Paper and Threads

I feel as if we now live in a world of power strips and plugs that are huge and heavy to recharge our electronic devices.   And when we go to London we need equally large UK plug adaptors in which to plug these huge recharger plugs to allow us to recharge everything while we are visiting.  I too wish we lived in a simpler world - where all of our modern conveniences were interchangeable.  At my daughter's home in London there are separate DVD players for those DVDs bought in the UK and those from the US. 

Posted by Shirley at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

One of my goals for 2007 is to draw more human faces and figures.  I sketched the Holbein drawing of Anne Cressacre again and this time added a watercolor wash.  In addition, I started what I hope will be a series of dancers taken from photos in dance magazines and programs from our New York City dance companies.  I think it will be fun to struggle through these exercises - I certainly need many days just drawing hands!

Posted by Shirley at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I buy soap less than once each year because the soap provided in hotels is so yummy.  And the minute you open one bar, they replace it with a new one making it hard to resist taking the replacement home.  Lemon trees are plentiful on the Amalfi Coast and everything comes in lemon-flavor.  I bought several packages of these small soaps to bring home, but was disappointed that they really don't smell like I expected.  The Peabody Hotels have live ducks that "march" into the lobby and swim in the fountain several times each day - making the duck the logo for the hotel.  I couldn't resist these cute white soap ducks after watching the ducks for several days in the Peabody Orlando.  I have no idea which hotel provided Gilchrist and Soames soap, but I haven't yet opened the  cleansing bar or exfoliating soap. 

Posted by Shirley at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

We cleared our apartment of desserts and sweets after Thanksgiving, so I brought home a candy from the candy dish in our Department office.  I am struggling to learn more about painting reflections and thought that the cellophane wrapper would be a huge challenge.  Fortunately, no one can see how poorly I achieved the desired effect in this scan.  I brought home a second piece yesterday and tried Jana's Mask-it trick, but that wasn't any better. 

I leave in an hour for a 6 day business trip without my laptop, and now realize how much I enjoy my daily review of the EDM group site.  I'll have lots to catch up with when I return.

Posted by Shirley at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last Sunday I explored Bryant Park, the space behind the New York Public Library.  A free skating rink and 100 artisan Christmas shops were set up in the park and Christmas decorations were everywhere.  The sky was clear and the late afternoon sun was on the Empire State building and the Chrysler Building.  I sketched and painted both of them, and tonight collaged the wreath that I painted last week on both buildings.  However, I'm not proficient enough in Photoshop to do it digitally, so I cut out the wreath, used restickable glue (like post-it notes) and put the wreath on each building before scanning.

Our family Christmas card each year is a Manhattan holiday design - next year I might be able to make my own. 

Posted by Shirley at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)