This year we again spent Columbus Day weekend camping with family. Tradition demands a Saturday morning excursion to a local farm stand to pick the perfect pumpkins for the afternoon carve-a-thon. No time to dilly-dally… we had trick-or-treaters coming along with hay rides in the evening!
The hot mulled apple cider and roasted pumpkins seeds were the perfect snack as we toasted our feet by the fire. Even the dogs loved it!
Now Dozer wants to be sketched too… soon… I promise.
Tonight… rural New England… a lovely clear night perfect for two friends sketching and painting by the side of the road trying to capture the alpenglow on paper.
Just……… SUPER!
I love Fairs! Where else is there a multitude of creatures just hanging around begging to be included in my sketchbook.
A couple of warm-ups and I’m ready to go!
Sometimes there are so many to choose from… I decide to sketch as many as possible. (Check out that Lamancha goat! I was astounded to learn they’re born without external ear flaps… pinnae.)
I even go one to pose for me after his turn in the show ring.
Sometimes humans are interested in my work… the cows? Not so much! ( I thought Holsteins were only black and white. Not so! These red and white girls are Holsteins too! )
There’s still time for you to take your sketchbook and get in on the fun. New Hampshire’s Hopkinton State Fair is open tomorrow and Monday. If you’ve missed your chance at your nearest fair I highly recommend you start planning for next year… I know I am!
Are you having trouble coming up with an idea for a journal entry? Are you looking for journal prompts? Sometimes the best ideas can be plucked from the news. It can be as simple as adding an image, as in my quick take on Monday’s Super-Moon.
Along with my soluble ink and watercolor wash I used a bit of Titanium White gouache for the moon. Nice and opaque… I’m liking that.
And today is the third annual World Elephant Day. A little web search found a host of activities going on… too bad the day will soon be over. Instead I created my own homage. A few years ago I inherited a lovely book, The Eye of the Elephant by Delia and Mark Owens; it tells the personal story of the authors’ quest to save the endangered elephants of Zambia. I’ve always loved their cover image… to me elephants really are the soul of Africa. My copy of it became a way to remember how treasured they should be.
And then there’s Robin Williams. As one who’s had friends and family members who suffered with depression, and ultimately suicide, my wounds go deep. There will be pages. Reflections, maybe even images.
Quinn McDonald said it well today.
None of us knew Robin William’s suffering, but we know that silence is a killer. Our culture doesn’t approve of any perceived mental weakness, and the more the secret of depression is kept, the bigger the horror of it grows.
Allow the pain in your life to speak. Give your friend, your relative, your lover, your partner the gift of the question that heals: Why do you suffer so?
If you know someone who needs to talk, or if you do, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255). The group is a series of 163 crisis centers in 49 states. Your call is confidential.
I am NOT addicted!
If this sounds a bit defensive… well………
From left to right… TWSBI Mini Fine, Visconti Traveling Ink Pot, Pelican M200 Fine, Duke with bent calligraphy nib, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, Pelican M200 Medium, Lamy Joy with 1.5 calligraphy nib, Platinum Preppy, Lamy Safari Extra Fine, Lamy Vista black EF, Lamy Al-Star F, and an old Mont Blanc rollerball, just because it writes well.
My favorites are filled with different inks for different purposes. My Pelican at the top is loaded with regular black Waterman ink… it’s soluble and bleeds wonderfully when hit with water. The silver Duke has Noodler’s Lexington Gray which needs a bit longer on the paper to become permanent. The lowermost pen is my beloved TWSBI Mini with a Fine point… LOVE! I’ve filled it with Platinum Carbon Black ink which has been the most reliably permanent ink I’ve tried.
What’s that just above the TWSBI? It’s my Visconti Traveling Ink Pot… it holds plenty of ink for quite a few refills. I load it with the PCB and it tucks neatly into my TSA approved quart sized fluid bag for carry-on travel. I’ve been away for more than 2 weeks and it’s served me well!
At this point I only have black fountain pen inks but I’m planning on remedying that! I have an order pending with my friends at Goulet Pens. FAIR WARNING! Do not click that link unless you are prepared to spend substantial time and have your credit card handy.
Addicted? hmmmmm…. Obsessed? OK, I’ll give you that.
Who would have thought plain old letters could be so much fun in a journal? Mary Ann Moss did! And boy, am I grateful.
Wednesday was as absolutely gorgeous day and I had absolutely nothing on my schedule. Ahhhh… a perfect day to pour a cool drink, sit under the umbrella and work on my Sketchbookery!
hmmmmmm… pretty, but a little bland. It needs……… splashes!
Done!
Sue’s at the Montshire! Correction… a life-sized replica is at the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, VT. She’s the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered!
My geeky alter-ego would have been a paleontologist so a trip to see Sue was a given! She… or maybe she’s a he, they don’t know… is HUMONGOUS! Over 40 feet from her snout to the tip of her tail and she stands at least 13 feet tall at her hip. Simply massive!
A quick splash of color before spending quality time with my fountain pen. She barely fits on my page!
But one visit just wasn’t enough. I returned today for another view!
My… what large teeth you have my dear!
Check out those proportions… Her foot is as large as that young fella!
The T. Rex exhibit will be there ’till September 7th. Find out why she’s named Sue and try all the interactive activities… don’t miss it! Not interested? There’s plenty to keep your attention and be sure to say hi to this little mink for me!
Sketchbook #2 was drying as I posted yesterday…
just thought you might like to see it finished.
Filled with Strathmore Aquarius II and Canson Mi-Teintes… and it closes!
Tuesday is new lesson day in Sketchbookery… and I spent the afternoon watching class videos. ( … and Germany slaughter Brazil in the World Cup semi-final.)
I also made a certified Mary Ann Moss sketchbook!
The covers were salvaged from an old copy of A Manual of Style selected for its gorgeous orange color… that and the fact that it only cost 50 cents! No bookbinding tape so I needed to get creative when it came to making the spine.
I’ve done some bookbinding and have made homemade book cloth by bonding a length of fabric to tissue paper using fusible web… something like Wonder-Under or Heat n’ Bond Lite. That I had! I cut a 2 inch strip and bound it to the covers using PVA glue just like Mary Ann showed. Want to do this but don’t think you have PVA? Well, that’s what Elmer’s glue is! Yeah, maybe it’s not “archival” but I’m making this for me… not for eternity!
After it dried it was time to pouch the holes. Nope, no fancy Japanese Hole Punch thingie either. Just used my thickest awl, a sharp needle (ouch) and standard 4-ply bookbinders thread. Love the look… but it doesn’t stay completely closed!
Maybe I have too many papers or they’re too thick or I didn’t bone them down enough to get a good crease but at an inch it’s just a titch too tight at the spine. But I can fix that too!
I made an elastic band to go around the journal! Actually, I make them for all my journals. I schlep them around in my purse and the band keeps the papers from getting dinged up. If you’re interested in making one for your sketchbook, it’s just a 2 inch band of elastic I got at my local Joann’s, stitched together with the raw edges sealed with a zig-zag stitch. Nothing fancy.
Now for the unexpected benefit of the elastic band… It keeps my pen with my sketchbook and I never have to hunt for the pen in the black hole that is the bottom of my bag!
You can see it’s fairly low profile, protected as it fits in the space between the pages and the edges of the cover. My Lamy shown here is a thick pen; if you carry something thinner like a Micron, it’ll nestle right in there.
Can’t wait to use it but I guess sketchbooks are like potato chips… can’t make just one. Sketchbook #2 is drying right now!
Dana Burrell... Art 