A Burger at "The Counter"

Custom Built Burgers

I did this sketch at a burger place in California.  It was just one of the many great restaurants we went to.  We really did eat too much, but then again, whose to say how much is too much?   We had a great time, AND we brought the California grandkids home with us.  Last night we got all the cousins together for pizza and craziness.  I love it.

Next week, Friday, I will hold my Summer Kick-Off Journal Workshop.  Summer will begin in earnest then with classes and workshops.  I'm not sure I can get a handle on the jungle in our backyard by then, but oh well.  I was hoping the garden would look pretty good, but while we were gone the rain grew everything to jungle-like proportions, and the deer ate the tops off everything.  It's okay.  This is gonna be a no stress summer  -  lots of classes, lots of fun.  I'm getting my sketching/painting things together as we speak.  Ho about you?

Pizza My Heart

A Watercolor Sketch of Lunch on the First Day of June

and the first day of summer vacation

This was a fabulous pizza (aren't they all?)  -  green apple, sausage, bacon, pepperoni, green onion, and Gorgonzola!!!  The special of the day at Pizza My Heart in Willow Glenn, CA.

Every trip has to have something hysterically funny happen or it's not a real trip.  My husband put his money clip on a table and went in to take a shower.  The kids' huge collie chomped up the money, some cards including insurance cards and DRIVERS LICENSE!!!  He mercifully left the debit card intact, and we think the drivers license is intact enough to get back through security.  He really only ate $1 bill, so no harm done  -  well  -  maybe a little harm.

Now I 'm going to go sketch some of the beautiful herbs in my daughter's herb garden, and listen to the black phoebe sing.  It sits on the telephone wire and serenades us  -  black phoebe on a wire.  If anyone wants to steal that for a book title  -  go ahead,  I don't think I'm going to be using it.

Lunch at Jesperson's

Tomato Soup with Garlic Croutons

This wasn't our usual Wednesday tomato soup place.  The soup was nothing to write home about, but the croutons were delicious.  That was my second piece of cherry pie this week.  What's with that?  I don't even eat desserts  -  not because I'm virtuous  -  I just don't care for sweets.

This is a contour (continuous line drawing) done with my Noodler's pen with periwinkle Noodler's ink.

I am looking out the front window toward the Bay and it is gray gray gray  -  sky, water, trees, everything.  I guess I will just have to go do something colorful.  I have this urge to make paper beads in bright colors.  Maybe I should get dressed first.  Get ready for this afternoon's class.  Load the dishwasher .......  But those beads are calling me.  Here I go.

Do something creative today.  Anything!

Cafe Sante

Salt and Pepper Shakers at Cafe Sante

My dinner was not colorful, so the salt and pepper shakers will have to do. Yeah, I know, they aren't colorful either.  Of course I was hungry, and I am always the last one finished, so doing salt and pepper shakers before the meal comes works out well for me. My husband, brother, and sister-in-law are very patient people, but there is a limit.

I had chicken fricassee, and it was delicious! The place was very crowded, noisy, warm and cozy. Fun!

The paper I did this on is Canson Mi-Teintes in my hand bound sketchbook.  I think it is pastel paper, and this particular color is an olive-y green.  I did the drawing with a Gelly Roll pen, then used watercolor, and added white with a Prismacolor pencil.  Gelly Roll pens are permanent and archival, and an be found in scrap booking stores.  Prismacolor pencils can be purchased open stock in most art supply stores.

Now I'm going to go wrap a couple of Christmas presents.  I'm getting there.  How about you?

Salt and Pepper Shakers Again

Salad

I hadn't done this style salt shakers yet. They weren't exciting  -  just a little different than any in my "collection".

We went to the book store before dinner, and I found a book for my husband for Christmas.  When I told the girl at the counter that this was my first Christmas gift purchase, she acted shocked.  Come on - I was really pleased to be getting at it. Don't judge me.

Our Christmas tree is up!  The lights are on.  The cat has climbed it a couple of times. We are officially into the season.  This week we have a Christmas event with my husband's library board members, and two grade school concerts - among everyday things that at times can seem overwhelming. It's okay  -  'tis the season to be jolly  -  and we are!

How are your Christmas plans coming?  Are you taking a few minutes to sketch some of your activities, ingredients, illustrate your gift list?

Day Twenty-nine

Collections
Sometimes in my journal classes, I'll have my students look around for certain objects that interest them and paint several.  It's a way of "collecting" things we like.  Some of the collections have been stones, flower containers, ginger bread trim on cottages, windows, flags  -  just to name a few.

I have been "collecting" salt and pepper shakers everywhere I go. I do them in restaurants, even if I have done them before, or they are identical to some others.  I guess I am collecting the experience more than the salt shakers. You'll find an even better variety in your friends' homes too.

If you're a little housebound (at least you're probably not out on the beach looking for stones) this time of year because of winter coming on,  there are always things around you that are colorful and fun to sketch.

For example:

January - chairs, interiors
February - fabric folds, lace, patterns, curtains, tablecloths
March - perspective, buildings, streets, doorways
April - trees
May - figures - people and pets
June - lawn chairs, window boxes, planters
July - gardens, gates and fences
August - produce, farm markets, sunflowers

September - clouds, landscape,

October - fall vegetables
November - dishes, silverware, glassware, tablescapes
December - dinner ingredients, labels, bottles and jars

If you have some prompts, themes, or a series you have done, we would love to hear about it.

Day Seventeen

Salt and Pepper Shakers

My friend, Cathy, called this morning to say she was in town running errands  -  how about lunch?  Today is Thursday, so they weren't serving their fabulous tomato Gorgonzola soup, and their loaded potato soup looked like it might be loaded with everything I am trying not to eat  -  cheese, milk, cream, butter - Yum.  I ordered my favorite sandwich - hummus, roasted peppers, artichokes. . .so good!  It was warm and cozy in the restaurant and we could have stayed all day, but life goes on.

November 17th.  I just realized when I wrote the date in my sketchbook, today is the anniversary of the day my husband and I met.   Years and years ago.  He was in the Air Force, and when I met him, he was on his way from Key West to Omaha.  He was gone for another year and when he came home we decided to get married.  In the few months before our wedding, he worked nights and weekends and I worked days, so we still didn't see each other.  How well could we have possibly known each other?  Well enough, I'd say!  Tonight is spaghetti night.  I'll put candles on the table.

Lunch at the Twisted Olive

My Lunch Sketched on Arches Cover Cream Paper in My Sketchbook

Food Blogging Again

I had a veggie burger on flat bread, orzo, and hummus. The veggie burger was made with chickpeas (left whole - how did they stay together!!!???) lentils, zucchini, and carrots  -  served on Naan flat bread with tomatoes and lettuce.  I don't know why I felt compelled to give you all the details, but, there they are.

Beautiful beautiful beautiful weather here for the past few days.   It's been a busy week, and oops, I didn't go to life drawing tonight.  Maybe I need a little break from life drawing. 

Okay  -  not to overdo the food blogging, but I think I will go roast some Brussels sprouts now. 

Have you sketched some food today?

Weekend Sketch

Salt and Pepper Shakers and a Couple of the Grandkids

We spent a family weekend at a downstate hotel, seeing our son off as he deployed to Afghanistan.   As difficult as that was, we had a really nice weekend together.  Some woman came up and tapped me on the shoulder as I was ordering a Starbucks and said, "There are a lot of weddings here this weekend, but there are also a lot of people here that are deploying. Just so you know".   Just so I know?!  Yeah, I know!  Did I look like I was having too much fun ordering my coffee?

This sketch was done on Nideggen paper in my sketchbook. I did the salt and pepper shakers at dinner, and one of the kids thought I needed the beverage menu as a backdrop. It would have been a good one to do in color.

I have a class tomorrow morning, so I had better go work on some sketches, so my students think I've been doing something.  They keep me on my toes.

Terrace Inn Tea

Strawberries and Devonshire Cream

This is a little sketch done in Prismacolor pencil and watercolor on Zerkall Frankfurt Cream paper.  The paper sounds good enough to eat, doesn't it?  It is not watercolor paper, and it does buckle, but I kind of like it anyway.

I did this at my second annual Terrace Inn Afternoon Tea.  Twenty-one ladies attended and they all brought their watercolor journals and small paint kits.  Their paintings were wonderful!  We spent the afternoon in the beautiful dining room (linen tablecloths and watercolors do mix after all) painting in our journals, compairing supplies, and catching up.  We painted a little before we started eating and then everyone painted between bites.

The very fact that the Inn lets us paint at the tables set with linen says it all. The whole staff is gracious, accommodating, and creative.


I love the idea of getting past, present, and future students together, and it's so much fun to discover new techniques, find out where to pick up new materials, and just to share some time with people with sketchbooks in common.

Thanks to all who attended!!!  I'm looking forward to next year already.

Jesperson's

 Lunch at Jesperson's

I know.  You'd think I would have more than a glass of water to show for all this time of non-blogging.

In class this week we worked on small still life compositions.  Everyone was feeling a little "off".  I'm blaming it on the barometric pressure or the thunder storm.  We were all talking about how much we enjoy a good ol' Michigan thunderstorm  - however, it struck a house down the street and started a small fire, and across the Bay it actually hit our granddaughter's classroom!!! No one was hurt, but it knocked a small hole right through the cinder block wall!

Next week we will get back to the small still life compositions. The whole idea is to zoom in, zoom out, zoom left, zoom right . . . keep them simple with strong shapes and values.  Maybe I will set a time limit  -  if we can't fuss with it, we do a better job.  If there isn't a raging storm, we can concentrate on the composition.  But we are a bunch of artists  -  we really do enjoy a good distraction.

Lunch at Turkeys

Yet Another Lunch.  Yet Another Set of Salt and Pepper Shakers

I am always  quick to say, "Oh, I never eat out."  Looking back through this almost completed sketchbook at the salt shaker sketches,  maybe I DO eat out more than I thought.  My sister-in-law saw I was nearly finished with this sketchbook and she said, "Have you eaten your way through that whole sketchbook?!"

I am surprised at the variety of salt shakers in restaurants.  How many restaurant supply places are there, and how many different styles could they have?  At first glance you might think they are all alike, but when you start drawing them, you begin to notice the differences.

I suppose I could spend my time observing something  - um -important?  Educational? Challenging?  Useful?

Salt Shaker and Mustard

Another Salt Shaker and a Bottle of Mustard.

At the Mitchell Street Pub

We could use a little color here today  -  it is DARK.  It is officially spring now, so sooner or later we're gonna be okay.

Last week I started to get classes, promotions, lessons, events, etc. organized for spring and summer.  The only (probably not the "only") problem is, we had a weekend thrown in there, and it doesn't take much to get me off track.  Actually, I planned to be off track.  I didn't intend to work on it over the weekend, but it always surprises me how much I forget from Friday to Monday.  I use Google docs to keep track of EVERYTHING.  However I spend a lot of time going through everything because I don't remember what "docs" contain what.  Oh.  I think I get it. On the sidebar there is information referring to each document.  Mmmmmm  -  has that always been there?

Saturday night we went with my brother and sister-in-law to the Mitchell Street Pub for dinner - downtown just a few blocks from us. I honestly don't think a thing has changed on the menu in twenty years.  That's a good thing  -  we need consistency in some things.  It was a nice cozy place to sit and talk.  Everyone has left town.  Seriously.  No one comes to Northern Michigan the end of March through April, and a LOT of the residents leave.  If you want to get away from it all, have all the restaurants and grocery stores to yourselves,  and find a parking place anywhere  -  this is the place.

Our 13 year old grandson came over yesterday afternoon for help with a school project.  He has to build a model of the McCormick Reaper!  Are you kidding???!!!  Is this what happens when they get past the poster paint and glitter stage?  Well, no,  he never did do glitter.  But, really  -  we have to build a reaper from things around the house!!!???  Any suggestions?

Tomato Gorgonzola Soup Recipe

Marj has posted her recipe for tomato basil Gorgonzola soup on her blog.  Just click on it to enlarge.  I just made it and it is yummy!  Thanks, Marj.  While you're there, check out her happy and colorful watercolors.

Salt and Pepper Shakers at Applebee's 

I thought I might paint my dinner, but I ordered a messy looking, delicious  salad, and we had to hurry to make the 7:00 show. We saw The King's Speech.  Great movie. And it was ladies' night  -  $4.25!

Today in class we worked on loosening up and letting the painting paint itself.  We painted with clear water and then put in color.  Even though it was a simple geranium stem and blossom on a small piece of paper, it is still hard to relinquish control and let it happen. Watercolor on its own usually does better than I do, so I try to stand back and see what happens.

Sooooo cold here.  The wind is blowing, the Bay is frozen, the sky is gray.  Every year I complain about the cold, but I'm not going anywhere.  I like the slow pace of winter here  -  then I like the fast pace of summer.   Perfect.

Tomato Basil Gorganzola

Taking My Sketchbook to Lunch Again

Tomato Basil Gorgonzola soup.  Wednesday's special  -  I love it!!!!
It's a good day for soup with friends.  It is very sunny and very cold here.  While the rest of the country (a good portion of it, anyway) experiences terrible blizzards, we have blue skies and sunshine. 


If anyone comes across a great tomato basil Gorgonzola soup recipe, would you let me know?  If you make it, paint it  -  it's a great color.

Another Salt Shaker

Salt Shaker at the "Sugar Bowl" Restaurant

A few posts back  Michelle asked what the five colors are in my little palette.  The palette pictured here is my seven color palette. I use a very limited palette anyway, so using only five or seven is not a big deal.  Here I have cobalt violet, quinacridone rose, ultramarine blue, hansa yellow, manganese blue, thalo yellow-green, and thalo green yellow shade.  If I were to suggest a very basic palette for sketchbook journal painting, I would say ultramarine blue, lemon yellow, quinacridone rose (or permanent rose), hookers green, and burnt sienna.

Do you find it odd that I am discussing color along with this image using one color?  I do too.

Little Cube Salt and Pepper Shakers

Lunch at the Twisted Olive

This is the journal page from yesterday's lunch. My little palette is so handy.

Tomorrow I will go to the grocery for a couple of things I want to make sure I have before the stores close at 6:00.  For some reason, knowing that the grocery stores close at 6:00 on Christmas Eve makes me a little nervous  -  more than a little nervous.  What if I have forgotten something???!!!  I'm not even the one feeding everyone.  Calm down. 

Here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, and a nice weekend just the way you like it  -  peaceful and cozy or bustling and crazy.  Have a good one!

Lunch After Class

Another "Take Your Sketchbook to Lunch" Journal Page

After this morning's class we went to lunch at the City Park Grill.  This is a contour drawing and watercolor of the salt shaker, my biscuit, and butter.  I had a roasted vegetable sandwich with goat cheese. Yum.

This is the last week of classes until after the New Year. I like the structure of a class schedule, even though I only have two classes a week in the winter.  It's not like I don't have anything to do  -  a little Christmas shopping and baking wouldn't hurt.

Sketching, painting, baking, wrapping, listening to Christmas music. Nice!

Family Weekend

Going from One Extreme to the Other

A couple of salt "shakers" from the weekend.   In my quest to sketch the salt shakers or pepper grinders everywhere I go, this is my journal entry from Sunday.

We had a fabulous brunch at the hotel.  I mean fabulous - appetizers, prime rib, cheese cake, and everything imaginable in between.  It was fun! Then after a fantastic afternoon with more family, we headed out into the blizzard.  Because of the weather, the trip that would have normally taken us three and a half to four hours, took six. 


Our kids have a great family vacation vehicle and we stuffed it with seven people, gifts, dishes to pass, overnight bags, and everyone had a pillow, blanket, and at least one personal electronic devise  -  some as large as a laptop (which may not seem so large under other circumstances).  With cell phone calls and texting, we were able to tell our friends and family what it was like out there in the cold, slippery dark.  It is nice to have someone rooting for you.

In these days leading up to Christmas, I hope you'll carry your sketchbooks around and sketch a few memories!

Chili by the Bay

This is another contour drawing of another salt shaker 

 a colorless page from a rather colorful weekend.

We had two of the grandkids for a couple of days.  I just vacuumed the living room floor a few minutes ago, and it really looks dull now without the colorful hole-punch dots, bits of ribbon, and little bits of dried up cheese - the cheese was surprisingly colorful!  We didn't do art projects in the living room, and we didn't eat in there - I guess all those bits and pieces just worked their way in there from other parts of the house.  You can imagine what those other parts look like.  It was fun!

It's a very gray day - gun metal gray, actually  -  but cozy inside.   We have only made one trip to the home improvement stores.  Does that mean we weren't very productive, or does it mean we were very organized?  I'm not sayin'.