Robin Red Breast

5.5" x 7" gray Strathmore paper, Schaefer cartridge pen, watercolor paints, white colored pencil. Jan. 21, 2013.

I copied this from an artist on Nature Sketchbook blog, hers was much prettier, I liked her background better. It looked simple enough to try, yea right! I put mine on gray Strathmore paper, and used watercolor paints. The ink was NOT waterproof and ran when I got it wet, but it added nice gray shading to the wings and branch. I do like the gray paper though.

Watercolor Seed

5" x 8" journal page, watercolor paints. Jan. 18, 2013.

Just playing with my watercolor paints, I drew half circles of color, until I filled the width of the page, and added a few details, and flares on the outside. Then I added the green sprout and the roots to fill the page. A little bit of calligraphy on the facing page in brush and paints. It inspired me to carve in linoleum block a series of 4 seed and sprout stamps for printing on my fabric.

I stamped the four linoleum carvings onto the calligraphy page, I had to double stamp the black images, they were too light, the green shows up well. It will be fun to play with the stamps.

Pen Trial

5" x 8" journal page, various pens. Jan. 10, 2013.

Trial of several different pens that I bought at Dick Blic in Portland. The light gray did not even scan, and lots of tweaking in Photoshop would hardy bring it out. I used a Tombo ABT #947 Sepia which has a heavier line then the Prisma Color Premier, brush tip "B" the Prisma is also a more golden color. The Tombo #N75 in light gray, is very smooth and silvery gray with out having a metallic sheen. I got it to shade my pen drawings. The double ended calligraphy pen by "ZIG" has a black 5mm end and a 2mm tip at the other. I think the 5mm is too big, and the 2mm too small, but my husband wants to learn calligraphy, so we got it for him. I did the little coffee sketch off to the side to try the gray shading.

Clematis

5" x 8" journal page, pencil sketch, watercolor paint. Jan. 11, 2013.

Painted from my original photograph, of my neighbor Betsy's purple clematis. I kept trying to get deep dark colors in the background and shadows, but they dried a lot lighter than they looked when wet. I can see where good paints would make a real difference with this.

Fuchsia

5" x 8" journal page, pencil sketch, watercolor paints, Pigma pen. Jan 10-2013.

Painted from two of my original photographs, the delicate colors do not pick up very well, on the digital scanner. The border in the lower right corner is washed out.

Garden Cherub

5" x 8" journal page, pencil sketch, watercolor paints, Pigma pen. Dec 27, 2012.

Drawn and painted from my original photograph, wandering the neighborhood on my morning walks. He was just tucked back in the shrubs, peaking out at me.

Portland Trip

My Portland trip was not very productive, drawing wise. I had planned on doing a lot more, but life got in the way. Staying at the hospital with Charlie for a week was a draining experience. The first few days I was able to sneak off while he was sleeping, but downtown Portland did not encourage parking. I did find Chinatown, but it was quiet run down and I did not like the idea of walking around by myself. It was not alive and vibrant like San Francisco Chinatown, which I would take the subway and cable car to by myself. It rained the last few days and was COLD, so I did not go to the Zoo, and the Japanese Gardens like I had planned on, it was not conductive to being outdoors drawing. I did find Powell's book, a huge warehouse of new and used books, and I wanted Danny Gregory's book "Everyday Matters" but they did not have it :( So instead I got his, "Creative License")

Breakfast

5" x 7" drawing pad, mechanical pencil, colored pencils. Jan. 4, 2013.

I don't think I am finished with this one. I was going to add color to the wood grain table and write H2O on the bottle, and finish coloring the coffee cup. I may even go over it with ink. I mistakenly scanned it in black and white mode, so I am showing both versions. My hospital breakfast of cottage cheese, banana and coffee.

Man Eating Yogurt

5" x 7" drawing pad, mechanical pencil. Jan. 2, 2013.

This man sitting on a bench having yogurt for breakfast, at OHSU Hospital in Portland Oregon. He sat still long enough, that I got a rough sketch and was able to refine it, and add details, so I am very happy with it.

Through the Mirror

5" x 7" drawing pad, mechanical pencil. Jan. 1, 2013.

This started as a picture of the faucet, but I made it too small. So then it included the mirror, the towel dispenser and the bed and window blinds on the "Other side"

Sky Tram

5" x 7" drawing pad, mechanical pencil. Dec. 31, 2012.

A pencil sketch from the "Sky Bridge" between the VA Hospital, and OHSU Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Looking out at the building holding the "Sky Tram" there were NO straight angles on the buildings. The building on the left leans out at a curve, and the sky tram tower was strange angles as well, with curved roads and freeways, the view over downtown Portland across the river and neighborhoods fading into snow capped mountains in the far distance. It was a challenge to sketch.