back in business

Whew, i was able to undelete my account and recover all of my content. That was scary!

So back to business.

The start of new book always begins with layin down my watercolor palette this time acompanied with some reflection.

Also posted is the first sketch.

That one started out as something different, took a BAD turn for the worse and then evolves into this.

Sometimes things dont come out the way you planned and that's ok :)

new book and testing

first this is to test my blog... al of my images have dissappeared........ crud

Wednesday Meetup / sketchout

Yesterday was the first of hopfully many wednesday sketchouts with the meetup group and rochester sketchcrawl.
There were six of us in total. It felt good to create with other people.

Come on out.... http://www.meetup.com/RochesterSketchers/
http://rochestersketchcrawl.blogspot.com/

Beach Day

spent saturday afternoon at the beach with some friends. GREAT DAY!!!!

apples

Playing around with different tools :)

i have a bunch of unscanned items in my book. I feel i am working through some style / technique things right now.

learning new techniques at the symposium was awesome, but now i seem to be struggling to find my way.

plus, my watercolors feel flat. so i am looking for a good book to get the basic techniques down. (any suggestions out there?)

also, I'm trying to find balance. I love the details in architecture, nature and most things. but at what point do i feel as if i am drafting? I have the new want to not only capture what i see but capture the feeling the essence of where i am. So, i have given myself permission to use my sketchbook as workbook of sorts. To worry less about making the book itself be a finished piece and let myself explore.

So, stayed tuned...

airports and golfing

Monday night

sitting in the chair after errands and bike cleaning

Satuday Night Sketches

Saturday night sketches. On the left were done in the half an hour or so before the show. The right an experiment during.  The blue line was drawing everything mirrored. That was interesting to do.

Lewey Lake campground

Our site was actualy on Indian Lake and this is the little path to our sandy beach. Perfect for tossing the kayak right in :)

Waiting

just a little contour skech while waiting to pik up a liece of equipment.

Steel Stacks 2 (with color)

Bethlehem Steel Stacks

We were down in PA this past weekend visiting in the in-laws and i was able to get time to sketch down at "the stacks".  I could have spent all day there.

I am going to add some paint to this soon, but wanted to get it scanned in before i experiment. :) 

USK Symposium Santo Domingo 3

Last day of the workshop and off to home. Whats behind an onion.... another great workshop. Miguel and Swasky and wonderful instructors. The way they explained how to layer your sketch and the idea of using different medium to show layers or importance was so interesting. This is something i definitely want to play with.

Again , like all of the other instructors and participant, seeing work in person is amazing. for me there is a different experience. i really like the connection i get from hold the sketching book and turning the pages. This is one of the many things i love about sketching with groups. Plus you see new medium, techniques , pens :)

USK Symposium Santo Domingo 2

The second day started with the Improvising with Lines and Color workshop run by Orling Dominguez and Inma Serrano. OMG this workshop was amazing! It has been the best one i have taken including the workshops from Lisbon. It was just the thing i was looking for to add more life into my work. They have given me a new way to see the world. Permission to improvise on what is out there and try compose a sketch that capture not only the structure or people but the essence of a place.

So after that workshop, i was able to take a workshop with the incredibly talented Veronica Lawlor, whose work is even more impressive in person ( i just found out she has a ten day workshop coming up at Disney. Maybe next year :) ) She and Jonathon too, gave a me a different way to see. To slow down and observe the world before we jump right into the sketch. Sit and let the story unfold around you. you know when its the right time to sketch. 

thanks to all of the instructors! 

USK Symposium Santo Domingo 1

What a fantastic symposium. Orling, Gabi, Jason and Elizabeth dad an amazing job. THANK YOU for all of your hard work. Being surrounded by so much energy and passion for sketching is incredible. I am already excited about the possibility of going again next year.  I have taken new techniques and ways of seeing not only from the workshops but also from the other participants ans their work.

These are sketches from my journey to SDQ and from the first workshop. More to follow

Nina's Challenge through limitation workshop. I love the idea of limitng my palette to two or three colors and trying to figure out how to render an environment.  I also had the opportunity to try out the multi colored pencil i had been searching for. ( they had them for sale and a small table at CCE and i was able to grab 1 of the last 2 left. some work with that should follow in time )

Random sketches this week

Getting ready for the symposium so i bound a new book before i went camping on thurday. here are a few since then. And as with all new books , my watercolor pallette. the one around the campfire are outlines of my friend who could NOT sit still to save her life :)

Updated sketch and a small

add some whit eo the latta / north greece sketch. The other is a small from the show saturday night....

Big Catch up #2

Big Catch up #1

New Sketchbook

I bought a new sketchook the other day. I was actually going to the store to get supplies to bind a new book and saw this. It has such an interesting cover and different (for me) thick paper with wonderfully deckled edges. Plus its a new format. SO, why not give it a try. Picts are: 1. The outside , pages are 6" x 9" +/- cover a bit larger 2. First page is always my favorite. Palette testing. I added a few to the tiny travel pallette i nade from an antique eyeglass case purchased during the lisbon symposium. 3. And the last image is my first sketch in the book. It will take some time to get used to the new fiberous paper. But i am intrigued. THat's it for now. Planning on getting some good sketching in this weekend is the weather holds :)