A local resident commissioned me to paint an 11x14 watercolor of the downtown Stamford area. I did two versions in slightly different styles: one in watercolor with some watercolor pencil details and the other in an ink-over-watercolor technique.

Here's version 1:



And here's version 2:



I rarely paint the same scene twice, so this was an interesting experience. The second one felt more spontaneous - it was as if my hand had "learned" the structure of the scene.

The resident chose version 1. Which style do you prefer?

Reposting a sketch I did several years ago of a caricaturist in Paris, on this day of tragedy.

... we did not use milk crates to steady ourselves on the ice. We just balanced on our blades and figured it out. Apparently today's kids need walker-style skate trainers, makeshift milk-crate towers lashed together with wire ties, and all kinds of other aids. Sigh. It was much more fun to sketch at Washington Trust Community Skating Center in Westerly, RI, than to dodge their crates.

It was so warm over Christmas that I sat on the bench outside Bank Square Books to capture the downtown Mystic scene.