Cabin on the shore

Last Monday I sketched at Kalena's house with friends. At one point we all took a walk along the shore. This old cabin was probably built in the 1950's as a vacation place where families would come on weekends to fish, swim, canoe and water ski. We were there on the day after the Super Bowl and I noticed the "12th Man" flag sadly hanging at half staff. The overcast sky added to the mood and atmosphere. It made me smile to see the yellow door.

I scanned the ink line drawing before adding watercolor.

At Kalena's with ASK

Opportunities for subject matter around every corner outside. 

Jerlyn, Petey, Missy, Patrick (Back)
Annette, Jude, Bonney, Jane, Katie, Kalena (Front)
Down the beach: Jill--Inside, at the dining table: Linden, Carolyn
Behind the camera: Michele

Thank you, Kalena, for your hospitality in hosting today's meet up with the Anacortes Sketchers. There were views of the tidal bay with a few forested islands, a shoreline strung with beach houses, some still showing their 1950's origins and not a drop of rain as we took our walk on the shore.

Every imaginable beach combing collection was available for inspiration   

ASk at Smugglers' Cove

Anacortes has unlimited choice of subject matter, no matter what the season. Indoors or out, there is bound to be the challenge of choosing from more than what one could sketch in a lifetime.

This is especially true of our location at Smugglers' Cove on Commercial Street this afternoon. Thanks to Kristen, the owner, we were invited to come in from the cold on this chilly autumn afternoon.

Smiles, happy greetings, hugs and lively conversation ensued! We tried on vintage hats, recognized toys from our childhood and marveled at the eclectic bounty from which to draw. Everyone eventually found a little spot or two of their own. Gradually, with concentrated focus on our sketchbooks, the shop became quiet and I overheard Kristen on the phone in the other room; "......I've got sketchers here....."

Wednesday afternoon, Wednesday evening at SVC-ATC trades.

I offered this ATC to trade.

This week is going to be very exciting. Because we are finishing up most of my fall classes, our last day of class is going to be an exchange of ATCs in addition to the final lesson.

Here are the results of a very busy two days of trading!

Wednesday afternoon:
We had an anonymous trade in Anacortes, with all the cards face down and then everyone picked  one at random. This is the one that I contributed, and look (below) at what I got in exchange!

I got this beauty in trade at Anacortes.

Here's the selection from which we chose this afternoon:

Wednesday Evening:

Here's the selection from the night class at Skagit Valley College.

Artists' Trading Cards in class this week!

What fun! With all the drenching rain and stormy weather we've had recently, there had to be a class on wet streets and another on people and their umbrellas. Everyone worked continually on their ATC format, making 3 1/2x 2 1/2" cards. Just look what the Wednesday students produced in class!

From the afternoon class

From the evening class at Skagit Valley College

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.

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.

Figure Studies vs. 6-Stroke Figure

If you've been around my blog and/or website for a while, you have probably encountered my tutorial on simple silhouettes, which I call 6-stroke figures. I even have a tutorial page and video on how easy they are to do. They're great for giving scale to a cityscape or adding the human element to a composition.

A 2 page spread from my little DYI pocket sketchbook

While I am recharging my art spirit this summer, sketching all over the place with friends and colleagues, I have decided to kick it up a notch (as Emeril would say) Let's see if I can put a little personality, individuality and expression in the figures I'm adding to the scene. BAM!
I would call these more than a silhouette, but less than a portrait....so maybe "studies" would be a good term to use. I feel that I did achieve a bit beyond the generic and succeeded in trying to make them as individual as possible.

I guess the guys on the fishing boat are half stroke figures, or maybe just a dot! ;)

Cap Sante - rest of the color added

I'm finally posting the finishing touches on the sketch I did here and wrote a bit about seeing the tall ships in Anacortes.

With watercolor, showing negative space (the space between and behind things) requires intricate painting, wet over dry. If you don't wait long enough, all your new colors bleed into adjoining spaces and spoil the effect. It tries your patience, especially near humid locations like the ocean and harbors.

I challenged myself not to use any "tricks" or aids like masking fluid, wax resist, chalk, gouache, etc. to reserve the whites. This is pure transparent watercolor with graphite sketch drawing. For both of these sketches, I further challenged myself to the use of two brushes and my Tiny Altoids Travel Palette with only 6 colors. The rewards are great, however, when you can see counterchange and alternation in your finished watercolor work.

For the Sketchbook Project 2015

watercolor and graphite on Fabriano Artistico 140#CP

Three page 7"x15" accordion fold-out, each section 5x7"

Baggywrinkle

I got to sketch with ASk at Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes on Monday. I was attracted to the tall ships at the end of the dock.

My sketch of baggywrinkle

From a distance, all those shapes along the rigging make it seem as though there is a colossal rat problem on the Hawaiian Chieftain. As I got closer (zoom in to ship's rigging) I thought maybe they were sponges. After talking to two girls on the crew, I learned they are handmade from rope and called "baggywrinkle". Hehe, that name just makes me chuckle. (Plural is the same, as in deer", they said) Their purpose is to prevent chafing of the sails against the rigging.

The tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain have set a visit for Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes July 9-27, which will include public tours and public sailings.

UGGs

I had plans to paint with The Anacortes Sketchers today, but a strange thing happened on the way to the garage.

I had the oddest feeling that I was being watched. If you look carefully, you will see 4 figures hiding on my deck.
Before I knew it, I was kidnapped by UGGs (Unidentified Garden Gnomes), was rudely shuffled into the studio and forced to paint their portraits.

Watercolors being the way they are, the time I needed to allow for drying between washes used up all my afternoon. Sorry guys, but I think I can post a sketch tomorrow, if they don't catch me doing it. :)

Home Sweet Home

Original Watercolor, Line and Wash
by Michele Cooper

I coveted this house on a beautiful view lot in Anacortes for more than a decade. No one ever bought it and it's falling down now.