My mixed media works "Off the Menu" and "Rain Date" have been accepted into the Rowayton Arts Center's Focus Under 40 juried exhibition. Please stop by the opening reception, 4 to 6 pm on Sunday, June 1.

Took the kayaks out for the first time this season. We paddled farther than usual around our peninsula, getting quite close to Stamford Harbor Ledge Lighthouse. Next time I'll have to take the anchor with me so I can sketch it. As it was a clear day, we could see the Manhattan skyline in the distance.

M. towed me on the way back so I could sketch.



Long Island Sound provided all the water I needed -- but I had to be careful not to lose my brush in the drink!

A few photos of yesterday's live sketch event at the Moleskine store at Time Warner Center in New York. Jason Das and I sketched, talked to people about Urban Sketchers and helped people get more comfortable with drawing.

A quick warm-up sketch on the train going to NY:



Here's Jason talking about techniques:



A young sketcher is completely focused on her drawing:



People on the escalator going to Whole Foods:



Shoppers, as motionless as mannequins, on the upper floor looking down over the lobby:



It was lots of fun, and we met a lot of great people! Will post more when I get scans of the sketches.

Need weekend plans? Meet Jason Das, Richard Alomar, Josiah Hanchett and me at Moleskine's New York City Stories event this Saturday, May 17. Jason and I will be sketching at Moleskine's Time Warner Center (Columbus Circle) kiosk store and Richard and Josiah will be sketching at the Soho store.

To prepare, last weekend I tried out the Moleskine Art Plus Sketch Album to get comfortable with its smooth 81 lb paper.

In general I found that dry media worked beautifully, as advertised. Colored pencils, Noodler's Lexington Gray ink in a fountain pen, Pitt pens, Pigma Micron pens, Neocolor II crayons, etc. love this paper. Get any amount of water on it, however, and it's a different story -- the paper buckles and little dashes appear that don't go away even when dry.

I did find, however, that gesso or a layer of acrylic paint on the page created a decent ground for applying water-based media. Shellac-based ink splashes were fine, too.

Here's my "media sampler":