Laurelines

Portland in March, some sketches

On a recent trip to Portland to see my daughter Cecelia and some friends, we had great luck with the weather... not one day of rain! The cherry trees were in full glory and the Portland Urban Sketchers and I met at the riverside to catch them in their prime:

Here are two of the afore-mentioned Portland Urban Sketchers, having at it!

I had MORE fun with my Koh-i-noor Magic Pencil (see it in my New York sketches here). It comes in several colorways and the ones I don't have are on their magic way to me even as we speak! There is something so beguiling about the way color(s) appear as you draw, as if by (wait for it...) magic! I have just begun to explore the possibilities of this unique drawing instrument!

One more drawing for today. I have several more to show, but don't want to clog up this post. I'll be back in a few days with the rest!

Sketches from inside cold New York City!

So cold in my brief not-quite-two-days there this week, that the only sketches I made were inside.

Inside Grand Central Station, having a delicious lunch at Cipriani with dear friend Amanda:

Inside our hotel, at breakfast, breaking out the fun, multi-colored Koh-i-noor 'Magic Pencil' I bought with Amanda at New York Central Art Supply to sketch fellow diners:

Inside our hotel room, looking at the building across the street, sketching its frills and furbelows:

Inside the Asian collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

Inside my sketchbook, drawing my husband with the 'Magic' pencil, mentioned above. It is great fun because you have no idea what colors will emerge (note his eyebrows!) and there is no control over values and tones, either, of course. I wish the lead were more deeply pigmented, but you can't have everything in this life, can you?