lunch, pizza and crayons

more restaurants need white paper on the tables and crayons on hand! 

mall sketching

my father and i had to wait for the shopping excursion to arrive, so we hunkered down in a coffee shop, had some sugary drinks and chatted. 

tools: [pilot V5 pen, pitt brush pens (cool gray), white gel pen, all in a strathmore toned sketchbook]

sketching the chef

i got to watch my adorable executive, personal chef make me dinner the other night. while she was making a mess, i blasted out some quick gesture drawings of her in action. some are not so flattering! 
tools: [pilot falcon filled with noodle's black eel ink, watercolor in a strathmore toned sketchbook]

[edited] wed. night paintin'

while all of us artists were having a delicious burger, we decided to create a still-life at the studio and all of us would paint it! some of the artists had never painted a still-life before! it was a pleasure to see all of our different approaches and styles all from the same subject matter! 

oil paint on MDF board

EDITED! 
here is the same painting touched up a bit! 

greenfront burgers, mmmmmmmm

i had a rough day and i ended up taking myself out for a burger. when i sat down there were a few people to sketch, and one was "pat" the chef from the back. he sat patiently for a bit then took off. then more people left, then more, then everyone was gone except for the staff and myself. so i arranged a little "greenfront still-life" at my table and set to work. the bottles were a great subject and had some really cool reflections for my white gel pen. 

pilot V5 pen, gray pitt pens, white gel pen, strathmore toned sketchbook 

oil paintin'

oil on gessoed MDF board. 

creepin' at a staff meeting

with veteran's day falling on a tuesday, we had a superintendent's day on monday. so the day was filled with training and meetings. in order for me to concentrate i have to be doing something while the meeting is happening. for example: doodling through high school chemistry got me a 94 on the regent's exam (boo-ya). 

sketches from the past week

just a random assortment of some sketches from the past week. 

pilot V5 pen, pitt brush pens (warm grays), strathmore toned sketchbook.

my metallic markers from my classroom. soon to be extinct from overuse

some random guys at chili's

the "chef" making my food at the greenfront

rochester sketch group meetup

this past weekend we had seven sketchers from our local Sketch Group meet up at the Memorial Art Gallery. we all split up to our respective areas for some sketching fun. i gravitated towards the spanish wooden sculptures so i could finish what i started last weekend. we met back periodically to partake in a "throw-down" so we could see what others were up to. 

at one point genine and i had 12 minutes to kill so we had a "2 minute sketching challenge". she picked out a drawing tool for me and i picked her. we then set a timer and drew! i added a little more flare to mine, but you get the idea. 

1. noodle's ahab pen. j. herbin pearl noire ink. genine's watercolors. inktense water-soluble pencils. still man & birn beta sketchbook.
2. pitt brush pens, warm gray. gel white ink pen. strathmore toned sketchbook.
3. some water-soluble crayon genine gave me. water brush. strathmore toned sketchbook. 

back in the saddle

it's been 18 years since i have painted with oil paints--so instead of buying a new xbox one, i bought myself a painting class at a local art gallery. i joined a gaggle of seven "seasoned" woman, and another dude. some of them have been painting every wednesday for 8 years! crazy! 

i was a little nervous at first, and a little intimidated. everyone had all of their cool art tools all laid out, squeezing paints on assorted palettes or boards and taping up their reference photos. the room was filled with the smell of linseed oil and turpentine! (could that be a new yankee candle?)

a majority of these artists created their artwork slowly and methodically. i dove in throwing paint around and getting to work. a few finished one piece, i blasted thorough two!

it felt good to be painting again and the freeness of your mind while you do it is refreshing. it's like a mini-vacation from everything! i look forward to the next 5 wednesdays!


oil on masonite panels

mall

one of my favorite sketching places is at the local mall. people line up for miles for a taste of (what i think is crappy) coffee at this tiny little starbucks kiosk thing. most of the time there faces are buried in their phones--which makes for great sketching! 

pilot V5, tri-tone colored pencils, strathmore toned sketchbook

MAG

my sketching buddy, genine and i met up at the memorial art gallery for a little sketch outing. we parked ourselves in a room with a lot of sculptures. i was intrigued by a pair of wooden sculptures from the 1200s--more specifically, st. john. the lighting was perfect, and my human model didn't (couldn't?) move! it was perfect. 

about half way through our sketch outing, the pipe-organ in the next room kicked in and we quickly relocated so we could hear the ancient musical instrument. we were serenaded with a wide-range of musical selections and i sketched some odd fountain with a boy and a fish on top. the sculpture was very dark, and so i started with the darks only and worked towards lights. it was tough since my brain was fitting in things that were there, but i couldn't technically see. stupid brain. 

palomino blackwing pencil, warm gray PITT pens, triton colored pencil (for the shadow), cheap white gel pen, in a strathmore toned sketchbook

Ok. One. More.

These women were so animated and dancing to any song that came on--they were impossible to capture. Blind contour it is! 

Pilot falcon with Noodler's black eel ink. Tri-tone colored pencils. All in a Strathmore toned sketchbook.

One more!

Smartphones captivate people and they have zero idea they are being sketched. It's the greatest invention for some one who likes to creep in coffee shops and draw people! 

Pitt brush pens (warm grays). White gel pen. Blackwing pencil. Strathmore toned brown sketchbook.

Sketching at the devils workshop (I hate Starbucks but I had some gift cards to blow thru!)

Pitt brush pens (warm grays). White gel pen. Blackwing pencil.