Category Archives: Story Creation

Photoshop Final Project

Posted on December 18, 2017 by

This past fall I had the thought that it would be a great idea to take a Photoshop class and learn how to manipulate images digitally.  In spite of the challenges of remembering how to use the keyboard as an … Continue reading →

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Plants and People at the Food Court

Posted on August 28, 2017 by

This was my first sketch of the morning yesterday with the San Diego Urban Sketchers. When I got home I propped up both sketches on my desk and decided I liked the one I posted yesterday best because it had … Continue reading →

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Eclipse with a Friend

Posted on August 21, 2017 by

Today’s eclipse in San Diego was far from the path of totality. It got a little dim and we had fun with our box viewers and sunglasses, but the eclipse pretty much overlooked us. This sketch is more of what … Continue reading →

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At the Beach

Posted on August 17, 2017 by

This evening after swimming in the warm water along the Florida coast I made several quick sketches with white pastel line in a small 9 x 9 inch black paper sketchbook. Later, long after most people went to bed, I … Continue reading →

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Like Matisse’s Windows

Posted on August 4, 2017 by

For the last three weeks I have been thinking about the view from the window. It is so beautiful and the framing of the vista by the window sets the view off splendidly. I looked a few times at some … Continue reading →

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Rafting the Mighty San Miguel

Posted on August 2, 2017 by

For the last two days I had my back to the San Miguel River and the mountains above it while I sketched thickets of cottonwood trees. The San Miguel is very shallow in this section and perfect for beginner rafters. … Continue reading →

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By the Pond

Posted on July 26, 2017 by

I walked over to the Telluride Town Park this afternoon. I never made it past the Kid’s Fishing Pond near the entrance because a grandmother and child sitting on the pond’s bank caught my eye. They were watching something off … Continue reading →

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An Unfinished Sketch

Posted on June 18, 2017 by

The day got away from me what with celebrating Father’s Day and obsessing over the details of a totally captivating book, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith. I need an early start tomorrow and so this sketch … Continue reading →

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Happy Father’s Day!

Posted on June 18, 2017 by

How could I not keep sketching these two as they worked together, and how can I not think of their father/ son relationship as I sketch on this Father’s Day eve? My father worked with his six sons, teaching them … 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 →

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Poolside Chat

Posted on June 6, 2017 by

My sisters are so much fun to sketch as they chat around the pool. I think I have now drawn my sisters and this small pool where we are staying in Cuernavaca from all four sides and am getting the … Continue reading →

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Cuernavaca Start

Posted on May 27, 2017 by

Five of us, four sisters and a good friend, met this evening in Cuernavaca at the start of a two week stay to study Spanish and have fun. This is a quick sketch of two of my sisters as they … Continue reading →

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I Want to See!

Posted on May 25, 2017 by

This morning I went to the zoo with a friend and we sketched giraffes, elephants and people. It was great seeing so many young children out with their families learning to appreciate our diversity. These are pen and watercolor sketches.

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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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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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Final Day of the ‘One Week 100 People’ Challenge

Posted on March 11, 2017 by

I set off for the zoo today to draw people, not animals, and while there got to my 100th person for the One Week 100 People  challenge, hooray! Most of the sketches of people at the zoo are actually composite people, … Continue reading →

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Day 3 of ‘One Week 100 People’

Posted on March 9, 2017 by

The San Diego Opera welcomed artists this evening to its working rehearsal for ‘The Tragedy of Carmen‘, which opens this Friday. It was wonderful to live sketch while listening to the music and was a delightful way to get my … Continue reading →

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The Feeling of Spring at Tilden Park

Posted on March 5, 2017 by

Earlier this week we hiked at Berkeley’s Tilden Park. From time to time our son-in-law would leave some of us behind and leap across boulders and waterfalls, and I admired his confidence and agility very much. Although I did not … Continue reading →

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At the San Diego March for Immigrants

Posted on February 19, 2017 by

There were so many marchers at the San Diego March in Solidarity with Immigrants today and it was an amazing experience being there. As I marched along a young man approached me, doubled checked that I was his old principal, … Continue reading →

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A Finished Sketch from Falstaff

Posted on February 18, 2017 by

I sketch often with the San Diego Urban Sketchers and one of the guidelines we follow when we post to their site is that our sketches should be completely done in a live setting from direct observation, not from photos, … Continue reading →

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Live Sketching at the San Diego Opera

Posted on February 16, 2017 by

The San Diego Opera season opens this Saturday with Falstaff. Local artists were invited to live sketch the Wednesday working rehearsal and I was so glad to be part of the group yesterday evening. We sat in the orchestra section … Continue reading →

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Let Our People Stay!

Posted on February 11, 2017 by

I was so sad when I heard that a family was ripped apart this week by immigration officials. Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos came to the United States 21 years ago as a young teenager. She made a life for herself, worked … Continue reading →

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Luke Takes a Nap

Posted on February 1, 2017 by

I intended to rework yesterday’s sketch but after a few attempts instead spent the evening sketching Luke as he slept beside me. Since last week when I saw my sister-in-law’s delightful sketch of a lamb, I had been wanting to … Continue reading →

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The Happiness Of It All

Posted on January 31, 2017 by

There are some really special moments in life and a baby shower for a much-loved teacher is surely one of those moments. Fifteen years ago a freshly credentialed young woman arrives at a middle school and takes over a position … Continue reading →

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Man Carpets the Stairs

Posted on January 28, 2017 by

We did a lot of housework today and as the day ended I sat and sketched my husband while he placed new carpet on the stairs. He was bent over his work, I was on the level below and my … Continue reading →

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Amazing Mother

Posted on January 26, 2017 by

We have an old black and white photograph from 1958. Most of us are sitting on a park bench in Guadalajara, about 2 weeks into a six-month trip to Mexico. The five girls are wearing matching dresses and the two … Continue reading →

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10 Actions in 1oo Days: A Postcard for the First Action

Posted on January 23, 2017 by

The Women’s March has launched a new campaign, Ten Actions in 100 Days. The first action is to write a postcard to our senators explaining why we march. We are asked to post a photo of the cards to social media … Continue reading →

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Signs from the Women’s March in San Diego

Posted on January 22, 2017 by

I spent the afternoon reworking my sketch from yesterday. Although I liked the chaotic energy of yesterday’s sketch, I also wanted to make it more of a cohesive story. In this redone sketch I have groups of figures standing together. … Continue reading →

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The Women’s March- San Diego

Posted on January 22, 2017 by

How uplifting to be part of the San Diego Women’s March on Washington and to use our voices and bodies to demonstrate for an inclusive America. The validation of being among so many people who are willing to call out the bullies … Continue reading →

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Nearly Naptime

Posted on January 19, 2017 by

  This sketch is based on one of the many photos I took of family members during our Mazatlan trip. Painting from a photo is a less intuitive process for me than drawing from real life, perhaps because thinking about a photo is … Continue reading →

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