Paper and Threads

This week we are staying at our daughter's apartment with our 2 year old and 1 year old grandchildren while they are out of town.  Even though we could have gone on a nature walk in Riverside Park, we somehow only managed to walk around several blocks in the neighborhood before naptime.  We did find lots of stuff: a dried seed pod, green flower petals on a branch that fell from a tree, several peanuts that were left for the squirrels under a bench. a small pebble that my grandson loved, a dried piece of tree branch left over from autumn, two pigeon feathers, and the ubiquitous yellow caution tape that is around every sidewalk project in New York City.  We had so much fun on our outing that I wanted this to be my EDM Challenge #63.

Posted by Shirley at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

When EDM Challenge #59 (Draw the first signs of spring) was announced, the tulip plants in front of my apartment were only about 4-6 inches tall and very uninteresting.  I sketched and painted one and then followed that plant through the growth cycle.  Yesterday it bloomed and the pink color is breathtaking.   Here is my romance with one specific tulip plant.  It's not the one that bloomed first and was captured in yesterday's entry.

Posted by Shirley at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Yesterday we had a planter full of green tulip buds with only one flower open - a beautiful pink one.  This morning this is the view from my window.  It is glorious to finally have spring arrive - it is just erupting everywhere you look.  It's always a surprise to see the "color of the year."  The tulip bulbs are planted by an organization (unknown to me) and each year the little plants just appear.  It has taken more than a month from first sighting to blooming.  I sketched and painted the full planter from my window, but took a milk crate, my pen, and my palette of watercolor paints to the sidewalk to draw the individual plant.  Many families and single pedestrians on cell phones walked by during the time I was there and there was not a single comment.  New Yorkers don't find anything strange!  The tree in the planter still has no buds, but we have flowering trees at window level in all directions. 

Posted by Shirley at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

                  

I joined the EDM group in September and slowly worked through earlier challenges using Pigma micron pens.  In December, I pledged to myself to do a daily ink/watercolor wash drawing every day during 2006.  For challenge #62 I decided to repeat my sketch of mugs - and to add a watercolor wash because I'm not ready yet to move beyond these pens and my limited watercolor palette.  The perspective is still wonky and I continue to wonder "Why are circles and ovals so hard for me to draw?"

Posted by Shirley at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

 

My springtime allergies are bothering me, so I sketched my steroid nasal spray medication yesterday.  Then I remembered that I sketched it almost 3 years ago when I was drawing only occasionally.   It was fun to compare the two journal pages and realize that I now add a watercolor wash to every sketch - adding color has become a really important part of every journal entry.

Posted by Shirley at 7:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)