Category Archives: Facial Expression

Lounging with a Strawberry

Posted on August 9, 2018 by

  I missed a week of painting while traveling and it was wonderful to meet up with friends today at the San Diego Watercolor Society and sketch for a long morning. We did 5, 10, and 20-minute poses, this one … Continue reading →

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Telluride Town Talk

Posted on July 24, 2018 by

During the summer, the Telluride Science Research Center offers a weekly talk of general interest by a visiting scientist. I enjoy these talks because they are provocative- for instance, today’s topic was, Geo-Engineering a Climate Change Solution. But even better, … Continue reading →

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Keep Families Together

Posted on June 30, 2018 by

What could be more American than celebrating the Fourth of July with your family? Picnics, rodeos, reunions, fireworks, we spend the day enjoying each other and the blessings of a good life in a good country. As we get ready … Continue reading →

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Really?

Posted on April 5, 2018 by

I sketched this morning with the San Diego Watercolor Society’s weekly life drawing group. I particularly like this model because she projects a range of attitudes. This 20- minute pose was towards the end of the morning, and we were … Continue reading →

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Holding On

Posted on March 1, 2018 by

Our model, this morning at the San Diego Watercolor Society, was gorgeous but somehow I did not catch that aspect of her in this sketch. I like it anyway because the white diagonal that connects her two elbows catches my eye. I … Continue reading →

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What’s with the view to her left?

Posted on February 18, 2018 by

This model had attitude, and it showed in the way she sat and evaluated what was going on out towards her left side.  I liked the way I captured her expression in this sketch but felt it lacked the context needed … Continue reading →

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Late Night Scrabble Players

Posted on January 23, 2018 by

While my fellow Scrabble players carefully and slowly calculated potential Scrabble moves last night, I happily documented their efforts. I like this sketch because the figure on the right seems to be thinking strategically while the figure on the left … Continue reading →

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Digital Daydreams

Posted on January 12, 2018 by

When I got up on this seventh day of vacationing with family and friends in Mexico, my sister Teresa Prevey, a digital artist and blogger, was already working on her photographs. She uses various apps on her iPad and transforms … Continue reading →

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What’s a Six Letter Word that Starts with a G?

Posted on January 8, 2018 by

The crossword solvers had to work hard this morning on their puzzle. I think I caught their thoughtful focus in this sketch.

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Delayed Flight

Posted on January 6, 2018 by

The good thing about a flight delay is it gives an opportunity to sketch your fellow passengers. The young women across from us fell asleep and I was able to get a rough sketch of them with pastel and gouache.

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Groups Interacting | 2 Comments

Stopping for a Taco

Posted on December 25, 2017 by

A few days ago I stopped for a taco in the late afternoon. The shop was quiet, and I got an excellent seat for drawing. The ceiling of this shop has lots of interesting shapes and color, and I have had … Continue reading →

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Interior, Telling a Story | Tagged | 4 Comments

My Brother and Grandson

Posted on December 18, 2017 by

My brother met his grandson this week. Of course, it was well documented, and I have looked at one particular photo many times. It shows the contrast in age and size, the beauty of the child and in particular, the complex mixture of … Continue reading →

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Playing Games

Posted on November 26, 2017 by

Thanksgiving week is winding down, and our kids are on the way back to their homes. One of the many delightful parts of holidays is playing games together. We learned a new game that involved convincing others of the believability of … Continue reading →

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Worldwide Urban Sketchers Sketchwalk

Posted on November 11, 2017 by

This afternoon our San Diego Chapter of the Urban Sketchers participated in the Worldwide Urban Sketchers Sketchwalk. All across the world local chapters met and sketched together for assigned 30-minute intervals while posting to social media. As I walked up to … Continue reading →

Posted in Body Language, Cityscape, Facial Expression, Groups Interacting, Telling a Story | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Perplexing Result

Posted on October 31, 2017 by

In theory, collaboration sounds like a sweet and collegial process, but in practice, it can be quite heated. I have been listening to these two work out ideas together for more than 30 years and am still amazed at their … Continue reading →

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The Sketcher

Posted on October 3, 2017 by

I was out with my plein air group today and sketched a fellow painter who was working under a nearby shade tree. The tilt of her head along with her hand raised a bit above her sketchbook suggested to me … Continue reading →

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Nostalgia

Posted on August 15, 2017 by

Visiting a cousin who grew up with you long ago can cause the memories to come cascading back, especially if heightened by old photos and the music of your past.  The body language of these two cousins on a shared … Continue reading →

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Discussion at the Fire Pit

Posted on June 20, 2017 by

This is the unfinished sketch from yesterday with gouache added today.  By the time I finished today I had unintentionally changed the mood of the sketch from upbeat to tense. The figure on the right now has his lips pursed and … Continue reading →

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So, Let’s Talk About How to…

Posted on June 15, 2017 by

Our son, a programmer, came home for a few days to help his dad set up some experiments. It is wonderful to have him home and to listen to the collegial talk between them as they work together. I cannot … Continue reading →

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Groups Interacting, Story Creation, Telling a Story | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

A Last Sketch from Cuernavaca

Posted on June 13, 2017 by

I was sketching in a cafe off of Cuernavaca’s city square while my sisters were taking a salsa lesson. When they came to get me I was not quite ready to go. Although I told myself I would finish this … Continue reading →

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Zócalo de Cuernavaca

Posted on June 12, 2017 by

Although we are no longer in Cuernavaca, I still have a few sketches I would like to post, including this one of people enjoying the central square of Cuernavaca. This is an in-the-moment sketch, that is, a sketch where I … Continue reading →

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Cooking Together at Rocio’s

Posted on June 9, 2017 by

Rocio is one of our Spanish teachers and she offers a cooking class in her home. The participants go and buy the ingredients and then, under her supervision, make a Mexican meal. It was a wonderful opportunity but I found … Continue reading →

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Sheila Speaks to Students at CONALEP Plantel Temixco

Posted on June 8, 2017 by

My sister Sheila Polk gave a presentation to students at CONALEP Plantel Temixco, a technical high school near Cuernavaca, and I jumped at the chance to go along. Retired or not I still love going to schools and this one … Continue reading →

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A Very Thin Woman

Posted on May 22, 2017 by

It was good to go to figure painting class today. The model was wonderful, she was older, had a soulful expression, and her thin limbs were interesting to sketch. Our goal was to paint directly on the paper without first … Continue reading →

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Mother and Child

Posted on May 18, 2017 by

I always say I can’t draw from a photo, but I got to wondering if, after 23 months of daily sketching, if this is still true. I took so many great photos on our trip and would love to use these … Continue reading →

Posted in Body Language, Deliberate Practice, Facial Expression | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Two Listeners 

Posted on May 1, 2017 by

This morning before leaving Chicago we stopped for a working breakfast with a lifelong friend. First we ate and caught up on our news and then I sketched while they worked a bit. I was looking forward to this sketch … Continue reading →

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Sharing a Laugh with Old Friends

Posted on April 29, 2017 by

We stopped in Saint Louis to visit with friends from our college days and it was wonderful to connect again.  It seems like not seeing people for 30 years ought to have created a huge void but this was not … Continue reading →

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As the Conference Ends

Posted on April 24, 2017 by

Well, the conference is over. This is a last sketch on an iPad of worn out participants from yesterday evening. 

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Presenting to the Group, version II

Posted on April 23, 2017 by

This is based on a black and white sketch I posted two days ago.  I used two apps on my iPad, Procreate and Snapseed, to crop it and add color and texture.  I notice that it adds more emotional value … Continue reading →

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Day 3 at the Conference

Posted on April 22, 2017 by

  Today is the third day of the conference and basic pen drawings are all the sketching I can fit in. While I miss using color, I do enjoy just quickly jotting down what I see.  These three sketches today … Continue reading →

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