Paper and Threads

One of my goals for 2007 is to sketch in my own city as if I were on an exotic vacation.  Manhattan is so large and so varied, from neighborhood to neighborhood, that I will never tire of the scenes.  This is one apartment building on 5th Ave - in the 80s - as seen looking Southeast through foliage in Central Park.  I think these are terraces associated with the penthouse(s), but the roof watertank is also probably housed in one of these structures.

Posted by Shirley at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

I always love doing the EDM Challenges and try to make them a learning experience.  I still have a great deal of difficulty with reflections, so I chose my clear green plastic spray bottle for this sketch.  I think the transparent surface is recognizeable, but the few light reflections that I saw aren't very apparent.  More practice needed!! 

Posted by Shirley at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I love books, journals, paper, and almost anything sold in stationary stores - so buying school supplies was always a thrill.  Now my purchases are year round, not just in September, and I love it when we start a new project at work and need to look through catalogues for new supplies. 

At home I'm currently obsessed with the Levenger catalogue and new items for their "circa" notebooks.  Although I have some in all 3 sizes, and even a leather cover for my junior size notebook, I carry the compact notebook that contains index cards in my purse and use it all day long.   I have a punch that makes those great holes along the edge of the card (two pages can be cut from each 5 X 8" index card) and then the tabs wrap around the black circle discs.  Pages are really easy to add or remove - which is the beauty of the system.  The cover of this compact notebook is translucent plastic and I painted a daffodil on watercolor paper which shows through.  The pen that I use for everything is a medium Pilot Easy Touch - I don't have the obsession that many people have for fountain pens!

Posted by Shirley at 5:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

We visited friends for 3 days near Keene NH - and on the middle day drove 3 hours further north to the Shelburne Museum.  I completed one journal page/day, and even had time to piece some quilt squares for my Liberty of London quilt.   

They have a beautiful view from their deck over Silver Lake.  The colors of the foliage in front, the lake water, and the mountains beyond the lake change color so frequently that it is hard to really capture the view.

The Shelburne Museum would be a fantastic place for a Sketchcrawl - so many old historical buildings buildings have been moved to the site.  My favorite was the 1871 lighthouse from Colchester Reef in Lake Champlain.  The lighthouse protected boats from 3 dangerous intersecting reefs as they sailed to Burlington with their cargo.

I sketched the clothesline over the deck as I ate breakfast the last morning we were in NH.  This is a collection of shorts and shirts from a day of fishing - from their younger family members who didn't want to make the trip to Burlington.

Posted by Shirley at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I actually did EDM Challenge #129 before this one.  I walked around and around the apartment looking for a view that I felt like drawing.  Some views were boring, some too challenging, some not blog material (bathrooms).  This is the view from my dining room to a tiny stretch of counter space in my kitchen.  The perspective isn't as wonky as it looks - the counter actually is slanted and there are triangular shelves above it where we keep espresso pots and a few favorite cups.  Our coffee pot and cannister of coffee take top billing on this stretch of counter!   

Posted by Shirley at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)