This is my second animal drawing done in pen and ink. It’s on Stillman & Birn, Alpha Series 8” X 10” 150 gm white. This is an animals that wishes more of us humans were vegan. We need to reduce our reliance on animals products. Make the world better.
Cat's Eye
Stillman & Birn sent me some Premium art paper to try out. It's their Alpha Series, 8" X 10" 150 gm white. I decided to do a series of animals. This is the first one. More to follow. Notice how bright the colors look.
Charlotte
This is a portrait I did of my wife’s, niece’s new baby. I even surprised myself at how well Charlotte came out using only a few colored pencils. Once I capture the eyes, I know I have it made.
Charlotte's Web
Charlotte is an agreeable baby. She’s the newest addition to the family. We went to Boston to meet her for the first time. It’s not easy having a dozen adult strangers stare at you for two days but she seemed unfazed. I drew her accoutrements which is another way of doing a portrait of someone who just turned one year old.
Firehouse
When I go and draw with friends, time is crucial. If we go to the city or a museum, we end up on trains for long stretches to get to where we want to draw. I for one, need all the time I can get for sketching due to my over-detailing. My drawing partner, Petronis, said he knew a firehouse close to where we eat breakfast. We found ourselves drawing in no time flat. My effort went into sketching and not waiting on subway platforms, stuck between stations, or walking in circles finding a suitable venue to illustrate. I love when that happens.
Iceland Mosquito
Mosquitoes have been discovered in Iceland for the first time. That leaves Antarctica as the only place in the world without a mosquito. All of this is due to climate change. Iceland is now warming at four times the rate of the rest of the northern hemisphere. I wonder if Iceland is going to start to sell OFF! insect repellent in their 7Eleven stores now?
DUMBO
This was the first cold October day. I had to blow on my hands to stay warm for the first time in six months. In my mind, that means it will stay darker in the morning and the sun will set after lunch. Ugh. The only upside is that it’s sweater weather. My dandy autumn attire will start getting me random compliments from strangers on the street. A big plus for my fragile ego.
Tulip Leaf
I just finished reading, ”For The Birds” by the actress, Lili Taylor. It’s all about her life as a birder. She mentions two apps to get for your iphone. Merlin Bird ID and iNaturalist. Now I go around identifying everything like a lunatic. This leaf spoke to me and I knew I’d draw it. I was able to find out it was from a Tulip Tree. Look at how intelligent I’m starting to sound. My phone occasionally makes me smarter but it mostly turns me into an idiot ninety percent of the time. What I should really download is the iMoron app if one exists. That would be more my speed.
NASCAR
When I visit my 90 year-old mom in North Carolina, I figure she wants to hang out with me all the time. That’s not the case. She’ll tell me that on certain days, she plays Water Polo or Dodgeball. The older one gets, the more activities there are. So on a day she was busy, I went to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Seemed an interesting place to draw. Turns out it was. Kids stared at me from 4 inches away and their teachers always make the same statement, “I didn’t know you were allowed to do that in here.” All people say that to me no matter what museum I’m in. I find it comforting.
Fall In Charlotte
I was just in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Charleston for my niece, Megan’s wedding and to see family. One day I noticed intense red leaves had been falling on to my sister’s lawn. I picked a few winners. A lot of times it’s not my elaborate drawings that impress me but something simple like this one.
Met Life
I met my friend, Keith Butters in front of the Flatiron building to draw. It was covered in construction netting so we faced the Met Life building to sketch instead. We were on a tiny street meridian and there happened to be huge outdoor umbrellas to sit under. That helped because it was 90 degrees. Afterwards, we ate at the infamous Eisenberg’s sandwich shop which has been there since 1929. I’d love to draw in there but its always too jam packed. No lingering. Get in and get out
Grand Central
I haven’t drawn many of the famous tourist spots in Mahattan. For some unknown reason, I’ve avoided them. After attending Sketcher Fest, I saw other artists sketchbooks filled with those sites during their sketching visits to New York City. So I pushed myself to sketch a few. First up was Grand Central Station. Two female cops took an interest in me as I drew. They would stop by every 20 minutes to see my progress. We had a lot of laughs and as a result, they did get to see this come to life. There seemed to be many companies having scavenger hunts in the station. Team building exercises were happening around me while I sketched. It got to a point where I knew the answers to what they were looking for but I kept mum. They were more excited to figure it out on their own. A few fans spotted me in the wild too. Eventful day.
Sketcher Fest
I recently went to Sketcher Fest Edmonds, a drawing conference in the Seattle area. It was organized by Gabi Campanario, the founder of Urban Sketchers. Many great artists from around the world attended. Lapin, Mario Linares, Stephanie Bower, Marielle Durant, Rita Sabler, Cyrille Briand and Nishant Jain, to name a few. There were many lectures and workshops. I went with my friend, Danny Gregory, the well known art guru. Over the course of a few days there, I managed this one elborate drawing. There was limited free time, so I drew early in the morning near our motel before the festivities began. Also, I kept a few rocks and shells in my pocket to sketch while listeneing to the talks. Mostly I mingled and met like-minded artists.
