It was the final afternoon of my painting getaway at Canaan Valley and I had gone for a short hike with my friends Jane and Elaine to stretch our legs and grab one final sketch before the sun set. We found a beautiful spot beside the river, quickly set up our stools, and got out our art gear.
Tag: Sketchbook Journaling
Fall Sketches
Autumn is a great time for sketching in western Pennsylvania. Our fall foliage rivals that of New England, and we always enjoy lots of beautiful, clear, sunny days before the dreariness of late November sets in. Would you like to see what I’ve been sketching this fall in our neck of the woods? Our driveway, […]
Sketches from Oak Island
We take a family beach vacation every year, with kids, parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all sharing a house and spending long days together hanging out at the beach. But this year, for the first time, Fred and I had a chance to spend a second week at Oak Island, NC, later in the year, […]
Sketches from Alpine Lake
The past few weeks have flown by and, with all that’s going on with finishing up our new house, I’m afraid I’ve fallen behind in posting some of the sketches I’ve done recently. So, I thought I’d play catch-up and show you some of what I’ve been up to. I went to Alpine Lake several […]
“How to Paint a Cheeseburger” + Week 6 Giveaway
Sketchbook journaling is about everyday life. It offers a way to capture moments in time and hold onto them by drawing and painting what you see and experience. And what’s a bigger part of life than food? My everyday sketchbooks and travel journals have food sketches scattered throughout their pages. Some were done at home… […]
“How to Paint a Rose” + Week 5 Giveaway
If you’re like me, you love flowers in any shape, size, or color. But there’s just something about roses that makes them special, isn’t there? Is it their heady fragrance and luscious colors? The intricacy of their form? Or maybe it’s all the memories we associate with them. No matter what the reason, there’s no […]
Sketching at Oglebay
Earlier this week, I had a chance to get together with some of my art friends at beautiful Oglebay Park in Wheeling, WV, for a few hours of sketching (and chatting, of course!) It was a blisteringly hot day, but there were plenty of shady spots where we could settle in to draw. I couldn’t […]
“How to Paint French Macarons” + Week 3 Giveaway
Have you ever tasted a macaron? These cute, colorful, double-decker meringue cookies come in an amazing range of flavors, anything from strawberry and vanilla to pistachio, salted caramel, mocha, and rose petal. They are the perfect combination of crunchy, crusty outer shell and soft, chewy inner tastiness. And the fillings are nothing short of swoonworthy. […]
“52 Ways to Sketch a Garden” + Week 2 Giveaway
Week 2’s lesson of the week is “52 Ways to Sketch a Garden”. It’s a perfect complement to the “Flowers & Foliage” painting lesson I featured last week, but this lesson focuses on sketchbook page design rather than on painting techniques.
Rocky Mountain Creek Sketch
Our three-day camping trip earlier this month to Caledonia State Park near Chambersburg, PA, was a spur-of-the-moment getaway. Just finding an open site at any campground is a challenge these days, so we were lucky to find a spot in the heart of central Pennsylvania just a few hours from home. If you’d like to […]