Cat Sitting

A cat I stay with while her owner is away is a muse 

for sketching & for French practice.

This kind of fast sketching 

(a cat's movements necessitate fast)

has been 1 of my favorite pastimes for years.

I love the focus, I love the observing. 

De temps en temps je reste avec un chat pendant l'absence

de sa personne. Elle est ma muse de dessin 

et une inspiration pour 

ma practique du français. 

C'est élémentaire mais c'est OK.

Luna est un minou gris aux yeux verts. Elle est douce est tranquille. Elle aime jouer, et câliner, elle aime s’asseoir sur mes gênoux. Elle ne miaule pas beaucoup, sauf avant son repas. Elle ronronne, elle se lave et elle se gratte. De temps en temps elle regarde la vue par la fenêtre. J’aime caresser Madame Luna et parler avec elle.

 

I can't Dance but I can Sketch

While healing from an injury I've been less active than usual. 

I especially miss my dancing. 

But having my art has been a saving grace. 

I've been sketching directly in my daily journal 

(InkPressions book, Tomoe River paper) more than ever. 

Sketching from observation is still so pleasurable, 

but I've also added memory sketching into my practice. 

Often it's a combination. 

Wishing you all a Holiday Season filled with beauty & kindness! 

Two Coastal Sketches: Early & Late Autumn

I spent a day on Mount Desert Island. 

Because it was full tourist season, 

I went to "the quiet side" of the island. 

That day was one of the most magnificent full color, 

ever changing weather, early autumn days I've ever experienced. 

This sketch was made sitting in my car, & it is from observation.

This late autumn sketch is more from memory.

On top of Mount Battie, looking out to Mount Desert Island.  

I had drawn a scant, scribbly sketch while there.

At home I started to add watercolor 

& because the ink lines were with non-waterproof ink 

they puddled & smeared 

& the image got lost. 

I was going to throw it away 

but decided to see it through. 

The final layer is colored pencil, 

bringing back some form & color.

The curious thing is that this imperfect sketch 

captured for me vividly what I experienced.

  

I am practicing more memory sketching these days.

It is challenging, but I'm enjoying it.

Quick Sketching After All these Years

 I haven't posted here consistently over the last few years.

But I have consistently sketched.

For years, especially QUICK sketches of people...while waiting in lines in stores or cafés... 

People  reading, or chatting make great subjects.

Simple, FAST line drawings, sometimes with added color from my notes & memory once I'm home. 

Why do I like to do it? 

Sketching is the vehicle that allows me to observe more carefully things of interest. 

( often for me that means sketching people.)  

Sketching focuses my energy, calms my hyperactivity. (Meditation!)

The tactile sensation of movement on paper while I'm

tuning into my surroundings.

All the senses working in harmony.

And as with these 2 recent, quick sketches, done in an

out of town café, 

it gifts me with a souvenir. 

Sketching While Waiting in the Car

 

 Sketching is my favorite  way to pass time

while waiting. My doctor lets me wait in my car, 

this was the view. But, drawing this car 

didn't come easily. So this is version #4,

done with the assist of an online photo.

Why was I persistent?

Just for the exercise of drawing.

The training & development of this skill is ongoing. 

Still Sketching After All These Years

 

I've been away from Sketchbook Wandering for awhile 

& I'm sorry. I've missed the camaraderie I enjoyed here.

This covid thing, the climate thing, & the unstable world thing have shaken up a lot of our lives. 

Sketching & recording in my paper journals continue to bring pleasure & meaning. 

I don't go out sketching as often as I used to 

(there is the tick thing & the not being around people thing.) 

but I do play with art materials here at home more.

 I'd be leading some sort of art gathering at my library, 

but gatherings aren't allowed for now. 

I attend a library art Zoom gathering, & love it,

 but I'm wanting it to be in person again.

I wonder how you all are doing? If you stop by here, 

I hope you'll leave me a little note. 

And now, I'm off to read some of your blogs. 

On Beauty & Fashion

More in the series on Mindfulness...

The prompt was asking us to think about Beauty...

Which got me to thinking about fashion 

& the role it's played in my life. 

The subject of beauty in human beings is complicated.

It's much easier to contemplate beauty in nature & art.

But it's a definite preoccupation. We have our own versions of 

the Greek gods & goddesses...& beauty industries. Wow!

What do you think on this subject?

Sketching at the Little Beach

Finally, an outdoor sketch! 

We weren't exactly outdoors, we were eating 

takeout sandwiches in the car,

 overlooking the little beach that is just south of here.

 

The seagulls are way too big, 

but it was they who dominated my attention. 

Six of them,

hanging out, swimming from pebbled sand, 

then riding tiny waves,

then just floating & bobbing, 

together. 

One was often apart from the group, 

but eventually joined the others...

Sketching Downtown on a Rainy Day

                                         

Went rainy day sketching with just 2 of the Sketchers. 

When my paper started getting wet, I stopped with a quick

black & white sketch and the 3 of us retreated to the porch of 

 our favorite plant/home/gift boutique. 

Later, at home, when I added color I didn't use reference photos. For me that was daring, 

to add paint from memory & intuition. 

There is always something new to try when sketching!

The cold rain meant very few people were out. 

And it felt good to be with fellow sketchers. 

With distance.

Our outdoor days are limited. 

What will we do in winter when, on some days,

 the weather will prevent outdoor sketching & visits?

Going Outdoors with The Sketchers

The Sketchers meet once a week, always

in beautiful places that are not far from our homes.

When I resumed going, over a month ago, 

drawing felt new all over again.

I had the tendency to try to record too much. 

After all, so I was seeing so many wonderful details!

This on location sketch got re-worked as I realized my eye 

had not seen certain things correctly. 

It would have been an ideal oil painting.

Sometimes, with watercolor, I miss being able 

to make lots of revisions.

The top sketch was a 2nd version,

using the original sketch, plus a photo.

I like both for different reasons. 

I'm finally coming around to making quick value studies

before jumping into color. How seductive color is though!

Lucy Willis' book, Light: How to See It, How to Paint It

has had a big influence on me recently. 

I used to own it, but gave it away.

Apparently I wasn't ready at the time.

We had an excursion to our local,

rather historic cemetery. Some challenges in perspective here.

On another excursion I stood on the end of a long wharf

at a harbor of a neighboring town.

As I sketched, the tide moved in.

Light, shadows & reflections grew more pronounced.

A lobster boat or 2 came in to shore. The slow rhythm 

& unhurried atmosphere calmed me.

No matter what the art lessons or technical challenges,

I Iove the peace I experience while sketching outdoors.

Travel During the Pandemic. Summer of 2020

A sketch from a journal sketch (see post of July 2...)

For years my favorite back road trip was up to

Skowhegan & Jackman, ending in Quebec City.

The Canadian border is closed, & I stay home a lot these days.

But road trips are still possible.

From Belfast to Brooks, Dixmont, Winterport, Hampden.

This is organic farm country in towns like Montville & Monroe.

Roller coaster ribbon roads. 

Forests, farms, scattered country homes,

occasional views of distant fields, faraway mountains.

Here & there, political signs appear on the sides of the road,

but I try not to look at them.

This is not the coastal route with its crowds & cars,

Its clusters of restaurants & hotels.

For a short time the world feels safe, normal & familiar. 

Beautiful.

The radio is off & I drive slowly, glancing, occasionally stopping.

I am told I will be able to visit Québec & other cities again.

In the meantime, how lucky I am to be here.

Experimental Sketchbook Class: Time & Space to Create

Some of my work during the weeklong class.

It was perhaps the best art class I've ever taken at University. 

We were encouraged to experiment.

Push out of our comfortable ways.

I started getting scribbly & messy (not shown here)

so it was a relief to do some minimalist drawings.

Zoom grids became an integral part of my experience.

I wandered out of my familiar box.

I cut up one of my watercolor "still life" grids

and pasted fragments into a booklet.

And then, relief, back to the familiar~ 

except with a bit of a grid.

A grid containing The Tiny Fears of Rita

Les miniscules craintes de Rita

We tried a wax resist/ink wash/charcoal layering technique

that Maine artist, David Lewis, uses.

(His drawings are very sophisticated & refined...) 

We collected shadows by tracing actual shadows.

Some of the students turned their results into imaginative

imagery, unrelated to the original subjects, and then 

turned them into handmade books.

I loved my Swedish Ivy design & didn't transform it,

except to put it into an accordion format.

Last class exercise: Do 20 versions of the same object, 

using various papers & drawing materials.

I got 3 done in our half hour allotment...

But THIS is the idea which I most want to continue

at the moment...20 objects? 50? 100? 

Maybe they would be painted and drawn, then,

hand sewn together into a paper quilt that folds 

into a book. We shall see...

The beautiful thing is that I have SO many wonderful

inspirations & directions with which to continue.

Thanks to my instructors & to the class, composed of

young undergraduates, graduate students,

& some oldsters like me. 

So much inspiration,

& this is only the tip of the iceberg...

Art Journaling Group: Using a Grid

Art Journaling Group. 

It was my turn to present. 

I showed Lyn Frye's Smallies 

from her blog, A View from the Oak. Do visit!

I've mentioned her Smallies in a previous post.  

 For Lin it is an ongoing daily practice. 

I did it for one month last winter.

 I loved choosing my image or event at the end of each day. 

It was like having a special lens with me,

a way to pay closer attention.

(To see my previous post, click Here.) 

 The idea I presented this time, to our Zoom group,

 was, using a grid, to virtually invite 

one another into our homes 

by writing/drawing things that are close to us: 

literally & figuratively. 

Things we would show if we were having 

guests in our homes.

I loved the personal images & stories that emerged.

My own grid ended up fading into the background, 

but created a nice framework for little drawings. 

It was fun to teach a little something again...

Cool Summer Colors. Vibrant Fabric Colors

A little road trip off the beaten path. 

Not the coastal route with tourists & cars 
& clusters of restaurants and hotels.

This was roller coaster ribbon roads, 
forests, farms, scattered country homes.

Occasional views of distant fields 
& faraway mountains.

Destination:
 A fabric store in the city, about 50 miles away.

I've been luxuriating in assembling 

vibrant colors of cloth.

And yesterday I basked in 
cool country colors 
on a wet summer day. 

Sketching: A Pause From Stress

7AM crowded grocery shopping 

once again triggered anxiety. 

An unhealthy looking man, 

coughing & sneezing, no mask,

lingering in the aisles. 

Scared me. 

I talked to our pleasant manager, 

but once home, tension lingered.

So I gathered my art bag

and headed to a bench in City Park.

Highlights on lively small waves,
like 4th of July sparklers, 
sun & breeze. 

View of Penobscot Bay to Blue Hill  

and the distant mountains of Acadia.

It didn't completely take away my stress, 

but for some brief moments

I breathed in healthy air. 

And sketched.

The Sketchers Get Together (but apart)

The Sketchers went down to the Library Park in Camden

(in separate cars.)

It's been many weeks since we've gotten together

(but apart.)

I usually forget to pack one item.This time: watercolors!

It turned out to be a blessing!

I loved focusing on values, lines, forms!

I would have missed seeing some wonderful qualities

if I had been distracted by paint & color!  

And I would have missed the feeling of my pen

dancing on the paper.

Behind me,
a waterfall, right in town, flows into the Harbor.

Yes, it's almost mid-May 

and I'm wearing a parka and gloves.

And loving it!

L'opéra de Cendrillon et Il était une fois...

The art of storytelling, is so vital to humans,

maybe more than ever 

during a time of confinement.

I can't travel to gather new stories & world experiences,

but my mind & heart can.

The fairy tale Cinderella came to me recently 

via the Metropolitan Opera website.

Cendrillon de Jules Messenet, written in1899.

I sketched while watching it on my computer screen.

I was brought back to magical fairy tales, characters, costumes & settings

that sustained me in childhood. 

I am brand new to opera. 

What a wonderful way to begin a journey

into a new art form:

An opera for children as well as adults.

 

As a former teacher I loved exploring the Met's 

lesson plan for Cendrillon which led to note taking

in my daily journal

Studying the French language continues 

to be a sort of enchantment for me.

Voilà, this opera is in French!! Double, triple enchantment!!

''

 Magnificent costumes, music, dance, comedy, tragedy...

And, of course, "Happily ever after." 

"Heureux pour toujours".

Goodness & kindness triumph over evil.

Balm for a troubled world! 

The story theme of Cinderella is almost 2,000 years old!!

In my own library I found a version of Cendrillon, 

based on Charles Perrault's interpretation. 

I copied text from it as a French language exercise.

 This book is interpreted by Marlene Jobert,

 illustrated by Matthieu Blanchin

 I saw an interactive exhibit at the Musée de la Civilisation 

in Québec in 2012 called Il était une fois, Once upon a time...

Children donned costumes & played fairy tale characters.

I was struck by the similarities of my Cendrillon sketches 

to those from my visit to that exhibit.

To visit my blog post of 8 years ago, called 

Children's Museum Exhibits & Language Learning, 

which featured "Il était une fois," 

Click Here.

(Thank you Leslie for sharing your love and knowledge

of opera!)