Paper and Threads

The Central Park Drawing and Art Meetup Group met at Grand Army Plaza in front of the Plaza Hotel last weekend and we sketched the Zodiac Heads sculpture by the Chinese artist and activist WeiWei.  There are 12 large heads - arranged in a semi-circle, on tall sculpted poles.  They are really impressive and can be seen until July 15th! 

I decided that I liked the "bull" best and did 3 sketches.

I did the first sketch as a "one-liner" because I love Picasso's bulls and toreadors that were all done with one line.  It was hard.  The second was done with ink and watercolor and the third was a side profile done with pencil.

Posted by Shirley at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I'm posting 4 of the 19 sketches done last night at the Society of Illustrators Sketch Night - two 5 minute sketches and two 20 minute sketches.  The long poses were drawn with a watercolor pencil and then shaded with my Niji waterbrush.  And they are on watercolor paper which is too big for my scanner and were thus photographed.

Posted by Shirley at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Yesterday was our 44th wedding anniversary.  This is a quick painting that I did of my husband when we were at the beach last week.  And the second page is the bottle of champagne that we consumed with friends on our anniversary yesterday.  There were 3 couples at the beach last week and a total of 144 years of marriage among us!

Posted by Shirley at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I sketched and painted the sea gulls from two of the reference photos I posted here last week.  Over the summer I become obsessed with getting photos of them as they start moving away from me and then take off and fly.  Their wings are soooooo long.  Stay tuned for more photos and drawings next week as we return to the beach.

I found my next book to recycle as a Summer sketchbook.  This Summer I recycled a book called Watercolor Painting is Fun with 140 lb. Fabriano soft press watercolor paper.  My next book, purchased for $1.00 is called Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (pub. 1955).  I scanned the cover and Table of Contents below.  Isn't it perfect for the type of journal pages that I love to create at the beach?  But before I recycle it, I need to read it!

Posted by Shirley at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I am still working on my Carla Sonheim 100 Faces Drawing Lab project - and several weeks ago sketched 3 third graders during a brief, 10 minute, orientation to their local Barnes and Noble Children's Dept. I was with different classes each morning for 3 sessions, so these 3 were sketched on sequential days and then painted at home.

My Own Book Fund is a volunteer activity of mine, and we visit 3rd graders to discuss reading and books, then meet them at a local Barnes and Noble where they each purchase books totaling $50, and end by visiting their class one-two weeks later for presentations about their favorite new book.  They are so excited and so cute, and this year I think I was attracted to girls with great hair and bows and/or head bands.

My favorite report this year (not one of these 3 girls) was the student who stood up and told me that she was going to compare and contrast the Dork Diaries with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid - both very popular series with this age group.  And then she presented a number of conclusions.  Impressive!

Posted by Shirley at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)