Commencement 

My sketches are based on a special event today.  

Today our youngest child has graduated from college.  While attending the event, I sketched it.  Graduation ceremonies can be a little long so I came prepared with a moleskine sketchbook and a Uniball pen.  We are very proud of her and her accomplishments.

May has been busy!  This week, before the graduation, we had another grand baby come into this world, we had three birthdays, Mother’s Day, and other activities.   Plus, the terrible news that Chris Cornell passed away.

On the way to the graduation, the radio was playing a song that Chris wrote on the spur of the moment to ask his girlfriend to marry him.   The radio played an interview about how he describes the event and how he turned the little tune into a song on one of his albums.  He said that the song didn’t turn out quite as well, in his thoughts, as that original tune he sang to his fiancée.  He said it was missing something.  I found it interesting that a musical artist critiqued his work in a very similar manner as a painter feels about a painting they did.   Chris was a genius with writing music and his vocal skills are legendary.  In my humble opinion, his Bond song “You know my Name,”  was one of the best and kicks ass just as much as “Live and Let Die.”  To hear him express doubt about something he recorded was surprising because I never thought that someone with his fame would ever have doubts about his creativity and creations. I am a fan of his music, but fame also makes you forget that they are people with insecurities, too.  They are saying his medication may have caused the actions leading to his death.  Maybe it’s time to find a cure for anxiety that doesn’t require medication. 


This and that….

I have been a busy bee the past few days!  I have tackled a few projects and sketches and have been too tired to write a blog post.  

First, some of you may be curious about an artist’s studio.  I have a small studio.  I wish it was larger but I am just happy that I have one….

Welcome…as you walk through the door the first thing you see is my desk….that’s the Jersey Devil done by Rik Viola, a fellow artist.

Close up of my desk


Just left of my desk is my pink chair….John sits there when he comes in to hang out….the footstool is left over from when I shattered my ankle….I still use it.  The drafting table is where I do larger water media and such…the room has a nice big window that is facing west so the light is pretty consistant until the sun drops in the afternoon.  I adjust the lighting as necessary.


I have a TV….my pastel easel is underneath.  The huge table in front is what John built for me.  It stores all my paper on shelves underneath and it is on wheels so I can move it around.


Back view of the table and now you can see the door plus some paintings 

My desk from another angle.


Yesterday, the huge table in use….a bookmaking project.


The two books on the right are the ones that were being made.


Tonight’s sketches, the Long Island Dock Jumpers were out practicing….


Last night’s sketch that I didn’t post

Derby hat….

A little little fictional vignette to end the day:

“Her hat was all the rage at the Derby this year.  Many younger women squealed with delight.  The audacity!  The brazeness of walking past the “No Pets Allowed” signs.  How did she do it?! How is she able to keep that little kitten still up there? Who is she? 

Cinco de Mayo

“Gallo, Cinco de Mayo”. Gallo is a pretty amazing restaurant.  You can get a 1/4 rotisserie chicken and salad for 5.99 for lunch.  We were at the restaurant/pub across the street. I think I did a pretty good job dealing with smearing non waterproof ink.  I am not sure if the issue was the ink or the sizing on the paper.  Or the humidity.  Maybe all of the above….

Gallo is actually Columbian, not Mexican. I was lucky enough to be sitting by the window of where we are and I had a great view because there is no parking on either side of the street where these places are.

 

Bella barbershop

I went to Main Street to sketch today.  It was a little nippy so I stayed in the car.  I wanted to sketch something that I drive past all the time but never really stop to study.  

It was an easy sketch to do.   I brought it home and my husband looked at it.  He was telling me how it used to be a bar.  Now it is a barbershop…progress?