Goal!

Feeling a bit dainty today. ATCs-Each one is just 2.5x3.5"

Yay! I did it! The goal was 50 drawings or paintings in 30 days for National November Drawing Month. So with these three little Artists' Trading Cards I am now ahead of myself!

As I meet up at various locations with the sketchers, I sometimes find myself in a place where I wouldn't usually go. We've been to some antique shops in the last months and I've begun to revive my small collection of bone china tea cups.  I put them all away when we remodeled the main floor of our house a few years ago. Then Liz Steel's work reminded me of how very paintable they can be. It's such a fun subject for watercolor and a great drawing exercise. I decided to go traditional with these; a light pencil drawing, transparent watercolor, no masking fluid, no white except the reserved paper. Fun!

There will be a lot of goodies around here for awhile, and what better way to enjoy them than with some nice hot tea in a lovely cup!

At Carolyn's in Anacortes with ASk

We were invited to come and sketch at the home of Anacortes Sketcher, Carolyn, today. Through the beautiful wrought iron gates and into a warm and hospitable atmosphere we came.

More photos and sketches on the Anacortes Sketchers' Blog.

Homemade baked goods and pots of piping hot coffee or tea were offered. The butter cream frosting was like a pillow of creamy sweet goodness! Just the right thing on top of Carolyn's rich, moist (gluten free) chocolate cupcakes! Perfect balance!
Everyone chose a spot at the large family sized table in the Victorian dining room or in the cozy parlor. Then we spent the afternoon sketching, visiting and admiring works in progress.

That makes 6 more for NaNoDrawMo 2014, unless I get desperate and then I'm counting each one of those truffles!
Total: 48/50

Seven from Starbucks

7 more for NaNoDrawMo! Total: 42 with 7 days to go!

As I left the house on a sketch hunt today, I thought I would be parking across the street from a barber shop I know. The light was good. I had my Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook, Micron Pen, Lamy Pen and mini kit. All I needed was a nice, warm latte to keep me company.

WELL. Turns out that the clouds came over and ruined my lighting. Plus, the chairs are quite comfy at one of our local Starbucks. So I ended up with 7 little sketches instead of a larger, more complicated street scene. This doesn't hurt my total for NaNoDrawMo, either!
Here's the story:

1. My most frequently used sketch pen, the Micron .01 Archival Waterproof. (The barista stand, #5, was with my Lamy pen, however.)
2. Left handed, leaning over, pouring cream in a to-go cup. No need to remove his huge puffy jacket. He's in and out in no time! (Yes, the mornings are pretty cold this week.)
3. Ignore pen again. *This ginger haired worker took his break in three different chairs. First, he sat in the sunny window which was decorated with long streamers of colorful tissue. I didn't sketch him the other two times as he faced me both times and seemed to be wise to my sketch hunting presence.
4. Two pounds of Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend. What a pretty, autumn leaf package!
5. Top edge of the baristas' brewing machine with the gigantic coffee filter on top right. Blurry scan.
6. Lower left. Another table hopper. He seemed so uncomfortable, trading tables four times, including using the bathroom, taking off his hat, smoothing his hair, opening and closing his 3 ring binder. He escaped before I could draw any more.
7. Lower right. This Mo Bro (I detect two different stages of facial hair--grown out mustache and newish beard) was easy. Even though he got up and down twice, he always returned to the exact same position. Thanks!

*Question: Are male coffee shop workers referred to as "baristos"? Answer from Yahoo: The term baristo (and correspondingly baristos) is occasionally found in English to refer to a specifically male bartender. This is a hypercorrection, as it is a misinterpretation of the -a ending as a female ending, while in fact barista is used for both males and females."

Personal observation: the vast majority of men in and out of the shop had facial hair. I wonder if they are participating in Movember? Wanna be a Mo Bro or a Mo Sista?

Sunday Painters: Be an unofficial Mo Bro or Mo Sista, even if you don't have a mustache. Draw and/or paint someone with a beard or mustache today!

Late Breakfast, er, Lunch and NaNoDrawMo #29

But wait 'till you see NaNoDrawMo #26!

So today I emerge from sorting through my camera roll, catching up on email and seeing what's going on in the art world online. Yikes! Missed breakfast! But I already have a plan.

Yesterday, during a class demonstration, my trusty collapsible water container finally sprung a leak. Sue Ann loaned me hers and the show went on. See blog post from yesterday. I knew I could replace it with a cottage cheese container from home. HOWEVER, there was still about a fourth of a cup left in it. (Really, who leaves three bites of cottage cheese in a quart container?) But I digress.

I'm washing out the container, remembering all those people who are already ahead of their goal of 50 drawings in 30 days for NaNoDrawMo 2014. I like the way the soap bubbles look. Full stop. Grab the sketchbook and Lamy pen and draw what I see in the bottom of the sink. Aha! Drawing #27!

No stopping now! The rules say that the drawings can be anything, and don't have to be good. Eggshells, #28. I am really hungry now, but just look how cute those egg yolks are. So before scrambling them for my omelet, I make another sketch for my total of #29! Sooooo hungry!
New Goals:

1. Cook and eat omelete - check
2. Post to Flikr group for NaNoDrawMo - check
3. Get busy on the last 21 drawings in the next 9 days. - Working on it!

Note to self: You can do it! Go for it, Michele!

Sunday with USk Seattle

This morning I am sketching with the Seattle urban sketchers at the Pioneer Square transit station. It's just behind the Smith Tower with an entrance on Yesler Way.

Brrrrrr! Since I have to leave relatively early to get there from here, the temperature hasn't had time to warm up yet. As I leave our garage at home, my weather app says that it's 18°!

Once I meet with the sketchers, I find it hard to believe that it's supposed to be in the low 40's. They must mean the sunny side of the street and not in the tunnel! The breeze down the stairs to the mezzanine creates a chill factor, I'm sure. But, we're all dressed for it, so off we go to make our sketches for the day.

My sketch journal page for the day.

A fellow sketcher, Tina, and I ducked into Shawn O'Donnell's American Grill Pub for a respite from the cold, hot coffee, and a rest break. We had another 25 minutes to find something to sketch, so we sat inside at the sunny window. I found two quick subjects to add to my NaNoDrawMo 2014 collection. Still need to post most of the ones I've done for the month, though. Goal: 50 drawings in the month of November.

Two more for my NaNoDrawMo 2014

Hey, Sunday Painters! How about trying the NaNoDrawMo challenge!?
Inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), NaNoDrawMo is a personal challenge to push would-be artists beyond the bounds of comfortable "when I have time" practice for one month and see what happens.

Loosely defined goals are for each participant to produce 50 individual works/drawings between Nov 1 and Nov 30. You can always do more than 50 if you've got it in you! That's just the minimum everyone should be shooting for.

You do not have to be good. There is no quality requirement. The idea is to force yourself to practice by setting a high quantity goal. Also, it’s not a competition (except with yourself). Any medium is OK, as long as you can get it onto Flickr somehow.

Please tag your uploads “nanodrawmo”.
Flag your upload as "Art / Illustration" or Flickr won't let you add it to the group. (quoted from Flikr description)

Oh and don't forget to have some fun while you're at it.
Check out the Flikr photostream of current national uploads for inspiration.