jan 16 "She and She"

So here we have a fine example of how a line drawing without color can be pretty much ruined - with color.  This is one of the things I do best.

For all my many fans out there in Art-A-Day Country, I will be out of town over the weekend, but back on Monday. (We are going so far away there isn't even cell phone coverage, let alone wifi or data availability.) I may post another piece sometime later tonight and tag it as jan 17th, so fortunately you will only have one day of grief and displeasure at the lack of my posting here: Sunday.

jan 15 "She"

jan 14 "One of My Earliest"

I have had a very busy day and I'm too whooped to do any artfully related things.  So I'll post this old sketch from back when I first started sketching; 2005. I used moleskine sketchbooks back then (you could get them in Barnes & Noble); and they were sort of "all the rage" in the online sketching circles back at that time. Anyway, what you see is what you get.

jan 13 "Meeting Doodles"

When I retired I thought all the meetings would be over, and for about ten years, they were.  Then I joined up with a wonderful group of people who all shared education as careers and became members of the local Retired School Employees Association.  Today we had a regional meeting in infamous "Whoopemup Hollow Cafe" in Waitsburg, WA.  Friends from the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla, Asotin-Pomeroy and Waitsberg were there to discuss local issues and have a great lunch!!

These are my meeting doodles: ball-point on meeting agenda paper.

jan 12 "Ribeye on the Grille"

The top is a pencil drawing of the ribeyes my daughter grilled up for dinner.  We were at her house and I didn't have my pen, so pencil it was.

I scanned it, then used my Photoshop Elements program to add some color.

Neither of these sketches do the steaks justice.  Mine was delicious, especially with the Onion, Feta, and Cream Sauce with Garlic she lathered over the top:

Mmmmmmmmm.

jan 11. "Portrait Sketching"

I keep a small sketchbook by my chair in the evenings for sketching off the tv.  Usually the people I sketch are news people and usually those being interviewed, but sometimes the interviewer. I use pencil, pen, and ball-point.

4.5 x 5.5 Kunst & Papier sketchbook

Jan 10 "While Paris Burns"

While we sit warm and comfortable in our homes, some watching the NFL play-offs, some watching "Tombstone" on the AMC channel, and others catch news clips, Paris erupts with thousands of demonstrators holding their pens high in the air along the Champs Elysees, the Place de la Concorde, and outside Charlie Hebdo's offices where Islamist terrorists slaughtered 12 people, 5 of them satirical cartoonists, Wednesday.  My online friend, Mad Magazine artist, Rick Tulka tells me he knew one those killed. While Paris burns, many fear this may the opening salvo in a new kind of war with those crazy bastards, waged within our own borders. Stay safe, and hold your pen high.

Jan 9. "Architectural Study"

While running a few errands this morning, I drove by this church for the 865th time and decided to find a spot in the parking lot across the street to park and sketch it, from the comfort and warmth of my vehicle.  Sorry, I didn't get the name of the church.

6 x 9 Stillmann & Birn Sketchbook (Beta Series), Pigma Micron pen, watercolors.

Jan 8 - "Je Suis Charlie"

In commemoration for the satirical cartoonists who were brutally murdered in Paris yesterday by Islamic terrorists.  The pen is mightier than the sword and I join those thousands around the world who are holding their pens high. There are those in every corner who would wish restrict what others have to say. Too bad, and so very tragic in this instance.  And how sad to have such fragile beliefs in your own religion that cartoonists are the focus of the death and destruction of innocent people.

Jan 7. "Coffee Shop Energies"

Our local urban sketchers group, USkTC (Urban Sketchers; Tri-Cities) met this morning at the Local Coffee Shop for our first outing of the new year.  We had the largest group ever with 14 members participating, so it was a lot of fun.  Space was a premium, but we muscled our way in and took over for a couple of hours of good fun both socializing and drawing.

This is the third of three quick sketches I did this morning.  Thanks to Cindy Rutherford's inspirational words I sort of "went-for-broke" here as I wanted to capture the energy in the room. The initial sketch took about 30 seconds, the paint about 3 minutes.  Later line "embellishments" another 30 seconds, maybe less: Total time about 5 minutes.

Jan. 6 - "Can Art be Bread?"

Or, can bread be art, or is it just a silly pun? I'm not sure, but this is my art project for today, Jan. 6, 2015.

It does seem "art" can be just about anything anyone wants it to be. I once read, or saw pictures of what is lowly referred to as, toilet art, somewhere.  I thought it was gross.

So, I don't know if this qualifies under normal and ordinary definitions of art, but hey . . . it's something, right? And it isn't gross.

These three breads came from one batch of dough I put together last night before turning in for the night: 4 cups of flour, 1.75 cups of water, 2 tsps quick rising yeast and 2 tsps salt.

The recipe and formation of each came from a bread recipe book I picked up at Amazon, "No Need to Knead." I've been making loaves of bread for a few years, to turn in another direction and try something new, it's like art: oils then acrylics, pencils then pens, landscapes then portraits, loaves the focaccia, focaccia then baguettes. Each change pushes the edges of one's envelope.

There is another reason I'm claiming this as an art project.  When the breads were removed from the oven, I took a picture, the one on the left.

Then using photoshop elements, I pulled each bread off that page and created the one on top of the page: regular picture then one created using the wonderful technology we have at our fingertips these days.

Art it is.

Jan. 5 - "Cremini Mushrooms"

My wife Lois, and I, took my 91 year-old-today-mom to lunch at a small bistro-like Italian place today, Casa Mia.  I was going to sketch my lunch - the Spinach-Cream Ravioli was mouth-wateringly good - but - breaking my mantra for everytime I leave the house, "Never leave home without your sketchbook," I left the house without my sketchbook.

So, after taking mom back to her place and visiting for a while (she's 91 going on 72, btw), we headed for the grocery store to pick up supplies. While there I was trying to remember the ingredients for a stew I saw online, but had few clues. We live in such a wonderful age, I opened my smartphone and went to the site where I found the ingredient list. We got what we need to make the stew, so we're happy now.

And we'll let you know how the stew turns out.

Jan 4. "Burgers and Tacos with Jack"

Stopped in at Jack-in-the-Box for a cheap burger and couple of cheap tacos for quick and, cheap, lunch: obviously something healthy and nutritious. Their Junior Burger is the cheapest burger on the menu, and you can get a couple of tacos for $1.00.  The tacos are nowhere as good as the ones Tony serves up on Clearwater in his Taco Truck (Tony's), but then he charges 3 bucks apiece.  Whadya gonna do?  These people were there at the same time, I guess that would be pretty obvious too, I think his name was, "Red."

Jan. 2 and 3: "To Do List Confused at Sketch Pad"

I keep my "to do" list in 6x8 inch, Strathmore Drawing sketchbooks.  This is yesterday's thinking about things I need to do now that the New Year has been hatched upon us/me and a sketch of some desk stuff.

I use Marvy 1122 "Le Plume II" pens which I used to buy in Michael's, but now have to find online.  The last batch was from Amazon at a much cheaper price than what Michael's used to charge.  I like the no. 1 "Black," and the no. 85 "Mocha" inks.  They are not permanent ink pens, so care must be exercised when using them with watercolors.  What I really like about them, since they are 7 5/8ths inch long, is the way they 'feel' in my hand.

Sometimes, I find myself looking over the list of things "to do," and my motivation wanes in light of what's there, then my eyes get heavy and I feel rather than thinking and planning, drawing would be more fun. That's what happened here...some CD's, my scanner and the organizer my daughter gave me for Christmas a year ago found their way into the list.

Jan 2 - "Sorting FB Friends"

Today I spent a number of hours working on FB.  I have an odd assortment of friends on FB:  former students, local urban sketcher friends, global urban sketcher friends, family, high school classmates, etc.

What I have long not liked about FB is that if I want to send something to any one of these groups, all the rest see what was shared.  I can now call up my USkTC friends (urban sketchers tri cities) and send them a posting that only they will see.

However, if I post to the USkTC group, everyone will . . . there's no way to change that.  Still, I like how I have much more control than before.

So, in my sketch for today you see my computer and some of the 'stuff' around it.  I see I forgot the mouse, but hey, if I hadn't said that you wouldn't have noticed.

Jan 1 - "Egg Nog"

As the journal says, it was after a long day of family, football, and food that I sat down in the final hour of the day with an egg nog and my sketchbook.

I put the sketch down, did the journaling, then went to find the Art-A-Day Blog and found I had forgotten how to sign in.  It was 11:55 pm, Jan. 1st.

I didn't make it.

So, here it is now, Jan 3rd, but I'm posting for the 1st anyway. My goal is to do one these for each day of the month, it's called Art-A-Day.

As soon as I get this one posted, I will post the one for the 2nd, and later today I will get one up for the 3rd and be 'on-schedule.'

This isn't the first time I've started out planning to put up a sketch for each day of the month.  I have yet to make that goal.  Maybe this time I will.