Walked down to the beach yesterday, since it was 50 degrees. There weren't many people about -- just a few intrepid couples and families. I decided to try painting the pier, even though I only had my small set of watercolors and my waterbrush. It was chilly, so I had to hurry. I thought the first painting was too precious-looking and suffered from an attempt to put too much detail in, so I tried it again with a more abstract hand. I liked the effect, but it looks too Caribbean (perhaps I was subconsciously painting where I'd LIKE to have been).
































(Pencil and watercolors in small Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.)

Was looking for something to paint today, and decided to try a little interior subject. This brown velveteen couch was bought for a song at the Pottery Barn outlet in Riverhead, N.Y., a few years ago. I think it was meant to be part of a sectional, but it works wonderfully on its own in the space at the head of the stairs. The floral pillow covers are Marimekko; I brought one ready-made pillow case and several yards of complementary fabric back with me from Helsinki, Finland. I had originally bought them thinking they'd be great for a porch or garden room, but they add a welcome jolt of color to the upstairs.























(Pencil and Winsor & Newton artists watercolors on Arches hot press watercolor block.)

Stayed at the Land's End Inn in Provincetown, MA, during a little Cape Cod getaway. Lovely bed-and-breakfast with eclectic decor and gorgeous views. This was a clumsy attempt to capture the sunrise out of the window in our room. I don't think I've done a single painting I like in this Cotman watercolor spiral pad. (It must be the paper, not me, ha!)












And here is a stone head in the garden of the inn, also drawn while looking out the window:

Great little diner on Rte. 1 in Norwalk, with a nice long menu of breakfast items.

(Lamy Safari with Noodler's ink in Lexington Gray, with watercolor added, in Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.)

I was getting ready to post an elaborate excuse for why I haven't been sketching in a while, which included big freelance projects, nonprofits, the declining price of oil in the Middle East, and the major local-and-national distraction that is Travis ... but then, I took the early-but-full train to work today -- which meant I had to stand in the vestibule all the way. There was a woman sitting there with her dog on a leash, which made for fun -- if challenging -- sketching and watercoloring! So here it is. And please excuse the wobbliness, lack of proportion, etc. It's not easy to balance a sketchbook, pen, watercolor box and waterbrush on a swaying train.

(Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen, Pilot Varsity fountain pen and watercolors in small Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.)

Had to stand on the Metro-North this morning on my way to Harlem, so I took advantage of my vantage point in the train vestibule.

Quick iPhone sketch of another commuter. The train wasn't very full -- surprising because the roads are rather icy this morning.

Here's one from a few years ago -- drew this in June of 2007 while waiting for the M4 bus in Manhattan to go back downtown after visiting the Cloisters.

(Pentel brush pen in Moleskine watercolor sketchbook, with watercolors.)

Went on a drive to look for a snowy scene to sketch. Drove all over town before settling on Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in New York. There were lots of sledders on a big hill inside the park. It was a little hard to see from the parking lot, but it was warmer to sit in the car, so I tried my best to do what I could. It's not so easy to draw a snowy landscape in watercolor when the sky is completely overcast -- it's very hard to see any shadows at all. I even used white for what I hoped would be a gouache-y look, but no such luck. Had to pick out the details of the branches with a white colored pencil later.


(Winsor & Newton Artists watercolors in Cotman cold-pressed watercolor pad; details added in Berol Verithin white pencil.)

It was nice and warm in the office, but bitterly cold outside today in New York -- felt as if I'd gone through a wormhole and ended up in Quebec City again!

(Venus Velvet pencil, watercolors, and Lamy Safari pen with Noodler's ink in Lexington Gray, in Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.)

Went to dinner at Eos, a fairly new Greek restaurant in Stamford that we really like, last night. Sat at the bar, so I had a chance to do a quick sketch of the bartender and a few patrons.

(Pitt Artists pen, Superfine black and other colors, and Stabilo point 88 pens, in small Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.)

Met up with a group of sketchers at Grand Central Terminal in New York. Here are some of the sketches from the day:

Still getting used to drawing with my finger on a tiny screen, but it's getting easier. The nice thing is that the subject thinks you're playing a handheld electronic game or texting or something!

Here's what I'm thinking of taking along on Saturday's crawl:

• Winsor & Newton Artists watercolor metal sketching box
• Large Moleskine watercolor sketchbook
• Small Hand*Book sketchbook
• Lamy Safari pen, extra-fine nib, with Noodler's ink in Lexington Gray
  
• Black Pentel brush pen and Pentel Aquash waterbrushes
• Pitt Artists pens, superfine nib, in black, brown
• Derwent pencil box with assorted pencils
• Akashiya Sai watercolor brush pen set with carrying case, newly acquired at Kinokuniya
• Large green International Arrivals case to hold everything else
  
• camera
• folding stool, if I can

If you draw, paint, sketch, doodle, or whatever, come crawl with us! A bunch of us are meeting up at Grand Central Terminal in NYC at 11 AM at the big round information desk in the main hall. Yes, it's supposed to snow, but we won't let that stop us.

A sleeping commuter on Metro-North.

Got back yesterday from a whirlwind trip to Quebec City. It was much too cold to sketch a whole lot, but I did manage to get a few drawings in along the way. We spent a night at Dowds' Country Inn in Lyme, NH, on the way up, and had dinner in Norwich, VT, at Carpenter & Main:















Here's a sketch of one of the little pubs on Rue St-Jean in Quebec City, drawn from the cozy confines of the Mikes restaurant across the street:

















And here's a quick impression of Interstate 91, which we drove the entire length of each way -- (and through a snowstorm going up):

It's become a Christmas tradition -- when M's family goes to Christmas Eve mass at St. Patrick in Mystic, CT, I take my sketchbook along. The past two years, I did small watercolors of the stained-glass windows. This year, I tried my hand at the Madonna statue, among other subjects. Think I'll have to try again for a better likeness next year.

















































(Lamy Safari pen with Noodler's Ink in Beaver and Pitt artists pens in Moleskine sketchbook.)

Took M. to see Cirque du Soleil's "Wintuk" at Madison Square Garden last Sunday. We got there early, so I sketched the audience and curtain while we waited. The show was lots of fun -- with a lot of "bike-robatics," which M. loved.
















(Lamy Safari with Noodler's Ink in Beaver in Moleksine watercolor sketchbook; color added later with Faber-Castell Pitt artists' pens.)

On the way back from a quick trip to Nashville last week, had a stopover at the Charlotte, N.C., airport. Had dinner at Tequileria there, and just had time and energy for a quick sketch of its bar area.























(Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen, B tip, in black; colored later with same pens of various shades.)

Used Brushes app on iPhone to sketch a fellow commuter on the train yesterday.

Decided to go to River Cat Grill in Rowayton, CT, for dinner. We usually go there in the summertime, but we were pleasantly surprised to see a roaring fire and lovely holiday decor. Did a quick sketch in between courses, but decided that the Prismacolor Fine Line Marker and the Moleskine sketchbook just don't like each other. The lines were barely visible in the half-light of the restaurant. So I colored the sketch in Photoshop after scanning it in.

(Prismacolor Premier .005 sepia Fine Line Marker in Moleskine sketchbook; color added in Photoshop.)

This time, looking out the window & sipping tea at Grand Sichuan on Lexington Ave. When I added water to dissolve the watercolor pencil, I realized why a lot of people favor the waterproof Noodler's Ink colors. Apparently Beaver isn't one of them!

(Lamy Safari with Noodler's Ink in Beaver in Moleskine watercolor sketchbook; colored with Staedtler Karat Aquarell watercolor pencils.)

Brrrr! It's a chilly week in New York City. Popped into a Thai restaurant near my office for lunch yesterday -- Lemongrass Grill.















(Lamy Safari with Noodler's Ink in Beaver; colored with Staedtler Karat Aquarell watercolor pencils.)

Stopped in at an Obama celebration party at The Loft in South Norwalk and then headed to dinner at Match. The chickpea/garlic soup-and-spanakopita appetizer was delicious. Sketched the bar while waiting for our main course, which was pizza.
















(Lamy Safari with Noodler's Ink in Beaver in Moleskine watercolor sketchbook; colored later with Staedtler Karat Aquarell watercolor pencils.)

Went up to Keene, NH, for the annual Pumpkin Festival and to participate in the 20th Worldwide Sketchcrawl. No one else responded to the post from the area, so I did a solo crawl.

We stopped in Massachusetts to get some gas, so I did a quick sketch of the area:























Then we dropped our bags at a friend's house and walked to the Pumpkin Festival.



































There were lots of people bringing their pumpkins in to be registered and added to the total.













According to the Keene Sentinel, the final count was only 22,568, well short of the record. But considering the gray skies and threat of rain, the turnout was pretty good. Here are a few photos I took of the event.

Just got back from a trip to Houston, Texas. We stayed at the wonderful Hotel Zaza and ate at some of the city's best restaurants (thank you to the Chronicle writers and editors for their great recommendations!) Next time, we're definitely going to rent a car, but I think we did a good job seeing much of the city considering we had only our complimentary hotel drivers (available for trips within a 5-mile-radius) plus public buses, Metro rail, and two feet for transport. We shopped at the Galleria, walked from Upper Kirby all the way to Rice Village, looked in at Lot 8, rode the light rail to Reliant Stadium, and sampled some great food at Goode Company. Yesterday, while we waited for Hugo's to open (note: Best. Brunch. Ever.), we had coffee/tea at a cute cafe called Brasil, at Westheimer & Dunlavy, in the Montrose section of the city. They filled the cups so full that much of our beverages spilled onto our saucers, which were lined with napkins. So I used the wet napkins as my waterbrush-cleaners as I was sketching this. Unfortunately I don't think my watercolor picked up the lovely scent of orange spice tea, though! ;-)

Went to the Stamford Museum & Nature Center yesterday with M's parents & sister's family.

Went to one of the last Mets games at Shea. They did win that night. Yes, the players look like giants on the field in this sketch -- realized that as I was drawing them, and then, well, kept making them giants anyhow.

Took a half-day on Thursday for my birthday, and went to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Currently there's a Henry Moore exhibit going on, so there were lots of sculptures to see. It got fairly warm, so I sat on a bench and sketched for a bit.









On Saturday, M took me to the Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, NY. We had a picnic lunch before riding the tram around the 500-acre outdoor sculpture museum (and yes, once again saw several Henry Moore works).















Then we headed to another surprise destination: Mohonk Mountain House, in New Paltz, NY.
Sketched this while M rowed us around the lake in an old-school wooden rowboat. Felt very "Brideshead Revisited" indeed (coincidentally we'd gone to see the movie Friday evening). We then hiked up the Sky Top path to the lookout tower.

Went kayaking a few weeks ago and took some pictures of one of the small islands off the coast near our house. Decided to paint this from the photo, to practice coloring the stones. Not sure what these ruins on the island are from, exactly, or how old they are.