Paper and Threads

For the last 10 years I recycled an old book to use as a summer sketchbook.  They are all different sizes, and have original titles that may or may not suggest a summer theme.  But I like the variety, and they are easier to make because I use the original book cover.    This year it was a strain on my wrist, because I'm still in PT after my fracture, but I DID IT!.  This book was purchased on the $2  carts outside the Strand Bookstore in NYC.  It is 9.5" tall and 7.5" wide, and has 24 pages of Fabriano Artistico 140 lb soft press watercolor paper - enough for daily paintings while we vacation.

I have a tutorial for "Recycling an old book as a sketchbook" - a 4 part series - at this link.

http://www.paperandthreads.com/2012/02/watercolor_sketchbook_tutorial.php 

I make pen/pencil holders for the front cover of each book making it easier to carry,  draw on location, and paint when I'm back at the house.  Mine are made with Velcro, but a simple one can be made from a tube of fabric and elastic.

I usually save one or more of the original folios to add to my book, to honor this old book that will be discarded if not purchased from the carts.  This book was called BE, and it has a quote on one side of the cover ("Life is here and it is now"), and one interesting page that I made the title page of my sketchbook.

Posted by Shirley at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Christies had their Spring Impressionist/Modern and Post-War/Contemporary Auction previews in the last 2 weeks, and I love to go to see the art that is usually coming out of one collection and going into another.  There are always wonderful pieces in their Art on Paper Drawing Gallery and I sketched two figures from a Juan Gris painting, and yet another Matisse face line drawing.

Matisse and Picasso sketched so many wonderful faces in the simplest lines.

Posted by Shirley at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love Spring flowers growing along the sidewalks of NYC - most are in planters around the trees, in big urns, or on the medians of wide avenues.  The day I walked to Aquavella Gallery to see the Joaquin Torres-Garcia exhibit I saw my first daffodils in front of our building and beautiful red tulips in the next block.  Like the next two sketchbook pages, I drew the flowers with my non-dominant hand, and painted them this weekend with my dominant hand.  It felt good to have color back in my sketchbook. 

Wagner Park May 2nd:  I arrive for the weekly Figure Al Fresco session while the Wednesday Battery Park City morning program is still in progress, and walk through the Park to find the most recent blooming flowers.  Most of the artists are painting the beautiful landscapes, but I prefer drawing and painting individual flowers. 

Wagner Park May 9:

Although my cast is off, and I'm getting PT twice each week, I still have some limited movement and pain.  Since this is my first fracture, every day I learn something new about how the body heals. 

Posted by Shirley at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This was our 2nd Battery Park City Figure Al Fresco session for 2018, and I had one more page left in my Non-Dominant Hand Sketchbook.  My plan was to draw with my non-dominant right hand, scan and resize the image, and collage it onto that last page.  I had 2 Sketch and Wash Pencils and my waterbrush in my left hand, when the model began his 2 minute warm up poses, and without realizing it, I sketched him with my dominant left hand without even realizing it!  I was both happy and sad - happy that I could comfortably use my injured wrist for drawing, and sorry that my enforced challenge with my other hand could be ending. 

Five Minute Pose

Ten Minute Poses:

Posted by Shirley at 7:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My cast is off, and my "Non-Dominant Hand Drawing Sketchbook" only has one more empty page.  But I definitely need physical therapy to use my dominant hand without pain.  Yesterday was my first session of 6.  These were "line of action" drawings done over 3 days, after my breakfast.  I will probably continue these, but really need to try to capture people in action, not just still photo images, now that the weather is nicer.  I also miss painting with colors, and need to paint several spring flower drawings that are in my watercolor sketchbook.

Posted by Shirley at 8:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)