Rainy Days and Memories

Thursday was Groundhog Day. For most people in the USA, it's a 131-year-old tradition, when the most famous groundhog -- Punxsutawney Phil -- emerged from his burrow at Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Thursday and saw his shadow, which, according to legend, means six more weeks of winter. 

Yesterday, February 3, was my parents' wedding anniversary. Now that they are gone, the date always brings up bittersweet memories.

So it's appropriate for me that today is my day to participate in a monthly online sketch project called #momentcatchers. I've been housebound with the seasonal cough, cold, fever lately. (Strike three!) I'm in the studio, puttering around and as I look out at the cold, grey, rainy afternoon, a touch of green in a dormant flower pot catches my eye........and our little hedgehog boot brush by the back door. Voila! I can catch this moment in my humble little sketch to express all the memories, a bit of ennui, and a hopeful sigh of optimism that Punxsutawney Phil's prediction might be off this year. Ahhhhh! Art is therapeutic. 

I stood inside the warm, cozy studio to sketch my take on the view by the back door, the weather, the season and my impatience with this irksome seasonal cold. Spring can't come too soon!

Nutmeg, the Balloon Fairy

Nutmeg, the balloon fairy, making a red puppy for Quinn

Yes, I did promise to post the entire sketch spread with the nest and eggs and etc. But I forgot that there was an important lunch date with my granddaughters and daughter-in-law in Bellingham today. Besides, after lunch we went to the Fairhaven Village Green and there was music, dancing, face painting and a balloon fairy.

I got out my Micron pen and did manage to find one more page available in my Pentalic Aqua Journal. I tried to draw discreetly, but she's a fairy and she caught me! I pretended that I wanted to buy something for my great granddaughter, but she knew what I was doing. Fairies are clever that way.

Bellingham Balloon Fairy, Nutmeg, at the Fairhaven Village Green

Bellingham Balloon Fairies live here.

Quinn watches closely as Nutmeg works her magic.

Family Trip to Silverton, Colorado

As fireworks are zooming up into the air tonight, I imagine they aren't at any altitude near as high as we went on our recent trip to visit family in New Mexico. Here are some sketches from another high altitude (9,308 ft) excursion during that trip.....Silverton, Colorado.

A day in Silverton, CO. Zoom to see details or read my notes.

So on June 21, we drove from Farmington, NM, (already high altitude) through Durango and on up to Silverton, CO., for a rather late lunch. Grumpy's Restaurant and Saloon is part of the Grand Imperial Hotel on the other end of the main road (Greene Street) coming into town. The honky tonk piano played by Dale Elliott rang out the front door and into the street where we all had to admire the rare 4 wheel drive Checker Cab. The owner of the cab told us that the exterior is authentic but the whole inside has been redone, including the engine, etc.

Next we went into Grumpy's Saloon to listen to the piano and check out the menu. We got good service, since most of the tourists from the train* were just finishing their meal. Very good food, too. After we ate, it was time for a walk up and down the main street. While my husband and I often joined the rest of the gang in the tourist shops, sometimes we just took advantage of the many benches situated considerately along the sidewalk for sea level people like us. Again, verrrrry hot weather this June 21.

One of those benches was right outside the door of an ice cream shop with cool, air-conditioned breezes coming right across my shady seat. The view across the street is the back alley in my sketch above. It's not often that you can follow an alley all the way to a mountain.

Silverton as seen from switchbacks on HWY 550

*On a previous trip, we took the bus to Silverton and the train back to Durango. Silverton is linked to Durango by the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a National Historic Landmark

Meanwhile, the air is smoky and filled with the smell of gunpowder tonight. The neighbors are going wild with their family displays of fireworks!

EDiM 11 - A hat, cap or other headgear

Quinn has a pink fluffy owl hat.

This winter, Quinn got all bundled up and went out for a walk with her family. It's one of the rare times that she didn't have her hat off in a matter of minutes.

When it comes to portraits of toddlers, I have to use a photo. Even if the hat stays on, the face is turning in every direction, coming and going, and changing into all manner of expressions. Wish I could capture it all!

EDIM 10 - Something you can turn on and off

I have been turning this knob on and off for approximately 35 years. My husband installed this wall heater in my studio when we converted the garage.

It's one of the few analog things we have left around here.

EDIM 9 - Something with an interesting label

I already sketched some interesting labels while making pancakes one Saturday morning. But, here we are on Day 9 of the Every Day in May sketching, drawing, painting challenge and I need to find an interesting label again.

This bottle has been in the back of my refrigerator for longer than I can remember. I just can't bring myself to open it, because the label is so unique.

EDIM 2 - A Nearby Tree

Day 2 of the Every Day in May sketch challenge. How are you doing so far? Remember, it's meant to inspire and encourage, so don't worry, you can catch up or skip a day or two. Not too late to get started!



The prompt today is to sketch a nearby tree. The house is filled with the scent of lilacs, cut from my row of 9 in the back yard. But I am in love with the two white birches at the end of our front driveway next to the mailboxes. The light is illuminating them this morning as I stand across the street with my Pentalic Premier pen and Pentalic Aqua Sketchbook. I am tempted to get my little mini Altoids kit and dash in the shadows, but I resist. I am happy with the line work.....it says how connected everything is.


Once before, I made a proper watercolor painting of the sunlight and shadows on the bark.
You can zoom a high resolution image of the line drawing here on my Flickr photostream.

Urban Sketchers Seattle, at the Burke Museum

This morning at the Burke Museum, another sizable crowd of Seattle Urban Sketchers came together for the monthly outing. Along with families, individuals and a meeting of the Tlingit and Salish tribes, we all shared a cozy and warm place to be on a blustery, rainy day.

Again, as I always do in museums, I felt a convergence of experience and time.

One of the featured exhibits was "Here & Now: Native Artists Inspired", which showcases how today's artists learn from past generations. The exhibit features 30 new works by contemporary Native artists, paired with historic pieces from the Burke Museum that artists identified as key to their learning. Coincidentally, a contemporary tribal group met in an adjacent room where a man with drums chanted, wearing his own woven hat in the traditional design. See photos above/left depending on your display screen.

My sketches of wings and eggs from the ornithology display in the lobby.

The elegantly displayed Xiphactonus from Kansas.

Although I enjoyed touring much of the rest of the museum, I was captivated by what I found in the lobby, where we all met in the beginning. I stayed there most of the time and sketched the two sketchbook spreads seen above.

The Confluence of Science and Art: Wes Wehr's Inspiration is now on display in the lobby of the Burke Museum. It is a fitting tribute. The entire display was beautifully arranged, like the perfectly arranged cabinet drawers of treasure in the paleontology and geology collections – the focus of Wehr's study and inspiration.

Sketchers, both new and experienced, find their subjects.

 The sketches above are but a fraction of those set out to share at the end of the outing today. See the Seattle Urban Sketchers blog for more accounts and photos of the inspired results.

 I can hear these toothy characters now, exclaiming: "So I'm stuck out in the middle of nowhere without a dental plan!"
Psst. Hey, guys, I hear there's a drawer full of teeth downstairs. FYI.

A clear view of the mountains

A few peaks viewed down the road from my PNW studio

It was a beautifully clear day with a view of the Cascade Mountain peaks near where I live. I sat in the car and sketched this today.
They don't call this the Evergreen State for nothing! What other temperate zone landscape has emerald foothills and green grass in the yard at the end of January?

Mad Art at UW and Burke Museum

From September 13th – October 25th 2014, the University of Washington welcomes MadArt’s newest public art installation, Mad Campus, onto its grounds. In this exhibit, temporary, site-specific works are displayed in various outdoor locations on the UW campus. Inspired by their locations, from hidden nooks to well-frequented vistas, the selected artists have created new sculptures designed to be interactive.

Some of the "bird relics" that drew my attention.

Evan Blackwell's work is fascinating. His installation called "Relics of Experience" is located outside the Burke Museum in order to inspire a dialogue of inquiry and wonder about collecting as it relates to nature, history, and living experience. The piece is made up of a series of ceramic boxes that are filled with responses to and representations of various artifacts from the Burke’s collection.

I hopped on the floating bridge ($4.90 toll by mail....Thank You!) after teaching my class at Kirkland Arts Center. The campus chimes rang two o'clock as I reached the installation at the Burke Museum. I got $12 refund for my $15 parking at the kiosk on my way out at 2:45.
I made these sketches with my Micron, Lamy pen, Pentalic sketchbook and a few watercolor brushstrokes.

Seattle Urban Sketchers were there this morning, sketching Mad Campus. Can't wait to see their sketches!
Update: I got the date wrong for the sketchers, they are meeting up next Friday! It's not too late for you to join them!

Anacortes Marina

I posted the compositional linework and beginning of this sketch yesterday. Moments after closing the sketchbook, I drove over to class #1 for the day, then on to class #2, my night class at Skagit Valley College.
I filled in the color while watching TV last night and here's the result!

Most of the rigging was left as the white of the paper.

This little Pentalic Aqua Journal is only 3"x5" closed, but 3"x10" open.

My new tiny Pentalic Sketchbook

The University Book Store in Seattle has always been one of my favorite places. When our children were small, I took them upstairs for story time in the childrens' section. It was timed perfectly so that lunchtime was right afterwards. Imagine the swift run through I usually had to do downstairs in the art store!

No such problem while shopping with fellow sketchers last Friday! We ogled the beautiful fountain pens laid out in covered cases like rare jewels, found new supplies that we really didn't need (now on the wish list), and shared the reasons why we were buying our favorites.

3x5" Aqua Journal with my Micron Pen in the elastic holder

A friend told me about these tiny 3x5" Pentalic Aqua Journals, so I got one that day. An elastic brush holder is positioned at the top of the book and is designed to hold a travel brush or pen. The Aqua Journal is fitted with a ribbon marker, elastic band closure and storage pocket in the back of the book.

I have seen fellow artists using the 5x8" Aqua Journals, which will give you a nice sized 5x16" panoramic spread using both sides when open. So far, no results online for these really small 3x5" ones. I have already mentioned the Nature Sketch books (illus.) and recommended them to help my students work on daily sketching. In every instance, I really like the quality, weight and finish of their 130 lb paper. All these sketchbooks open out flat. It suits my direct style of line and wash sketching.

Why, you may ask, am I excited about the smaller size? I want to get over the idea of making a finished painting every time I'm out "sketching". Maybe if it's almost too small to see, I might think of it as merely a sketchbook and simplify my composition. It seems the more room I have on the paper, the more "finished" it appears to want to be. Don't hold your breath, though, I think it's my attitude that needs changing rather than the size of my sketchbook.

Hmmm. Maybe I should only paint things that are 30 miles away. Wait, isn't that a zoom feature on my iPhone camera? I have a pair of binoculars somewhere, don't I?

Fidalgo Bay

Still at Seafarers' Memorial Park, but sitting in the cool shade of the sculpture, Lady of the Sea, I found this panorama for my new sketchbook. (More about the new sketchbook on Sunday.)

Getting started with line and establishing the distance

Finished Sketch

Refinery Skyline

Sketched at Seafarer's Memorial Park with ASk

One of the so-called "necessary evils" of living in the beautiful coastal town of Anacortes is the ever present refinery. Too many times to count, however, I have heard people say that they hate to admit it, but it is actually rather beautiful at night. I agree, but I also appreciate the "big city" feel of all the stacks and towers--right there in the middle of a rural scene.

Recently, I saw a sketchers' challenge online. It was entitled "So ugly it's beautiful." To me, as an artist, there is beauty to be found in just about everything. So I sat on the seawall and sketched this from Seafarer's Memorial Park on Memorial Day.