I’ve been away from blogging for a few weeks, finishing up my Cape Cod sketches and working on a new business venture which I’ll be announcing soon. I also managed to slip in a little trip with my mom and sister, to celebrate my sis’s birthday. I’m back now and anxious to share my Cape Cod sketchbook with you.
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| 5.5″ x 8.5″, ink & watercolor Stillman and Birn Beta series sketchbook, hardbound |
I always do the title page for my travel journals after everything else
is finished. It gives me a sense of completion. Doing it after all the
sketches have been painted and the text pages have been given a splash
of color allows me to tailor the mood and style of the
page to fit the content of the travelogue. Doesn’t this title page just
ooze relaxation?
I filled the first few pages of the journal with little mini paintings that I did during the 12-hour car ride from our home in western Pennsylvania to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. (Read about them in this post.)
A friend had offered us the use of her cottage in Wellfleet, MA, and I jumped at the chance to explore Cape Cod and spend some time with my husband, just the two of us.
The house was a simple summer place with a hammock on the porch and a view of the waters of Cape Cod Bay. We spent the week basically doing nothing, and it was wonderful! We walked along the water, threw sticks for our golden retriever Buckley, sat on the porch, read books, and ate lots of seafood.
Oh, and I sketched now and then, and painted a bit.
This trip offered lots of opportunities to practice painting water, something I’ve been working on lately. I think I might be starting to get the hang of it.
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| Detail |
There are plenty of lighthouses to see on the Cape and we visited most of them. I never tire of painting them and, given the number of lighthouse paintings I see in shops in coastal areas, I’m not alone in that fixation. (See how I painted this one here.)
But Cape Cod isn’t all sand and beaches. Most of the land is covered in forests, so I thought I’d include a sprig of pine on this page. Don’t you love the scent of a pine forest baking in the warm sunshine? It smells like Christmas trees!
I’ll have more Cape Cod sketches to share tomorrow. Come on back for another visit!
5 Comments
What a gorgeous book. Can't believe these pages are just days 1 and 2.
Lovely, such a lot of detail in a small picture, Looking forward to seeing some more.
It would make a lovely book for sale. Your illustrations are wonderful.
Always enjoy your posts! The details in your water,Salt Pond Bay and Marsh are wonderful! Beautiful! One question, what is "Sloppy Joe Pie"? Sounds delicious! 🙂
It's a super easy Bisquick recipe. Here's the link to the gluten free version that I made: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/gluten-free-easy-sloppy-joe-pot-pie/fea4cce3-af5f-4922-9f22-0c420de219a4
and here's the regular one: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/easy-sloppy-joe-pot-pie/41fa2afe-ae52-4568-aef5-374035250382
Try it – you'll like it!