Kona is famous for its coffee, and, having sampled so much of it during our week on the Big Island, I understand how it earned its good reputation. Although we never took a farm tour, my last sketch from this trip shows the entrance to a large coffee farm.
Absorbing the beauty of Hawaii from the lanai seems to be everyone’s go-to activity.
Slow breakfasts with quick sketches are a delightful combination. This one is at Kaya’s on the Big Island.
There is so much on the Big Island that astounds and attracts my eye. My attention was definitely divided between the coming sunset, my family, and the incredible size of the monstera philodendron.
I love sketching people on the move. This is from Hapuna Beach, Hawaii, where I was drawing with pastels after a long swim. I saw a man going down to the water with a towel for his companion. They both seemed so vigorous and alive. I admired them and tried to capture their lively steps in this sketch. Later I painted the sketch with gouache.
The Thursday Plein Air group painted at a small flower farm in east San Diego County. I liked this view of one of the old farm cottages surrounded by shade and foliage.
We went to Southern Arizona for a long weekend. The first morning I was up before the sun and sketched the first rays of sunshine as it came over the Cochise Mountains onto the desert floor and the bare branches of a mesquite tree.
The second day I sketched the mesquite tree in daylight.
On the third morning, before sunrise, I sketched a sliver of the moon, the mesquite tree, and the night sky.
Deliberate Sketching 