their famous popovers with jam were good but not amazing.)

A super-fast sketch of some boats in Bar Harbor:

And a gazebo, sketched from the same vantage point but on the other side of the park bench I was sitting on:

The flat rocks in the park made it easy to sit and sketch for long periods of time. Here's a look at some park tourists gazing at the ocean at Thunder Hole:

And again, from the same vantage point but looking right instead of left:

I took a lot of different materials with me, so several of these were experiments. I used my usual Lamy Safari with Noodler's ink but also Pitt Artists pens, watercolors and other ink; I used my Moleskine watercolor sketchbooks, Arches hot-pressed watercolor paper, and Strathmore cold-pressed watercolor paper.

Family weekend in Mystic

2009-08-11T20:31:00.004-04:00

I'm always the type who takes a bunch of activities to a weekend away. This time, I brought along my sketching stuff, some books to read, and my knitting. I didn't knit a stitch, and read about two lines, but I did manage to get some drawing in. I sketched the dock at twilight, even though the colored pencil shading makes it look earlier in the day. Then I sat on the deck sketching family members who had gathered around the table for a card game.

Monuments, museums, meals in the nation's capital

2009-08-05T22:18:00.006-04:00

Visiting D.C. feels like coming home -- a home that has changed a great deal since I left, of course, but somehow is still comfortingly familiar.

Saturday night, we had dinner at Oyamel, in Penn Quarter, where the made-to-order guac and tiny tacos are heaven...

Dinner on Sunday night -- just as delicious -- was at Agraria Farmers & Fishers on the Georgetown waterfront, which is all about seasonal, sustainable ingredients. Yes, it was originally conceived by the North Dakota Farmers' Union, a provenance that seems a bit odd for Georgetown (but not so odd for D.C.)

(Lamy Safari/Noodler's ink & watercolors; Faber-Castell Pitt Artist's pen & Staedtler Aquarell watercolor pencils.)

Music in a garden at Caramoor

2009-07-27T13:36:00.003-04:00

Went out to Caramoor yesterday afternoon -- it's a lovely Mediterranean-style villa surrounded by beautiful gardens in Katonah, N.Y. We strolled around the gardens and listened to the music of pianist Vladimir Feltsman.

(Lamy Safari w/ Noodler's ink in Lexington Gray, Winsor & Newton artists' watercolors, and Staedtler Karat Aquarell watercolor pencils in Holbein Multi-Drawing sketchbook.)

Boats, Swans and a Bridge

2009-07-21T11:39:00.005-04:00

Yes, I know I haven't posted in some time, but I have been sketching!
Here are a few sketches done over the Fourth of July weekend in Mystic, CT. There was a man attempting to put up a sail, and as he kept circling around the same area while doing so, it gave me an opportunity to get the major shapes down.

I also liked the way an abandoned boat looked, aground on the shore, so I added a sketch of that as well.

Some swans decided to sun themselves on the little beach near my in-laws' house:

And this is a super-fast sketch done this past Saturday while sitting on the Lambertville, NJ, side of the bridge that takes pedestrians and cars across to New Hope, PA:

(Lamy Safari/Noodler's ink in Lexington Grey; colored later with Staedtler Aquarell watercolor pencils.)

A Midsummer Night's Dream in Rowayton

2009-06-28T15:25:00.008-04:00

At long last, the Perpetual Rain Machine let up and we were able to go see this year's Shakespeare on the Sound performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in Rowayton's Pinkney Park. It was a very entertaining performance -- the actors seemed well cast and the music by Stew was very cool. Looks like the new artistic director is already making her mark! The raked stage definitely brought the actors closer to the audience, though our vantage point wasn't the best for scenes that took place under the trees. I sketched the stage and audience while we waited for the play to begin, and then quickly drew impressions of the various characters as they danced, crawled and shimmied through their parts.

Vacant Building, South End

2009-06-27T10:20:00.003-04:00

There are several vacant buildings in Stamford's South End -- long abandoned former factories and such. I've been wanting to sketch them before they're all razed for the new Fairway-and-condo complex, and I finally went out this morning to do it. Instead of my usual Moleskine, I tried out a sample pad of Bristol board. Surprisingly it takes watercolor quite well.

(Lamy Safari w/ Noodler's Lexington Gray ink and waterclors on Strathmore 300 Series smooth Bristol.)

Music to keep the Hudson clean: Clearwater Festival

2009-06-22T10:02:00.009-04:00

It's been raining pretty much every day here for the past several weeks, so we were a little apprehensive about going to the Clearwater Festival in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., yesterday. It's an annual extravaganza to preserve the Hudson River, headlined this year by Pete Seeger, Jay Ungar, Arlo Guthrie, and Taj Mahal, among others. But we went anyway, and the sun did come out, at least for short periods of time, so it wasn't a complete washout. The sudden showers did prove to be a challenge, however, for sketching -- it was a race against time to complete a drawing before the large, splashy drops began, announcing the next downpour.
I took along my large Moleskine watercolor sketchbook, which I haven't used a lot lately, and I wasn't too pleased with the way watercolors handled on it -- odd, I know, because presumably it's exactly the same paper as in the smaller version, which I use all the time.

(Lamy Safari w/ Noodler's Lexington Gray ink and watercolor in large Moleskine watercolor sketchbook; last one done with Pentel brush pen and colored with Faber-Castell Pitt artists' pens.)

A peek at Green-Wood Cemetery

2009-06-18T12:34:00.004-04:00

I'd always wanted to visit Green-Wood Cemetery, in Brooklyn, and got an excuse to do so on Saturday. We had a quick, surreptitious picnic on the grounds with friends and then walked about for a bit afterward since it wasn't raining just yet. Green-Wood is the resting place of such notables as Leonard Bernstein, Boss Tweed, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Louis Comfort Tiffany. It's vast (478 acres) -- would love to go back there sometime to explore it more thoroughly.

(Lamy Safari with Noodler's ink in Lexington Grey; watercolor added later.)

Sun and Sand in St. Thomas, USVI

2009-06-08T21:39:00.005-04:00

Just got back from a long weekend visiting friends in St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands). Did a lot of snorkeling, but had time to do a few quick sketches. Here's one of Hull Bay (yes, the water really is as turquoise as it looks in brochures):

And one that I drew while waiting for lunch to be served at a waterfront restaurant in Charlotte Amalie:

Here are some people relaxing at a picnic table at Magens Bay -- often thought to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

(Lamy Safari with Noodler's ink in Lexington Grey and watercolors in Holbein Multi-Drawing sketchbook.)