Laurelines

Brush pen memories

Help! I'm working on illustrations to go along with the essay on my garden that I wrote for Charleston Style & Design's upcoming fall issue. Deadline: NOW or a time very much like it.

I have made dozens and zillions of drafts for these, mainly because I can't settle on the technique I want to use. My collage approach doesn't fit with this subject and the format of these images. My studio floor, the repository for rejected drafts, is a mess, 

What to do??!! Last night, I thought, "brush pen, why not?" I love working with my Pentel pocket brush pen. It feels almost like an extension of my drawing hand. I've used it for lots of sketch subjects and some illustrations over the years. I looked back at my Flickr account to remind myself of the ways I had done this and was waylaid by memories.

May I share some of these rediscovered images and memories with you?

Below: In Pasadena,a cactus garden, part of the larger Huntington Gardens, that I visited with my friend and brilliant artist Virginia Hein on a sketching jaunt fall before last. This brings back such wonderful memories of our time together.

I had hesitated to try brush pen with my current assignment because I wasn't sure I could get the nuances I want with it. But this sketch managed nuance!

Next a scene from Oakland Bay from 2015. I was visiting my daughter Cecelia. Looking at this, I am instantly back in that day, in that place. And I miss my daughter so much. Some nuance here, too!

In another vein, a portrait sketch of Sir Walter Raleigh for the cover of Walter Magazine in 2013. I submitted several images. They chose another one for the cover, but I have always loved this Sir Walter's sassy and flourishy attitude.

Jumping again to a quite different topic, here's a pretty atmospheric, nuancy sketch of a scene in Iceland. Drawing in the twilight, especially the Northern twilight.. aahhh. Heaven. 

The sketch below is another one-way express ticket to the past. David and I were traveling in the Dordogne with our friends Moreton and Drake. Moreton drew me as I drew this scene on the river near Bouziès. I spy nuance! Fabulous memories here, too!:

Finally, speaking of being overtaken by memories, I saw this pen and ink and crayon drawing of our Miles three or so years ago and, though it's not a brush pen drawing, it IS a drawing of a beloved baby, so that counts for a lot, doesn't it? Memories.

Back to work now, keeping my fingers crossed that my brush pen and I will get this done!

Sketches from France, more of them!

Oh, these're just my usual subjects: wild boar, elephants and giraffes, giant chandeliers, assorted two-legged creatures...some tamer than others. I would have drawn fountains, but my favorite ones in Paris were all dry, so most of the fun there was missing. (Wish the blog could show the elephant drawing truer to size, but, alas, non. Click on image to get to Flickr and larger sizes!)

Elephant, giraffe, rhino et al in the parade of animals, La Grande Galerie de L'Evolution, Museum Nationale de l'Histoire Naturelle, Paris.

Lots of you are familiar with Rick Tulka. My husband and I met him in Paris a couple of years ago and we had a fun lunch with him this time! Here and in the drawing of my daughter below, I used a big fat laundry pencil I bought in Lisbon. It gives a nice, robust line and you can't be finicky with it, which is good.

My daughter, right side of spread:

My daughter, left side of spread:

View across the Lot River, Cahors:

Couldn't resist this *ahem* reconstituted sanglier and friends in a vitrine at les jardins Marqueyssac:

I was wowed by this chandelier at Le Bourbon in Paris:

And not least, but last, our friend Drake, whose deadpan face is a perfect foil for his Rabelaisian sense of humor:

Hope you've enjoyed the sketches!

Next stop: Copenhagen in midNovember, a 20th wedding anniversary celebration. And then put-staying for a very long time.

Normandy gardens, mostly

We went to see gardens and see them we did. Clos du Coudray, Jardins Agapanthe, Jardin Plume and Bois des Moutiers were among my favorites. I have lots more sketches which I hate to eke out this way, but, ah well, there we are, subject to time and life constraints, all of us. Happy first day of summer! I love how my Maruman accordion sketchbooks, by virtue of their format, create a storyline out of loosely-associated images. You get unexpected correspondences, such as the shape of the eyes in the train woman and the Rodin bust here, and the arabesques of train curtain and bas-relief at Rouen Cathedral.

Normandy and Paris, Part 2

First week back, I had to go visit my mother (who continues to defy the dire prognosis of last fall and is tiny, witty, beautiful and very much alive) and then my wonderful husband had a tri-part surgery on his foot---meaning he has to sit down, lie down, or hobble on crutches for six weeks.

So, it's a one-woman show around here these days.

But, enough about me and mine. Where are the sketches??

Here are a few. More to come, bien sûr.

< I loved this bust study by Rodin. I've been reading about his drawings and watercolors ---none of which the Rodin Museum in Paris HAS, by the way!! Big disappointment. But when I saw this bust made of plaster, wax, newspaper, and clay I was thrilled---he's done this the way he did his drawings---pasting, pastiching, reworking lines, being as free as a bird. This figure really spoke to me.

Sketches from Normandy and Paris

Well, it WAS even better than I thought it would be, this trip. And it's the last for a good long time, so it's nice to have such fond memories. Here are some sketches from the trip, but I made LOTS and I used all sorts of materials to do so. Except for the large sketch of Jardin Agapanthe, these are from my small Maruman accordion sketchbook, pictured on the bed in the last post.   Finally, here is a sketch made in Paris, during an afternoon with Flickr buddy, wonderful artist and great guy Rick Tulka. I love it when I get a chance to meet in person one of the loose group of about 100 sketchers and artists from all over the world who, like me, have been blogging or Flickring for years. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at her/his artwork and reading his/her stories and comments. And, without exception, those I've met have been the real thing----warm, talented, good people. Rick is all that and more.

Hello from Normandy!

I have lots of sketches and will share them with you next week when I return, but here's a little glimpse at my Normandy sketch paraphernalia. I also have some cool videos of gardens we went to.  I'm beginning to feel the videographer in me surfacing, which should strike fear in all of your hearts ;D.
I'll have to wait to post these when I can go through all the YouTube hoops that Typepad makes you go through before posting.

As you can see here, I'm working on two sketchbooks at once: a little Maruman accordion one for daily slices of travel life and a larger one for garden scenes. 

We leave for Paris tomorrow, just for a brief stay--- and then home to family, garden, real life.

Leaving on a jet plane

There must be a zillion blog posts with this title, but perhaps you won't mind one more. Yes, I'm en route to Paris, via American Airlines # 44 today, and then to Rennes, Brittany, via TGV 5214 tomorrow morning, and then, via rental car, to Josselin, tomorrow afternoon. And then to that peaceful house in the Breton countryside where I hope to spend some solitary, paint-filled, and restorative days. In early October, my husband and two dear friends will join me.

To say that I feel scattered, at this point, is to understate the situation. Let us fervently hope that the various Laureline parts arrive at their final destination, tout ensemble, tomorrow. Let us pray that my mother continues her slow recovery and that all will be well for everyone (including you!) over the next days and weeks.

Here are two travel sketches from past adventures of mine, just for fun. Sketches from Brittany  are next on the agenda! See you soon!

2009, the plan, at last!

 It's still January, it's still 2009, and in spite of a straggling start (see post below for reasons why), here's my art and travel plan for the year:

It's a back and forth dance between drawing and painting.

 

Painting projects:  I'll continue as a main painting focus my pursuit of watery subjects, blogging here about my efforts and on Watermarks, too,  a group blog I'm a member of. I'm sure the other Watermarkers have entertained the thought of tossing me overboard, as I've participated very little of late.  Life has its ebbs and flows and I've been ebbing, but for understandable reasons, I believe, so I hope they'll bear with me. I'm priming the pump, though. Flow will happen.

I can and will, of course, paint other stuff.  We'll see what life brings.

September in Brittany: In pursuit of the above, I'm hoping to spend the month of September painting in Brittany. I'll find a house to rent and take my sketching stuff and my paints and go. Details to follow as they evolve. Much depends on the economy. But that's the plan for now.

Newfoundland and Labrador! Jeanette Jobson, a fellow Watermarker, lives in Newfoundland. Her stories and paintings of the area have made me so keen to go and see for myself! I'm hoping to take a few days' trip there in July. Last year, I fell in love with Iceland, and here I am again, inching closer, from where I start,  to the Arctic Circle.

Drawing bootcamp! My new drawing hero is Veronica Lawlor, whom I met online via Urban Sketchers, another inspiring group blog we both contribute to. Click on her name to see her gorgeous, exciting, dynamic drawings! I want to learn the techniques she's developed for reportage illustration. She and her colleague Margaret Hurst run Dalvero Academy, offering courses in New York City and beyond. Last year, they conducted a two-week drawing workshop in Paris. Every year in August, they do a ten-day workshop at Disney World and, seeing as how there's no 2009 Paris course, that's where I'll be going.

I'm ecstatic about this. Veronica says we'll draw at least eight hours a day! In Orlando, in August! Won't that be kind of like the Arctic Circle?

They also do three-day workshops in Mystic Seaport, Connecticut.  I hope to take one of those this spring. I can't wait 'til August to try my hand at reportage illustration!

Illustrating a food lover's guide to my area: My town was named one of the top food destinations in the US by Someone recently. Someone Official and Fancy, but I can't remember now who. Will edit this post when I find out. Anyway, my friend Moreton Neal is writing it, I'm illustrating it, and we have a contract. Should be lots of fun.

Urban sketching: I am having such a great time thinking of things to sketch for the aforementioned Urban Sketchers, the terrific blog started by Gabi Campanario! It's a thrill to be part of a worldwide network of people as crazy about drawing as I am!

That's the rough guide to Laurelines in 2009.  Hope you'll bring your windbreaker and your dancing shoes and come along!

Last day in Paris

I leave tomorrow morning early. I'm feeling quite emotional and that's caught me by surprise. I'm very grateful to my family, who've sacrificed a lot for me to be here. It's been the gift of a lifetime.

I end as I began, when I first dreamed of this trip a year ago----with sketches of a Paris fountain, perhaps the mother of all Paris fountains, the twin fountains at the Place de la Concorde, the navel of Paris, the scene of the beheading of Louis XVI, but ever after a place of peace, harmony, beauty.

This was made the day before yesterday, very early in the morning, right before a soaking rain.

The second sketch was made yesterday afternoon from the nonworking fountain, as the sun broke through the clouds, with a world of cars and people everywhere around me.

Now, I'm going to finish packing and stroll through this last, glorious, sunny day with my husband. I'll be thinking of the dear new friends I've met this month, Florizelle, Linda Matthieu, Tara Bradford and her husband David Holmes, and my old friends A, F, E, P and M, who were here with me, at one point or another, this October in Paris.

Thank you for your company throughout the month. Haven't we had a grand time?

2006, the plan

As with last year, I'm going to have an ongoing sketchbook project as part of my daily art life. Last year, the focus was color. This year I've come up with 12 topics that I'll devote a whole sketchbook to, one book a month. I like to work this way, lingering on a topic until I've begun to do it justice.

My topics:

• Interiors
• Food and dining
• Trees
• Exteriors
• The woods
• Machines/mechanisms
• Animals
• Human beings
• Plants, flowers
• Fruits, vegetables (maybe)
• Unremarkable things
• Water
• Self portraits

I've got an extra topic and I'm sure some others will occur to me, while others will fall by the wayside.

I'll be using various mediums, including ones I'm not wild about. Changing mediums keeps you peppy and teaches you things you need to know!

January will be interiors. February, food and dining. March, trees. That's as far as I've gotten. Of course, I 'll make other art---paintings, non-topic drawings, etc--but the topic sketchbooks will be my daily discipline.

I'm taking Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign workshops in January and February. And about time, too.

I'm going to visit a local organic farm and make lots of drawings over the months. They grow vegetables, flowers and raise heritage turkeys there, so there'll be lots to see and do.

I will continue my figure drawing group.

I plan to rent an apartment in Paris for the month of October, just to draw---by myself. I got this notion while we were there this fall and I have a series of 'serious' drawings in mind to do. Of course, family situation and other considerations may intervene, but this is the plan at present.  You've got to have a dream, right?

So, there you are. Happy New Year to one and all. Thank you so much for following along thus far. I'll be seeing you.

*drawn with Kuretake brush pen while looking in car mirror