Paper and Threads

My daughter and I both must have known subconsciously that our schedule would be changing completely this Christmas.  She set up the baby's room one day before being hospitalized and wrapped all of the presents.  I finished all of the gift sewing before going to Orlando on a 6 day business trip.  That made our change in plans possible - but still not ideal. 

Things are still stably unstable - and she is so disappointed and bored to be in the hospital instead of enjoying the wonderful decorations and festive activities of London.  Meanwhile we're having a great time with Henry and Sydney.  I loved arriving to her Christmas tree and Poinsettia plants and sketched them for my daily sketch on Saturday (12/16).  I'm testing a photo of the sketchbook page, instead of a scan to see if this will be a temporary solution to my lack of a scanner.  The colors seem grayed out. 

Posted by Shirley at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our Christmas holiday in London began 1 week earlier than expected.  My daughter was hospitalized with possible premature delivery and we came as soon as we could to help with Henry (age 3 1/2) and Sydney (who will turn 2 on Wed).  We barely had time to finish the Christmas cards and pack the night we received the call.  It is the first time that I didn't do the weekly EDM challenge in months. 

London looks beautiful with all of the Christmas decorations and holiday shoppers.  It is wonderful being with grandchildren and I hope to post some London photos instead of sketches over the next 3 weeks because I don't have access to a scanner.  Here is the first photo of the group,

                      Sydney who will be 2 on 12/20                  Henry who is 3 !/2

Posted by Shirley at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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)

In September I posted my first non-sketchbook watercolor painting - my son and daughter-in-law's new house in Washington DC.  When I was talking to my son on Thanksgiving, he said they would love to use the painting for their Christmas cards but wanted it to have a wreath on the door and candles in the window.  I am madly trying to finish baby quilts, ornaments, and other family gifts before we leave for London for the holidays so I told him another painting was not possible. 

So yesterday morning I looked at some images, and created this sketch:

And by dinnertime, and through the magic of Photoshop, my son had created this:

He even had to do some color adjustment on the plants and tree to turn summer into late autumn.  I am so delighted that this worked so easily and even more thrilled that my watercolor painting of their very first house will be their Christmas card this year.   

Posted by Shirley at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)