Wow, can't believe that PACE16 is just a memory! It was three intense days of learning, watching, sketching, painting, networking, and shopping.

We flew into Phoenix the evening of Friday, April 15, and drove down to Tucson that night. Saturday morning's lineup included Matt Smith's demonstration. He showed us how to use the palette knife to scratch out branches in the foreground, and how to use a bit of red with white for the highlights on saguaro cacti.

At lunch, I met Heather Goldstein, a vice president at Jerry's Artarama. We talked about how rare it is to find people who are both art- and business-savvy.

As I relaxed on the patio at the Hilton El Conquistador I sketched Pusch Ridge in my Stillman & Birn Gamma sketchbook, with a tiny set of watercolors and a waterbrush.



While I was browsing the paintings displayed for sale in the hall, I met Randall Sexton and we chatted about the painting workshop he's offering at Carquinez Strait, through Arts Benicia. I've been thinking about signing up.

I skipped the afternoon's paintout on the grounds of the hotel; M. and I went to Saguaro National Park instead and then went out for a delicious dinner at Cafe Poca Cosa in downtown Tucson. The park was otherworldly -- so many towering cacti! Now I see why cartoons of cacti look the way they do.



In addition to my Stillman & Birn, I also took along the Bee Pen Sketcher's sketchbook I've been playing with. While it does OK with ink and wash, it didn't really love a combination of Crayola Twistable colored pencils and watercolor. This was a quick sketch I did of the desert plantlife behind the Hilton.



I did a lot of thumbnails during the trip, working out compositions for potential acrylic studies.



Sunday's convention highlight was easily the portrait demo by Jove Wang. With seemingly random strokes he dashed off a likeness of the sitter that was full of life. I challenged myself to do a quick sketch of him painting with just a waterbrush and watercolors -- no pencil or pen first.



From the resort, you can see quite far into the distance -- tried to capture it with ink and wash between conference sessions.



The evening's paintout was at Catalina State Park. I had only about an hour to paint, since I wanted to get back to the hotel for the urban sketching demo by Tim Oliver and Richard Sneary.



It was challenging to keep the acrylics workable even though I was in the shade of the car. The tiny canvas size meant I couldn't use huge brushes, so that made everything fiddly.



Monday I did another watercolor sketch of the view of Oro Valley from the Hilton.



I spent quite a bit of time at the expo, figuring out what I would buy. As I mentioned in the last post, I'd had my eye on a Strada easel, so I decided to spring for the Mini version. I also got an Easyl tripod to go with it, and picked up various odds and ends at other vendors: the RayMar panels and wet panel carrier, a Rosemary & Co. travel sable watercolor brush, some brushes from Trekell and Judson's, an Easel Brush Clip, etc. Golden Artist Colors kindly gave me a few free tubes of their OPEN acrylic paint to supplement the ones I'd brought.

While everyone else went off to paint Old Tucson, M. and I went to Picacho State Park, where I set up my new easel and tripod. I used the Golden OPEN acrylics on a RayMar panel. (The painting I did there is at the top of this blog post.)



The views were beautiful and it would have been great to stay longer, but we had to get to Phoenix for dinner with M.'s cousin and to check into our airport hotel. But -- one last putting of pen to paper: on the way to Phoenix, I sketched some quick studies of the highway.



It's amazing that these desert landscapes are just a short plane ride away now. I still haven't seen (or painted) the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Scottsdale -- so many more places to explore on our next AZ adventure!

You might recall that the last time I attended the Plein Air Convention & Expo it was in Monterey, California. Last year we were in the middle of moving, so even though it was an hour away I couldn't attend. This year it's being held in Tucson, Arizona -- a state I've never been to! So I'm very excited to be going to the land of ... um, jumping cacti and scorpions and javelinas, oh my!

OK, I need to stop frightening myself by reading the posts from locals on the convention Facebook group. Focus on the painting. I've reread my notes from Monterey and made a checklist for myself.

My goals for the event?

Network. Meet potential Urban Sketchers symposium sponsors at the expo. Meet Randall Sexton, whose workshop I'm thinking of taking next month. Meet Tim Oliver and Richard Sneary, who are giving a talk on urban sketching.

Paint and sketch. Try plein air painting with Golden Open acrylics (will they work in the desert??).

Buy useful stuff. Possibly purchase a Strada easel, which I've had my eye on. Also some lightweight panels and a wet panel carrier.

See the town. I want to check out Saguaro National Park. Eat yummy food in downtown Tucson. Avoid the jumping cacti. And the scorpions, and javelinas....

Let's see how I do! (Oh, and the palm tree sketch at the top of this post was done from my backyard -- wanted to see how easily my existing easel setup would work for acrylics outdoors. It does the job, but it's a little clunky. Hence my desire for that Strada....)

Found this massive specimen in our backyard. Was it edible? Who knows -- but I wasn't going to take the chance.

M.'s grandmother, Lib Norris, was an institution at UConn. She was an avid gardener, maker of hatboxes, lover of birds, host of numerous family gatherings. She will be greatly missed. We had Hershey's Nuggets and UConn Dairy Bar ice cream in her honor.

I'm still working with the Bee Pen Sketcher's sketchbook, as we'll be using it for the Art in Action workshop I'm leading in a few months.

At a conference for work in Anaheim, California, I sketched some entertainers: a poet with a typewriter slung around his neck and a temporary tattoo artist. I colored it with the inexpensive Yarka semi-moist watercolors and Pentel Aquash waterbrush that we'll be using in the workshop.



Last weekend, I went to San Francisco and sketched David Best's temple in Hayes Valley. Again, I used the Yarka watercolors.

Several weeks ago, M. and I enjoyed a hike, picnic, and sketch excursion with artist Suhita Shirodkar and her family. It was fun to see the other part of the park that is right behind our back yard. At certain times we couldn't see anything except trees, the trail, and green hills all around us (and power lines, of course). It was nearly like being in Ireland.









Bonus: M. found a deer skull as we were hiking back to the parking lot. Will have to clean it up a bit before we decide whether to display it.

Here's Suhita's account of the day.

Just a few minutes from my office is a haven for birds -- Baylands in Palo Alto, connected via the Bay Trail to Shoreline at Mountain View. We biked along the trail, and I stopped to sketch. We saw stilts, ducks, egrets, and even two pelicans.

I was testing out Bee Paper's Pen Sketcher's pad, as I'll be using that in an upcoming workshop I'm running for Art in Action. I was pleased to see that it worked fairly well with a Sharpie pen, watercolors, and a waterbrush.

A few weeks ago, I was in New York for the Urban Sketchers Executive Board in-person meeting. We spent long hours in a small room at Pearl Studios near Penn Station, but we took a break from our strategy sessions to sketch with the Urban Sketchers New York City chapter.

We sketched at Brookfield Place (formerly the World Financial Center). The installation of luminaries among the indoor palms was striking; they changed color frequently.



A highlight of the weekend was our visit to the Picasso sculpture exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. I spent my time mostly looking, not sketching!

Wandered around downtown Santa Cruz and visited Lenz Arts while M. biked on his birthday weekend at the end of January.

I don't often aspire to make my own drawing materials, but I took a class in coptic bookbinding at TechShop San Jose a few weeks ago because I had a coupon. It's a great way to make lie-flat sketchbooks. There were just two of us in the class. We were provided precut paper and MDF covers and learned how to sew waxed thread across the signatures to create this secure binding.







I liked learning the technique and can see the advantage of using my own mix of papers, but I'll probably leave the sketchbook-making to the pros.

How about you? Have you ever made your own sketchbook?

What a gift to be able to drive a few hours to see nature's wonders in the relative quiet of winter. Sketched Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Fall as we exited the park.

We spent our first New Year's in California cooking, eating, and going to wineries with friends. On that Sunday, M and I capped off the holiday with a hike in Henry Coe State Park, where I just had to stop and paint this twisting, gnarled tree. Not a bad way to start 2016!

Spent Thanksgiving weekend in L.A. eating, shopping, and sketching. Can't wait to go back!

It's odd to live so close to Big Sur that we can go there on a whim. This is the view from Nepenthe, a cafe/restaurant that overlooks the water.

Thank goodness the month is over. My daily InkTober drawings often devolved into strange late-night surreal scribblings, as I'd ask M. to give me prompt words. Here are the remaining ones, just to close out this bizarre month:

I've been diligently drawing every day but just hadn't taken time to scan everything until today. So here's the massive catch-up post.

Last night M. and I had dinner at Pho 69 and checked out TechShop in downtown San Jose. In between I sketched the California Theatre, a '20s-era movie palace turned performing arts venue.



The day before, I drew the two trees and distant hills I see every day out our front door. They are tall and totemic and remind me that I am in California.



Finding InkTober subjects on busy weeknights was challenging until M. and I hit upon the idea of using word prompts (from vintage copies of Sunset magazine, found at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park) to inspire me to draw random things and tie them together.

M. thinks teacup-tuna-toilet-paper baby will go viral.



Me, I'm rooting for the Saltine desert.



It's hard to do it without any prompts -- I end up mostly drawing what's in front of me, and at 10 pm it starts with whatever I see in and around the mirrored bedroom closet doors.



Last Sunday M. and I rode our bikes at Viva Calle SJ, an open streets event in which miles of San Jose roads were closed to cars. I sketched at the Aztec dance demonstration by Tezkatlipoka Dance Group and then drew the cyclists who had gathered at the information tents at Parque de los Pobladores.