The Happiness Of It All

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
The Happiness Of It All

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.

 

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Groups Interacting, Story Creation, Telling a Story | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Man Carpets the Stairs

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Man Carpets the Stairs

Man Carpets the Stairs

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 head was at about the same height as his, so I was looking directly at his head and arms. This composition makes me feel a bit like he may tumble forward down the stairs.  I considered cropping the sketch to increase the feeling of stability but in the end liked the way the context helps tell a story of our Friday evening.

This is a pastel and gouache sketch on black Bristol paper.

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Amazing Mother

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Sketch of a mother with 8 children

Amazing Mother

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 older boys may be in matching shirts. We are traveling by camper, alternating between hotels and camping spots, and look happy, clean, and ready to stop posing and set off for adventure. Imagine the effort to keep us clean and fed, let alone happy and engaged!

On this sixth anniversary of my mother’s death I have been thinking about her impressive capacity to organize us and lead us off into marvelous opportunities and experiences. In 1958 there were eight of us and over the years there would be five more. The places we went, the people and ideas who came through our house, the causes we championed, the books and magazines we read, it all goes back to our parents’ vision for family and our mother’s ability to organize us around this vision. She was an amazing woman and I miss her very much.

This is a gouache and gel pen sketch on black Bristol paper.  I am still working on this sketch and may post and update tomorrow.

Posted in Body Language, Story Creation, Telling a Story | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

At the Timken Museum

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
At the Timken Museum

At the Timken Museum

My Tuesday landscape class met at the Timken Museum, our fallback location for rainy days. Our teacher took us around and discussed the rhythm of several paintings in the museum. Afterwards I sketched a bit and tried to include more rhythm in my sketches. I used gouache from a small travel palette I devised. The pink paint on the back wall is too thick, but by the time I got to the side walls I was managing it a bit better.

This is a pen and gouache sketch on multimedia paper.

Posted in Body Language, Groups Interacting | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Postcard for the First Action

10 Actions in 100 Days: A Postcard for the First Action

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 with the #WhyIMarch tag before mailing it. All of the details about the campaign are at: https://www.womensmarch.com/100/

I modified yesterday’s sketch for this postcard, simplifying the sketch even more and selecting a single message that I want everyone who gets a card from me to think about.(They tried to bury us. They did not know we are seeds.)

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Back of Postcard

On the back of the card there is a blank sign for the cause I will write about. I was going to pre-address the cards it but it turns out that each senator and representative has a unique address. Fortunately the site above has an easy way for us to locate the appropriate address. I am having the postcard printed this evening and tomorrow will pick up my cards.

I would love to share this card. Right click on it and select copy image. If you cannot download it, send a note to sullivasarah@gmail.com and I will send you a pdf that you can use to print it yourself or have a copy service do it for you.

Imagine the impact if all 5 million marchers send cards!

Posted in Facial Expression, Groups Interacting, Story Creation, Telling a Story | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Signs from the Women’s March in San Diego

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Signs from the Women's March in San Diego

Signs from the Women’s March in San Diego

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. The raised arms have a common rhythm and I think this helps to suggest unity. To convey the enormous number of people marching together, I put in groups of marks in the far background that could be waves of people. And I used even brighter colors to show the passion that caused more than 2.5 million people throughout our world to show up and make a statement.

This is a gouache and gel pen sketch on black Bristol paper. I used Snapseed and Procreate as well.

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Groups Interacting, Story Creation, Telling a Story | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Women’s March- San Diego

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
At the Women's March- San Diego

At the Women’s March- San Diego

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 and insist that we can be a country of the people, by the people and for the people is incredible. It was an amazing day!

This is a gel pen and gouache sketch with some adjustments in Procreate.

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