Ready made nature studies

Flora and fauna around the house.

All kinds of fun sketching opportunities await just steps away!

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10 AM

 This morning we took two backyard photos at 10:00 am with the Pacific ocean inbetween. 

My South Pacific studio and a Historical location with UskOahu

Michele Cooper in Hawai’i

Dec16, 2017–My son and I, along with my two granddaughters joined USK Oahu at historic Washington Place from 2:30-4:30  to enjoy its 170 year history.

The Eternal Flame is a bronze and copper sculpture dedicated in 1974 to the men and women of the State of Hawaii who served in the Armed Forces of the United States. The memorial is located just outside the estate. 

Over a dozen urban sketchers met on the grounds and former residence of Queen Lili'uokalani as tours were given of the interior. 'Aha Mele Hawaiian musicians and dancers performed on the lanai.

Docents in long white dresses and leis led the tours indoors where two lovely parlors displayed rare Koa wood furnishings.

The Greek revival palace was built in 1848. It was the former residence of Queen Lili’uokalani and later became the official residence of the Governor of Hawai’i. It is a National Historic Landmark, designated in 2007. The current governor’s residence was built in 2008 behind the historic residence and is located on the same grounds as Washington Place. 

I began with a sketch of my 8 year old granddaughter, Leila.

A “backstage” tent was set up on the side lawn for performers.

My finished spread includes a group of performers, garden lamp, section of the mansion and side garden landscape. Leila has been going out sketching with me since she was 4 years old.

Leila likes sketching trees and people.

Leila's sketch of the hula chanter with her drum. Her 4 year old sister, Ocean, sketched the lanai roofline and trees. 

I took advantage of the opportunity to abandon a hand painted greeting card near the lanai. It vanished within 20 minutes!

Thanks to USK Oahu for making this rare experience possible at Washington Place.
Be sure to check out our sketches on Flickr !
See Urban Sketchers Oahu blog for more about this event.

Mobile Blogging is a Challenge

Warm and wintery in the South Pacific 

Well, it’s been a bit challenging to post on blogger from the South Pacific studio since my granddaughter accidentally updated my iPad. I use the blogger app while posting from my mobile devices and the app hasn’t been updated for IOS 11 yet. Aaargh! I’m pared down while traveling with my iPhone for photos as well. So until I figure out a workaround any photos I post here and on Flickr and Facebook won’t be like those I usually get from scanning. See weekend sketches from my latest outing with O’ahu Urban Sketchers here.

Nevertheless, the Hawai’ian sights, sounds and tropical weather are a welcome respite from the chilly blast friends and family are getting right now in the Pacific Northwest.  Compare day/nighttime temperatures on O’ahu of  75°/ 68° to  40°/22° in Snohomish County near Seattle.

Explored on Flickr!

I painted this and posted it on my Flickr Photostream yesterday. I am honored that it was Explored and now has 2.9k views. (Update 8:30am Saturday-6.1k views)

Studio Snowscape with Salt Wash

See my Instagram for short video on salt wash

Having some 5x7”” fun in the studio today. I started out with the idea of posting a simple video tutorial on my Instagram feed, but the techno gremlins got me. Actually, the first video post came out great. You can view it by following the link in the caption above.

Here's the finished landscape before adding figures and the chimney with smoke. See my Instagram feed for the final version.

Closeup of salt wash while wet.

A few tips:

• I'm keeping to a limited palette of Fr. Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna
• I don't usually tape all around the page but this is a small 5x7" and won't be affected by wet paper expansion
• Make sure you brush off all the salt once the wash is dry. Salt particles are abrasive to natural hair brushes.
• Salt water takes longer to dry than fresh water, so your paper needs more time to dry than usual.
• Since the salt effect wasn't as pronounced as I would like, I added light blue spatter and Uniball Signo White gel pen for more snow at the end.