I've finally been to Las Vegas! Only for 24 hours, for a work offsite, but still. Was able to squeeze in dinner at the Cosmopolitan, a stroll past the Bellagio fountains, and a jaunt through the Canal Shops at the Venetian.

My colleagues and I stayed at Lucky Dragon hotel, which seems to be headed for foreclosure. The windows were all tinted red, but I had a lovely (rose-colored?) view of the mountains.

The Bay Area Models' Guild hosts drawing marathons from time to time. They offer several rooms, with a variety of models both clothed and nude. Poses range from a few minutes to several hours long. Last week they held a marathon at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

I joined them for a few hours during the morning session.







Afterward, I stopped into Readers Bookstore (operated by Friends of the San Francisco Library) where I found some classic art technique books by Alwyn Crawshaw, John Blockley, and Charles Reid. Of course I also popped into Flax Art next door.

On the way home, I sketched a few of the hilly city streets from the car.

So inspiring to march (and sketch) with the throngs of women in downtown San Jose!



Naturally, I brought along all my pink and purple pens and colored pencils. ;)



Did you march today?

Was commissioned last year to do a watercolor of a dearly departed cat. I don't often sketch pets, even from photos, so this was an opportunity to get out of the comfort zone.

Painted en plein air at Sand City Beach near Monterey, CA, on New Year's Day. Yes, it was that warm here!

M. got us tickets to last weekend's ice dancing free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships here at the SAP Center in San Jose. It was such a treat to watch it live and sketch the action.

Happy 2018, everyone! I've always been inspired by artists' new year posts, with their tidy summaries of the previous 12 months plus eye-popping teases of future projects.

I won't bore you by reliving 2017, but I will share five goals for the upcoming year. (Why "five"? 'Cause clickbait.)

1. Work out loud. I like to draw and I like to write, so it should be easy to write about drawing, right? Sort of like doing a demo at a workshop? I actually don't do it as naturally as you might think; it doesn't occur to me to publicize what I'm doing while I do it, so this is something I'd like to work on over this year. I'd like to share more about how I choose subjects, materials I use, etc.

2. Stick to a routine. I'm not bad at squeezing random solo sketching time into my life (I mean, that's what my Craftsy class is all about). But I'm lucky to have a ton of opportunities for sketching and painting in my area, so I'd like to take advantage of them more regularly. I need to commit - whether it's to a monthly Monday-night life-drawing session or a weekend paintout/sketching meetup.

3. Be prolific. I've wanted for a while to create a themed body of work (such as for a gallery show). This I hope is the year I do it!

4. Go broad. I have a lot of art supplies in my studio. Why don't I use them? Inertia. This year I want to go beyond my minimalist, familiar daily carry of pen/sketchbook/watercolors. Let's find out what all that other stuff can do!

5. Go big. I tend to work small -- in sketchbooks or on compact plein air panels. In 2018, I'm challenging myself to do larger work in the studio. To get inspired, I've signed up for Michael Azgour's Abstract Figurative Painting workshop at Pacific Art League.

What are your goals for the new year?