Long TIme, No Post

First things first, let's start out with the 3rd movement of the Grand Canyon Suite to set the stage:



This last month the hubby and I were nomads for 3 weeks. We went to Albuquerque, where he promptly left for a geology conference in Pittsburgh for 3 days, and I headed north to Taos to plein air paint.

I brought along my three-legged camp chair and sat out in the sage brush and bugs alongside the Rio Grande Gorge.

Painting storm clouds is all fine and dandy until they come close and you think "Gee, I'm the tallest thing on a metal chair in a big flat place. Maybe the husband won't want to hear how his wife was found burnt crispy with a paintbrush in her hand..." (That's why the one above isn't finished.)

Gen-u-ine proof of me R.G. Gorge sketching (bugs not visible).

A bit of late sunset in Taos from a surprisingly nice vista at the Applebee's parking lot.

The hotel I stayed in was right next to the Fechin House. I can now say I've slept in NIcholais Fechin's backyard.

A Fechin drawing and portrait to give examples for those unfamiliar with him. To quote the museum site:

"The museum is housed in the studio and home that artist Nicolai Fechin built for his family between 1927 and 1933. Fechin, born in Kazan, Russia in 1881, carved and molded the adobe buildings into a fascinating, harmonic marriage of Russian, Native American, and Spanish motifs." 

Fechin's cardboard mock-up design for his house.

Upstairs sun room. I could definitely live here.

All of the woodwork, and there's a lot of it, was hand-carved by Fechin.

Studio with big north-facing windows.

There were only a few paintings by Fechin, I was hoping for more, but overall, it's worth the visit.

After Taos and Albuquerque, we headed to Lake Powell. Below is a brave attempt at a butte on the southeast corner of Gunsight Bay.

The last week of our nomadic trip, we were in Southern Utah at Green River which happens to be my husband's geology research field site. While he hiked up to find good shale outcrops, I drew and painted wildflowers.

It occurs to me that I haven't seen one of our nice Pyrex kitchen bowls since it's impromptu use to collect oil and water from a natural oil seep for a University of Texas microbiologist along the Green River... So it goes being married to a geologist.

Zee Leetle Mermaid & S.S.C.P.'s

I did this sketch a while back, just for fun. I was going to come up with something wonderful! brilliant! marvelous! to show today, but all that that effort amounted to was these:

Yah.

I thought may I was just tired, but it turns out I'm sick today, so I'm going to pull out my sick card to excuse this post. At least it's...creative.

The Argyle Sock Club

Some BYU Illustration alumni friends and I have a weekly challenge blog over at:

argylesockclub.blogspot.com.


This week's challenge was to draw a Muppet, and this was mine.
(Post link, with all you ever wanted to know about Trixy the Elephant, here.)

Little Deer

We went on a short walk at sunset yesterday, and there was a deer on the path. Did you ever chase pigeons at the park when you were a kid? If I weren't so 'mature' [cough] I'd be tempted to try that with a deer sometime. It'd be just my luck that it'd turn and chase me instead.

Feeding Fish

Marbles / I Heart Moleskine

If this were a story, these kids would be dodging Saturday chores to play for a while.
I'm loving the panoramic layout of the Moleskine watercolor sketchbook. Good paper too; doesn't buckle much and it's nice and 'toothy' for pen and ink.

Recent Sketches

Sketch "Chanson de Matin"

Sketch of an idea for an illustration of "Chanson de Matin" by Edward Elgar.
There are many variations played out there but this piano solo fits well:

Fox on Grass

Finished Moleskine Endpapers

Here they are! The 'Ye Olde Official Black Spots' sits right over the nifty pocket folder Moleskines have. I've yet to make the 'Pack o' 5.' Black spots are forever connected in my mind to this lovely scene from Muppet Treasure Island (see 1:50).

Morning Sketch

Jungle Hut

Moleskine Test Run

Practice sketch for a friend's Moleskine end pages. Just doing a test run before committing it to the actual Moleskine. Not much room for mistakes there. Something of the piratey/ship wreck theme. I'll see if I can get decent shot of the final to post later.

Sunrise on the Dunes

From 'The Boy Who Wanted More Cheese'

" 'There’s plenty of cheese. Come with us.'
“I’ll see what it is, anyhow,” said Klaas, as he drew on his thick woolen stockings and prepared to go down-stairs and out, without waking a soul."

Full story here.

Mean Myrtle

"Your move," said Myrtle. In spite of his poker face, things were decidedly not going well for the rug.

Sago Palm

 I've been sick this whole week, and very busy with a large-ish project the week before, so my apologies for not posting anything. I painted this while out in the sun Tuesday. I thought some convalescing like people with consumption, etc., do in British novels surely would do me some good.This is a brave, and sloshy, i.e. no pencil drawing first, go at a stumpy sago palm.

Saw Today...

Old oak tree trunk.

A squirrel. A whole bunch of squirrels. They're used to people enough that it's very hard not to sneak up on one from behind a tree and then chase it. This little guy I actually saw from beneath but that sketch sure wouldn't look like a squirrel to you.