Paper and Threads

We spent a long weekend in Washington DC visiting our son, his wife, and two children.  When they moved to DC, I started a "Washington DC Travel Sketchbook" and used it to record events of our visits.  I finally finished one sketchbook and this time brought Volume 2 - a Moleskine Watercolor book.  Here is my 5 year old grandaughter Annabelle helping me finish the title page.

She loves to draw and paint.  Together we spent hours drawing and painting at the table and then at the National Museum of the American Indian. 

One of Annabelle's Nutcrackers, a memento of the ballet this year.   

Two year old William in his Santa hat.  We used a new set of Prang glitter paints for his hat and shirt.  Annabelle loved the glitter.

 I loved this painting at the American Indian Museum - Maidu Creation Story by John Fonseca (2000).

  Here are several of the images I sketched from the painting while Annabelle was painting a rainbow. 

William has a favorite little stuffed Elmo and several days before we arrived he ate the black felt pupils off the eyes!  I brought black embroidery thread and stitched new pupils making William very gleeful. 

I am hoping that these sketchbooks - and our shared time painting - will create wonderful memories for our grandchildren.  Already Annabelle loves looking at the first volume and identifying the paintings. 

Posted by Shirley at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I started a sketchbook for my grand daughter Annabelle when she was born.  Since she lives in DC, I printed out my prior sketches from around her neighborhood and collaged them on the first 2 pages.  Since then I fill a sketchbook page for every day that we visit her - and now her little brother William.  Some previous blog posts from this sketchbook can be seen here. 

The sketchbook is a Cachet Linen Watercolor Sketchbook and because I could use both sides of every page, I completed 50 pages. 

We visited Annabelle and William last weekend.  She is now 5 and loves to draw and paint, so we spent lots of time together at the dining room table.  I collected leaves and maple seed pods on our walk home from her school and we painted them in the evening. 

Annabelle is an official Nationals Junior Fan and has seen more baseball games in her short life than I saw in in my whole lifetime. She wanted me to add their mascot to the sketchbook, so that became the next page.

Annabelle told me that Henry, another kindergarten student, is her boyfriend and she wanted to build a castle for them to live in when they are married.  The problem, the castle is going to be built in her cellar.  We also talked about her dance classes.  So I had to combine her castle, a crown, and her ballet shoe on the final page.

Posted by Shirley at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My husband and I spent a long Memorial Day weekend with our son, his wife and our 3 year old grand daughter Annabelle in Washington DC.  When she was born, I started a sketchbook for her and I routinely fill one page each day that we visit.  It is part travel sketchbook and part visual journal of our days together.  I completed 4 pages during this visit and I'm including them in this post.  Prior pages can be seen by clicking on the Washington DC category at the bottom of the right-hand side bar.

The sketchbook is a 10" x 7" Cachet Linen watercolor sketchbook - the same one that I used for all of our trips to London.  I can work on both sides of each page, but there is a little buckling that you can see when the page is scanned. 

We watched the Pixar movie "Cars" our first morning and she requested that I draw and paint "Mater."

We took Annabelle to the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall and while my husband took her through her favorite simulators, I sketched an aerial airplane and painted it later from a photo I took.

One morning I took Annabelle to buy art supplies and thought that she would love using the Crayola Paint Brush Pens.  But after she used the first one, she insisted on using the other new brushes and Crayola pan watercolors I bought - and I couldn't convince her that the brush paint pens weren't markers!

It was really hot in DC all weekend, and Annabelle spent several hours with one of her friends in an Arlington playground with lots of waterplay.  I sat in the shade and did quick sketches of her, pail in hand, to record the event.

Posted by Shirley at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

We spent a long weekend with our grand daughter Annabelle in Washington DC and my daily journal pages were all done in a sketchbook that I have devoted to her neighborhood and her life during each of our visits.  Previous entries can be seen by clicking on the Washington DC category on the right side of the page.

When I asked Annabelle what I should draw, before we took her to day care on Friday, she told me an elephant.  So I painted one of her very small stuffed elephants.  On the way to the Metro, I took several photos of her walking/running ahead and drew that image for the rest of the page.  I still rarely sketch my grandchildren except from the back because I'm always disappointed that my drawings don't look like them.

On Saturday morning we went to work with Daddy at the NIH Clinical Center, so she could play with Grandpa and I could see the art quilt exhibit that is currently hanging in the lobby. 

Art quilters who read my blog should look at the link - each spectacular, color photomicrograph taken as part of a research project was translated into a quilt by individual artists.   

In an alcove off the lobby, near the wall quilts, there is a huge fish tank with several beautiful, large tropical fish.  This one was my favorite, although we need to contact the curator to learn its name.  Any help from fish experts would be appreciated. 

There were intermittent showers on Sunday so we went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  The squirrels are quite tame around the Washington Mall and this one eagerly took Annabelle's acorn when she dropped it for him at her feet.  Inside the Museum there was another great fish tank with lots of Nemos - as Annabelle pointed out.

Annabelle is our only grand child that doesn't live in New York City - and I continue to be delighted that we're creating memories of our visits in the Annabelle Sktchbook.

Posted by Shirley at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

We spent last weekend with our son's family in Washington DC - belatedly celebrating Annabelle's 2nd birthday.  I started keeping a watercolor sketchbook for her when she was born, and try to complete one daily journal page during our visits.  Previous pages can be seen here.

Annabelle and her Daddy on a walk:

Her new birthday scooter and helmet from cousins Robbie and Zach:

Posted by Shirley at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)