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, […]
Tag: Sketching
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… […]
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 […]
Laurel Hill Sketch
Fred and I went camping last week at Laurel Hill State park. It’s up in the mountains east of Pittsburgh, a great place to get away from it all. (Translation: there was no cell service.) Our campsite at Laurel Hill When I talk about camping, I really mean “glamping” – we aren’t exactly roughing it […]
“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.
Gettysburg Sketch
My husband and I went camping last week near Gettysburg, PA, and spent a day visiting the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and driving around the battlefield. We followed the auto tour through beautiful Pennsylvania farmland with fields of corn, split rail fences, and beautifully restored Civil War-era farmhouses. 5 x 8 Pentalic Aqua Journal […]
The Best of Dogs
Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really. – Agnes Sligh Turnbull We said goodbye to our sweet golden retriever, Buckley, this week. He developed some health issues a few months ago, and we knew that his time with us would soon be coming to an end, but nothing can prepare you for the […]
Three-View Rhododendron Sketch
It’s been a great year for rhododendrons here where I live in western Pennsylvania. FYI – The oranges & grape jelly on the bird feeder post are for the Baltimore orioles These bushes are right outside my kitchen window, so I get to enjoy these glorious blooms over the course of two weeks or so […]
After the Walk: Finishing a Nature Sketch in the Studio
In yesterday’s post, (find it here), I shared how this page began with a walk in the woods and a “5-5-5 Sketch Challenge”, where I walked, drew, and painted one image at a time to create a composite sketch. The plein air sketching session gave me a good start on this page, but it needed […]
