When I’m vaguely interested in a book, but not interested enough to read it myself, I often get a detailed synopsis.
It’s our version of audio books!
Dogs are good listeners too!
Audio Books
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Category Archives: Ink and Watercolor Wash
Super Centennial
Happy 100th birthday, National Park Service!
I decided to visit Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site for my celebration. There were dreams of cake and candles, but instead I was treated to a beautiful breezy and not too hot summer day, just perfect for painting. I arrived at 9 am and promptly settled in on my favorite marble bench to capture the view of Mount Ascutney.
A slight turn to the right and the Little Studio comes into view. The grapevines on the attached pergola are heavy with grapes; surprising, considering we’re still in a drought.
Three stamps today!!!
As part of the National Park Service Centennial celebration they are generously offering free admission to all the parks through Sunday, 08/28/2016. Still haven’t figure out which one you want to visit? Please find a park and schedule a visit soon.
You won’t regret it! … even if they don’t have cake.
Easy Pickin’s
We went to two outdoor concerts this week, the final for this summer in each location.
It’s a long time ’till next summer but I know where the people go… I’ll be there with my sketchbook and pen in hand because there’s always someone who catches my eye and demands to be drawn… easy pickin’s.
By the way… Anderson East is the real thing! He came with his 6 person band and blew us all away. Be sure to see them if they’re ever near you!
What’s a Belvedere?
What’s a Belvedere? That was my question of the day.
Today I joined my plein air group as we visited Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont. Ten of us spread across the Terrace Garden, most choosing to include the central fountain in their work while I moved slightly further afield to sketch ‘The Belvedere’.
Merriam-Webster defines a belvedere as “a structure (as a cupola or a summerhouse) designed to command a view. It’s from the Italian, literally ‘fair-view’. Bel as in ‘beautiful’… vedere as ‘to view’.
It’s definitely that! The summerhouse sits above the garden with a lovely view of the nearby pool and the distant mountains.
Each time I sketch in a National Park I make sure to stamp my work with the park’s unique date stamp. It’s a little thing but it just seems to be the perfect ending to the outing. Today I was doubly happy to stamp my book… two stamps! One for the date and the other commemorating the centennial of the National Park Service!
The National Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016. That’s next Thursday!
If you live near ANY location in the National Park System, I hope you will consider visiting to celebrate 100 years of nature, history and beauty. I know I will. I’m planning a visit to Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site!
Where will you go? (Not sure what’s near you? Find your park here.)
Diving in the Deep End
You didn’t think I’d do just one drawing of that dinosaur did you?
… or that I wouldn’t draw his friend!
Btw, I think I’m getting higher on the Cam Scanner learning curve … better color here with no burnout. I like it!
Learning New Tricks (Test)
Yesterday I learned a technique or two I’m hoping will streamline how I post my sketchbook photos.
Previously I scanned my pages and loved its bright, clear look… but my scanner has since stopped communicating with my laptop. The last time that happened I lost nearly a week of my life on the phone with tech support. I have no desire to experience that again. Over the years I’ve also found myself relying on my phone to handle more and more of my life. In fact, last October I started posting with the WordPress app for iPhone.
Since the scanner debacle I’ve only been posting photos of my work. They’ve been OK but I’ve had to do quite a bit of editing to get an acceptable image.
Enter Tina Koyama of Fueled by Clouds & Coffee. Tina did a test post in preparation for her July trip to Manchester, UK as an Urban Sketchers Symposium correspondent. She’s testing various apps and methods for uploading photos and images of sketches to the urban sketchers blog. Her June 7, 2016 post, Green Lake Intersection (Test) prompted me to ask why she preferred to use a scanning app, in particular Cam Scanner. (available for both Android and iOS)
Based on her images I downloaded CamScanner and gave it a whirl. Fantastic! It saves me multiple steps as it brightens, straightens, and crops with just one click.
See for yourself… the image was done with carbon black ink and watercolor on Strathmore 500 Mixed Media paper.
Natural evening light… dusk, approximately 8 PM.
Same, with Cam Scanner.
Indoor LED desk lamp. 8 PM.
Same, with Cam Scanner.
Natural morning diffused light, west window.
Same but with Cam Scanner.
The mid-body yellow was burned out in both of the other attempts but the Cam Scanner image from yesterday morning shows the yellow glow and came the closest to the true image in my sketchbook.
One more thing. The majority of this post was dictated! Yeah, I felt funny talking to my phone but it worked surprisingly well. I need to brush up on the commands, like what to say to get the program to capitalize, but I think I’ll be dictating more and more.
You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!
Channeling Nora Ephron
I look at this and my eyes are immediately drawn to my neck.
sigh.
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of reading Nora Ephron’s book, I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, you know where I’m coming from.
This is another of my ink sketches on a pre-painted acrylic ink background… this one with a watercolor wash… and I see I need a haircut too!
The Year of the Monkey
Each year I commemorate the Chinese New Year by drawing the year’s totem animal. This year February 8th, the first day of the celebration, came and went without a page in my journal. I was uninspired.
Until yesterday.
I spied this little guy nestled behind a silk flower blossom on my design wall. He called out… “Hey! What about me? I can do it!!!”
And so, for me, 2016 is the year of the Sock Monkey!!!
EDM 112 – 115
Oh my! I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve worked on my Every Day Matters challenges… I posted my last set of EDM pages on June 22nd. Yowza!
I see #112 was sketched on June 21st but then there was this huge gap of nearly 7 months. I hope I can post my next set in a more timely fashion.
So without further ado…
Text on the above page has been obscured for privacy. Wish I knew how to do this better but until I figure out a way, this will have to do.
The Eve of the New Year
May your 2016 be wonderful!
(Mandala pattern courtesy of Grace Mendez)
Dana Burrell... Art 