Making Friends With My New Book

I've finally made friends with my two month old Stillman-Birns Alpha watercolor book. My "page fright" had me avoiding using it until the Monkey would say, "Okay, now you are famous and proficient enough to make a mark in this." Ha! Is that ever going to happen? Not in this lifetime. So tonight, after downing a (gluten-free) ale, I turned on all the studio lights, and laid out the new book. Inside the front cover, I introduced myself to the book about Elsbeth McLeod's Life. For my pleasure, or for whoever might read it later. In this particular book, I will sketch and paint those things and events in my life that have meaning, maybe paste in a ticket stub, or pressed flower, or whatever, too. An imprint of what matters to me. Now I'm not so afraid of it. The other sketchbooks and w/c books I have were reserved for us being out and about, things that happen in town, or objects and people I witness that are relatively unrelated to Who I Am. Ridiculously scary to devote a book to my life!

We've Gone Inside

Yesterday I had another chance to sketch my favorite building, Manresa Castle.  Every two weeks Jim goes to the Medical shortstay at Jefferson Hospital in Port Townsend, to get another installment on his allergy shots.  I don't always go with him (allergy shots are against my religion), but yesterday we wanted to stop by the paint store and look through samples for painting our front door.  We got there ten minutes after the store closed.  However, I did get another shot at Manresa Castle, and this time, actually went inside and sketched!! Phew! Big move!  Just so the hotel management didn't think I was skulking around with evil intentions, I asked the young ladies at the front desk permission to skulk...I mean... sketch around the premises.  They were fairly enthused about my doing so.  

I didn't go far, the parlor just off the lobby was regally appointed, and the sun came in just so... I found a cozy corner to stand in and laid my kit out on the table.  I didn't get too far when Jim called me to come back to the car, he was done and ready to go.  I did put in the majority of ink lines of objects in the room, and a little swatch of watercolor hue here and there to remember for later.  I finished the sketch today here and there between errands and interruptions by our handyman as he worked outside in the rain.  

Artist's Trading Card Projects, Butterfly Poetry

In the online class, Sketchbook Skool, that I've been enrolled in, several of us have opted to form a little sub-group of ATC (Artist Trading Cards) swapping.  I've never done this before, have preferred to paint large, or in a small sketchbook when out and about.  For those of you who've not heard of these, there is plenty of info online about them, so for the most part, I won't go into what they are here.  But artists have been doing these for a number of years, now, all over the world.  It's both challenging and rewarding to paint this small (the size of a playing card), but I did pretty well for my first attempts, I think.  These are watercolor, with details in Derwent Inktense watersoluble pencils, as well as black Staedtler Pigment liner pen and a touch of Interference Blue, Gold and Red acrylic.   

In Memoriam To A Furred Friend

Today our last cat, the most wonderful, coy and uber-feminine Duchess, left this Earth and our company.  She was just shy of 19 years.  We will so miss her, and feel so strange having no animals in our house.