Father Daughter Frisbee at Mission Beach
It was probably a little too cold to really sketch at the windy beach but I went anyway with a friend. We lasted a good hour and I caught this father and daughter as they played frisbee. The little girl was about 8 or so and really into the game. Each time her dad threw her the frisbee, she bent down with her hands on her thighs and waited, as though she was waiting for a tennis serve.
This is a pastel and gouache sketch.
A Good Place to Read
Tonight I looked to my right from my desk and sketched what I could see. Earlier I had been reading by the fire with a small blanket in my lap, and the coziness of it all caught my attention.
This is a gouache and pen sketch.
The Sun Was So Warm
I was waiting for a friend on the patio of a cafe. The sun was so delightfully warm that I wanted to lean back and snooze. Looking around I noticed I wasn’t the only one with that desire and got out my sketchbook to capture my sleeping neighbor. Her companion seemed amused and I wanted to capture his expression too.
This is a pen and gouache sketch.
We Were Refugees, Too
This evening I attended a meeting, Immigrants and Refugees: A Jewish Call-to-Action. There was standing room only. People listened intently as a panel of elected officials, rabbis and thought leaders explained why it is imperative that we advocate for immigrants and refugees. It was incredibly moving to be in that room with so many caring people.
We were given suggestions for helpful resources. Three that I looked at this evening were: the ACLU website, the San Diego Anti-Defamation website, and perhaps best of all, a pamphlet, the Indivisible Guide. I see now how to make my calls and letters to elected representatives more effective.
I sketched during the meeting in a black sketchbook with a white gel pen. Later at home I painted this sketch with gouache and then made adjustments with Procreate.
Bird Show
Relatively few people were at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park today. Between the low attendance and gorgeous weather, conditions were awesome for a day of sketching. This is a sketch of a small audience enjoying the bird show. I was in a rush to capture the action and the proportions of the presenter and bird are inconsistent with the audience’s, but I like the sketch anyway.
I began this series of sketches with white charcoal on black paper, thinking that it would help loosen me up for quickly capturing animal movements. Later I abandoned the charcoal for gel pens to avoid the smearing and blurring of detail. I carried a very small palette with twelve gouache colors, a spray bottle and three water brushes, along with two sketchbooks, and an assortment of pens, pencils, and charcoal.
This is a gel pen and gouache sketch on black paper.
Luke Takes a Nap
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 try painting fur with gouache, and this was my opportunity. While I sketched I kept thinking about the difference between the work of trying to fix yesterday’s sketch and the fun of sketching Luke today.
Yesterday’s sketch was developed from an idea I wanted to write about. The writing was my primary focus and the sketch was secondary. The reference photo I used was not quite the right match for the concept and then I got caught up in copying the photo rather than just using it as a guide. Yesterday’s sketch was hard work.
Today’s sketch was less conceptual and more playful. The painting, not the writing, was my primary focus. Luke shifted his position as I painted so I made adjustments from memory, which gives a more real feel to the sketch. Then, because I was relaxed, I changed the color of his bed for the pleasure of using blue. Today’s sketch was fun, but I do still want to get yesterday’s sketch right, sometime soon.
This is a pen and gouache sketch black Bristol paper.
The Happiness Of It All
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 mid year. With the help of her fellow teachers and through her own persistence she makes it through that first tumultuous semester, doubting herself every day but intently aware that teaching is her calling. Figuring out how to teach so children learn is so engrossing that it dominates her every waking moment for several years. She gains confidence, relaxes, follows the progress of her students as they move through middle and high school, and shares her thinking with her colleagues. In the process she becomes one of those kind, wise teachers who first welcomed her to her school and who make all the difference to every child they teach.
With this sketch I wanted to show the delight and excitement of the teacher and her colleagues so I used a group photo from the shower that has everyone beaming. I also wanted to show the age range of the teachers, from those who first welcomed her to the younger teachers who she in turn welcomed. I made two sketches but did not manage to achieve both goals in both sketches. This is a sketch I will keep working on.
This is a pen and watercolor sketch on multimedia paper.
Deliberate Sketching 