What a restful day we had after all the effort of getting ready for our long trip. Monday was about sleeping late, eating out, running errands, talking and of course drawing. This is a late evening sketch of our son at the desk in our hotel room. The stars are based on strands of lights on the trees outside our room and the railing is exaggerated from the swimming pool fence.
I sketched using the Procreate app on my IPad.
Funny how much you can love and worry about a dog. Luke has only been with us for a year and a half but leaving Luke was such a hard part of beginning our half year trip to Israel and Europe. Fortunately, Luke is now out in a gorgeous rural setting, has another dog and two horses to add interest to his day, and is with two amazing people with incredible hearts. We got a text last night with a photo of Luke sleeping in his bed next to the master bed, talk about kind hearts! Luke is a lucky dog.
One of my learning goals is to tell a story with image and I played with this composition wanting to show it all. However, the full story distracted from Luke’s experience so I finally cut it down to just Luke, our friends and an outside view of their home. I put a bit of rose on the two figures to show warm hearts and left out their detail to suggest their openness to Luke. I show Luke moving around wth an enthusiasm suggesting pleasure in being alive.
I used a few photographs and other sketches of Luke for reference and sketched in Procreate on my iPad.
Our son came down from the Bay Area to help us and we have been working away on readying our house for renters while we are away for the next six months. We were all a little bleary eyed so we paused for a puzzle, a bite and a sketch. The expression I wanted to convey was the look of people thinking together but I think I captured more of the tired look.
This sketch is completely done using the Procreate app on my iPad. After drawing a simple sketch of the two figures I laid down large areas of solid color. I went back and selected areas to lighten or darken. It reminds me of wood block prints, which I used to do years ago in high school.
I waited at Harbor Island for an arrival at the nearby airport. I intended to sketch the silhouette of downtown buildings but was distracted by a sailboat and the sun glistening on the sea.
I sketched in ink and watercolor. Later at home I scanned the sketch into Procreate and then worked on the sparkling light.
This is a quick sketch of my neighbor practicing the violin. He was very serious and focused as he made his way through the required pieces, one by one, and was very happy to complete the task. His long arms and the bow made a kind of visual harmony that complemented the music.
I used marker and watercolor.
While waiting to meet a friend at a corner coffee shop I happened to sit down near a couple on the patio. They were having an audible disagreement about her parents. Their body language was not friendly and I wondered if the nonverbal signals were contributing to an escalation of the disagreement. She sat back and spoke with a righteous force. He hunched forward sullenly, spoke occasionally, but mostly shrugged his shoulders as though he were disputing her words. They soon left but fortunately I finished the sketch first.
I sketched in pen and watercolor.
I noticed the look a person has when concentrating on repairing a small item. The eyes are focused up close on the work and hands. The lips are pursed, the head slightly tilted, and the body is held very still, as though to keep from jostling. The tools on the workbench and on the pegboard behind the figure set the context and help to tell the story.
I sketched this with an ink pen and watercolor. Later I scanned it into Procreate where I made some minor adjustments.
Deliberate Sketching 