Laurelines

To Florida and back in 36 hours

I have long wanted to see Richard Thompson perform, and preferably, perform solo. Who knew when he'd be nearish to my part of the world again? As it turns out,  he'll be HERE on March 30th! Oops.  But I didn't know that way back when I was researching the subject. Anyway, he'll be the opening act for Emmylou Harris then, so it won't be the same. Am I going to see him again on March 30th, when he'll be only 8 miles away?  Of COURSE! But that's a story for another day.

I had hoped to be able to sketch him while he performed, but the seats at Ponte Vedra Concert Hall are squished quite closely together. Plus, the woman in front of me with the Big Hair blocked all the light. So, sketches of Richard Thompon?  No.

However, here are other sketches I managed to eke out:

Waiting at the airport is fun when you have a scene like this to sketch and some new italic waterproof pens to try out!

If you ever get the chance to have a meal at Palm Valley Fish Camp in Ponte Vedra, you should seize it. We had to dash in and out quickly to make it to the concert in time, but wow, what a delicious meal.. and what friendly, attentive service! The curly, leaning wirework of this basket and the mouth-agape fish caught my eye:

Fish mounted on the wall is mandatory decor for Florida. I believe there's a state law to that effect:

So now, back to real life and to the paintings waiting for me in the studio. Plus, the forecast here for today is for "ice pellets!" (What, as a great friend of mine asked on hearing this, happened to the perfectly good word 'hail?') Anyway, all that's a far cry from 70F and grilled gator!

January! We're new again!

Because my birthday coincides with the new year, I'm always ready to get clear of the past and start again, with hope and gusto!

And so, here we are, starting again. My primary goal for the year is to get paintings painted for my show next fall. 

But, of course, I will always have drawing and sketching and writing in my journal and occasional illustrating to do. Once I have shared these images with you, two from my new Stillman and Birn Alpha  9 x 12 journal (this is my eighth!), two from a drawing session I had here yesterday with two friends, I'm going to finish tidying up my painting studio. And THEN I'm going to paint.

These drawings are of my young friend Meg, who is obviously quite beautiful. But there is a quality to her that has made me really want to draw her from the first time I met her. I can see the tiny child Meg still there in her features and I can also see the spare beauty of a Byzantine saint as well. Her soul is both old and new.

Finally, some palette cleansers, as I call them... today's sketches from my new journal. I make these images first thing in the morning in my studio, as a way to sweep away yesterday's struggles, to invoke new energy for the day. I love the natural calligraphy inherent in flowers, so when I have them, I draw them.