Cooped up

We had a wild storm that lasted for several days. Rain, sleet and wind—blowing 50+ miles per hour one night. Just Sophie and I listening to the rain pelt against the rattling windows and objects flying off the deck. Being on the fifth floor it felt as though the building was swaying.

Self portrait 1—after the gym.

I usually managed to get to the gym despite my not wanting to face the nasty weather.

Self portrait 2—All dressed up.

The major part of the storm is over so I am finally getting out. A quick self portrait before going to Sarah's to learn how to make handmade journals.

Sophie managed to sleep through it all.

Parisians

This morning, I was admiring the talented Rick Tulka's wonderful images on Flickr. I saw that Giorgio Bordin had done a sketch of him from his posted photograph in front of the White House. Giorgio had added a sketch to his comment. Several other talented artists had done the same and with such a great face, I couldn't resist joining in. It was the first thing I did this morning while catching up on the news, so it was quick and sloppy. He noticed that he was dripping...

What a wonderful way to start a cold, gray, rainy morning in Maine.

Since the paints were wet, I decided to finish this sketch I started weeks ago on my trip to Paris. These wonderfully dressed older Parisian women waited outside the cafe where we were siting late one afternoon. I was able to get the basic outline of their poses only to abandon them for a Kir Royale. Would't you?

a bunch o' challenges

I loved Nina Johansson's "week drawings", so I decided to give it a try. I started at the end of last week using EDM challenges to fill the page.

Check out how old that mustard is—YIKES!

Olympic sketching continues...

I am continue to watch and sketch the Olympics and I am so in awe of these amazing athletes. I sometimes find myself just staring at the television as I watch the events. So many times the sketching stops and I have to finish the next day. All these sketches are combinations of the athletes doing the sports. I added features to try to make them look more like the individuals.

Shawn White—Halfpipe and Snowboard Cross.

Lindsay Vonn in Downhill win.

Apollo Ohno in short track relay.

I have started to do these on cheap watercolor paper that I have cut up in small (about 5X7) sizes. I am throwing so many away that using a journal just doesn't make sense.

What will I do when the Olympics are over...

More Olympic moments

Once again watching the Olympics, drawing with a pencil and a BIG eraser then correcting and coloring the next day. This is from Tuesday nights Women's Snowboard Cross. I guess this sketch is suppose to be Lindsey Jacobellis, but it is a combination of all the boarders.

Lots of interviews with the beautiful Lindsay Vonn. Pencil in small Moleskine watercolor journal. I was going to add watercolor but liked the pencil lines. Maybe later I will add color. What do you think?

Another pencil sketch of Lindsay Vonn adding color with colored pencils in Handbook journal.

EDM #261—an olympic event

I was watching television last night trying to sketch the Men's Downhill for this challenge. These are small (done in a small Moleskine watercolor sketchbook). I used pencil to draw because I kept having to erase—THEY GO SO FAST!!! I added the USA uniform, color and corrected body positioning today.

Valentines Day

The Aftermath—I finally succumbed to the call of the dark chocolate. I ate three and when my back was turned so did Sophie. She managed to get up on the coffee table, unwrap and eat several out of the candy dish before I caught her. She is a good dog that does bad things!

24 years of "The Valentine Phantom"—The earliest known occurrence of this phenomena was 1976 in Portland, Maine. Every year since, Portland awakens to red hearts taped to all the windows throughout the city on Valentine's Day morning. This Sunday when Sophie and I took our morning walk, all the local shops were once again plastered with red hearts.

Happy Valentines Day

I bought these Hershey kisses to create a Valentines Day post for my best friend who is in Bali. Surprisingly, my willpower is winning and I haven't had one...yet...

Winter Studies

We are too far north for the recent snowstorms, so there is not much snow left here on the coast of Maine. The landscape is shades of browns and grays along with cold blue water and the temperatures are even colder, especially with the wind. On a walk, I snapped a few photos and came home to paint.

Winter study #1

Winter Study #2

Winter Study #3

A week in Paris