Paper and Threads

We picked up my grandson from nursery school, had a picnic in Central Park, and then went into the Met to see the newly reopened American Wing.  Before it was closed for renovation, my grandchildren learned about pennies and fountains in that space and we really missed the pool.  

 There is a newly designed pool in the same place, this time with two fountains.  This is a quick sketch of the back of the Frog Fountain - done while my grandson was throwing pennies.  There are three frogs spewing water around the base - but I had no time (or space) to sketch them on this visit.

The sketch was done with a watercolor pencil and the water was added later at home.

Posted by Shirley at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I did a 5 minute pose figure drawing (i.e. I set my timer for 5 minutes and sketched a nude figure photo) after my Book Group left late last night.  I drew with a medium wash graphite pencil because there were very dark shadows on the model, but it was darker than I expected.

I saw a small oil painting of 2 rows of lipsticks at the Contemporary Art Auction at Christies (Wayne Thiebaud), and wondered how many lipsticks I had in my drawer.  Tonight, I found 2 empty lipsticks and 3 "almost gone ' lipsticks to sketch.

Posted by Shirley at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My schedule is currently out of control and I'm trying to catch up with posting.  These were quick sketches from May 18th and 19th.

My Flash Drive - the amazing thing that allows me to carry all of my files from home to the office and back.  On Monday I was preparing the final med student exam and used this little guy all day!

EDM Challenge #224:  A Pitcher

This is such a cheerful rooster pitcher that I keep it on a kitchen shelf.  I'm not sure that he has ever been used!

Yikes - my book group is arriving in 20 minutes to discuss The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips.

Posted by Shirley at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I spent this morning at the new "Model as Muse" exhibit at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I was a seamstress most of my life and love to see construction techniques and elegant fabrics in couturier clothes.  I was less interested in all of the information about the supermodels, but some of the large photographs were wonderful.  The lighting for the exhibits was great, but it was almost too dim in front of each to sketch. 

The entrance to the exhibit is a display of Dior's dress for Dovima as immortalized in a photo by Avedon.

I sketched  a few other garments that I liked, and imagine that I will return to draw some of the other exhibits, especially all of the mannequins in one room that are hanging from the ceiling.   

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I had breakfast with my friend Istar and then we joined the Meet-Up Central Park Sketching and Art Group at the Central Park Conservatory Garden at 5th Ave and 105th St.  This was the first time that either of us attended, and in spite of the earlier rain, the time there was delightful. 

This group selects an area, everyone sketches for 30 minutes, and then gets together to put all of their sketchbooks next to each other for everyone to see.  It is wonderful to see what others choose to sketch - and how many interpretations there are of the same spot.

I sketched a fountain during the first period, and may still paint it.

The flowers in the gardens were wonderful, and irises were a topic on several blogs this week, so I had to paint one.

During the 3rd and final period I sketched a large fountain with three dancing girls - overly ambitious for the time period we had.  I did finish a pencil sketch, but it didn't scan well and is on a double page spread with a wide shadow on the scan over the center fold.  Although I could work on the scan in Photoshop, I'd rather return to the garden to draw them again over the next few weeks.

Posted by Shirley at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)