sketchy palm tree
sketchy numero 20! this has been an interesting experiment--not quite the one-a-day i'd hoped for, but 20 in roughly a month (give or take) is better than nothing. it's certainly helped bring my focus back into drawing and painting. so patient reader (the few, the tenacious...), i think this'll be a continuing experiment.

the best thing about this project is that it pushes me to find opportunities when i can sit and draw. today's sketch is a quick one from the parking lot at the farmer joe's near my place. monday after work, i had about 10 minutes while waiting for sy, and i managed to sneak in this sketch. i'm happy that i was able to get the feeling of the shapes and textures without too much obsessing.
Labels: doodle, one-a-day, sketches

:: ewee 10:47:00 AM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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feelin the love
been too busy to post photos properly, but here's a few tidbits. so far, it's been a lovely round of celebrating. lotsa good random hanging out with people, and plenty of warmth, laughter and food. here's to more of the same all year for all y'all!
Labels: 39, birthday

:: ewee 10:32:00 AM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 ::

39, and a dead bird near my house...
this isn't the usual birthday kinda photo, i know. and i don't mean to be morbid or macabre. and this might be a little odd, even for me, but bear with me a bit.

going back some many years--on the day when i ended my college life, and began my (so-called) adult life, and got satchmo (the perfect dog)--there was a dead bird in my path. i had just finished my last final ever (art, i think), and i was addled from lack of sleep, and so when i found the pigeon, i took it to the printmaking studio to sketch from it.

that turned into the day that i got satchmo.

so now i see these sad silent birds as a sign of endings and beginnings. kinda appropos for today. not all bad, not all good. just changing. you know?

note: turns out this is (was) a cedar waxwing, apparently not common in these parts -- thanks to jy for the info!
Labels: 39, birthday, change, satchmo

:: ewee 4:59:00 PM [+] :: 2 comments ::
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:: Saturday, March 21, 2009 ::

Snowing in Tahoe
Saturday, 3/21 was a fun day of snowshoe and sledding with the dogs. Full night of buffet and penny and nickel slots (woohoo! big spendah). Followed by *lots* of snow. Enough that we needed chains coming back from Reno. Which were all sortsa challenge (let's just say, wrong size, and good thing sy's not anal about her car. ooofta). Ending with us pushing the car a-l-m-o-s-t all the way back to the cabin. (Luckily, we didn't get towed while it was parked overnight).

Then the next morning, it was all about chains again, and super kind people. The landlady of the cute cabin who *delivered* chains to us. (Yes, we're stuck. Yes, we're in your driveway. Yes, we're city folk.) And her friend who helped us figure them out (we didn't want to scrape the paint offa second car...).

And *then* an accident on I-80 at Donner Pass. Remarkably, our friends made it out before the accident, and we managed to get stuck behind it...for over an hour. (Yeah, at least neither of us got stuck *in* the accident.) Long enough to sketch, stretch the dogs' legs, play with the snow, and chat with Sy's old roommate that was in traffic right behind us. (How random and cool is that?)

All told, a much more exciting trip than we'd intended. Three things--don't underestimate Mother Nature, thank goodness for good mellow friends, and so happy to be home!
Labels: art, doodle, one-a-day, sketches

:: ewee 6:21:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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Sketchy spring
Happy spring! Dogs and home.
Labels: art, dogs, doodle, one-a-day, sketches

:: ewee 10:55:00 AM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Thursday, March 19, 2009 ::

painting chaos
the corner of this painting is the only bit i really like so far. the lines on the chocolatey brown makes me feel somehow cosy and warm.

the first layer of painting was an abstract i did in my city college painting class. i'm not much good with abstraction, so it didn't go anywhere. from time to time i put paint (and other bits) on this canvas. it's becoming quite the jumble. but when i draw that way, sometimes it works out. we'll see if it works out here. i'm also forcing myself to work much larger (total canvas size: 4ft-square).

the sketch is from my late-night ride home on bart last night. everyone looked so tired. or mebbe it was just me at the end of a very long day...
Labels: art, dogs, doodle, oil painting, one-a-day, painting, sketches

:: ewee 12:47:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 ::

Sketchy: tanpopo lunch
ok, back to our regularly scheduled sketching program. thanks the kick-in-the-seats bit of inspiration (by way of @jalvear).
Labels: art, doodle, one-a-day, sketches

:: ewee 1:41:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 ::

sketchy: kehoe (day 14, bit late)
been fending off a touch of a cold/flu and doing my best to get work done through it. so i've a bit outta commission the last three days.

haven't been keeping up on my drawings either, so here's a painting from a city college class ages ago. interesting how i've been painting for most of my life, but there's still so much for me to learn. this bit was when color changed for me completely--before then, i thought of naples yellow as wimpy, and had no idea that prussian blue could be anything other than domineering and overpowering.

lately, i've been churning and not very happy with my paintings. i'd like to get them to a point where i can post them here, but i'm a bit stuck. mebbe the sketches will loosen something up. the more i think about it, the more i think it might be time that i go back to that tedious exercise and make a grid of all the combinations available to me in my palette.

also, i'm itching to get some sketches of the buildings around us from the empty offices in our suite. ('course i think of this right before they're gonna fill them with people...ain't that the way it goes?) hopefully i'll have some to post soon, and will catch up as well.

[just noticed! this is my 900th post...might be inaccurate due to the saved drafts i have lingering, but still! woohoo!]
Labels: art, doodle, oil painting, one-a-day, painting, sketches

:: ewee 12:35:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Saturday, March 07, 2009 ::

blackberry cafe: lazy w/e brunch (top)
felt an impending cold coming on, so, skipped class and went to brunch before a grueling day of pushing pixels. had to wait, but was very entertained by surreptitious people-watching and eavesdropping. (is it eavesdropping if they're loud?)

tgif: commuting doodles (bottom)
transbay bus and the commute home. gorgeous evening light. doing my best to soak it all up after being indoors (and in front of a computer) all day...
Labels: art, doodle, one-a-day, sketches

:: ewee 7:06:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Friday, March 06, 2009 ::

sketchbook: older bits (day 12)
going back to some of my previous sketchbooks for visual fodder.

old watercolor sketch from fort fun. i still believe that if i'm very very very good, someday, i'll get to go to the big fort funston in the sky. and yes, all my dogs will be there, frolicking with me.
more older bits:
lovely brunch at cockadoodle cafe in old oaktown. their porch is perfect for sunny leisurely brunches.

pile of laundry as art. we have a lotta this -ahem- "art" around the house...

sketches from a memorial for a coworker. the note comments that it's not very accurate, so i'm hoping no one can recognize who i was attempting to draw. anyway, i do tend to embellish and change faces as i draw (nice way of saying i get the faces wrong, i suppose), so no one take any offense, ok?

bit of abstracted fun with those cranes (again).

Labels: art, doodle, one-a-day, sketches

:: ewee 1:29:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Thursday, March 05, 2009 ::

kehoe curled up tiny (day 11)
the dogs kept me company as i watched lost last night. they were on their beds, curled up and snoozing. i had my chips and take out food. the house was quiet, sawyer was taking charge, and most everyone was back on the island.

it was a good night.

the page was torn, so i overlapped this page with the drawing underneath. bit of fail--the dog nose went a little too far on the page beneath...
Labels: art, doodle, one-a-day, sketches

:: ewee 2:53:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 ::

sketchy: love and wishes (day 10)
finished this bit of tape fun late last night. it was pretty challenging to draw something interesting (and legible!) in the narrow bits. not sure it's the most successful experiment, but it was a good exercise.

deets within:

love these wishbones (yes, they're from various dinners...nom nom nom, and yes, i collect odd bits--bones, bugs, and other detritus).

another love--odd little rocks with weathered pockets. i've gotta few that i've started to use as inkwells. next time i'm at the beach, i'll have to pocket a few more...

wild iris seed pods from our front yard. i've mentioned how much i love my home/yard, right?

yep, more oaktown love--oakland harbor and alameda--mainly based on sketches from the oakland/alameda/sf ferry.

random faces and such (was a bit tired and free-doodling).

narrow little slice/view of from my studio of our yard and beyond: neighbor's weathervane (reimagined), lemon tree, flowers in bloom, and toki.

funny how home and such have made such an impact on me. it's been over a year, and i still have a touch of awe when i take it all in. it's hard to imagine loving a place more. and yet, it's just a thing, a collection of objects, a fleeting bit of dirt. but i do love it--something inside me exhales a bit, as this place gets deeper and deeper under my skin.
Labels: art, doodle, one-a-day, painting, sketches

:: ewee 11:34:00 AM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 ::

day 9: 03/03/09! (happy square root day!)
fishcake: oaklandish, indeed--fishcake board painting in progress. i've got a buncha these in the works, but this is the only one i'm happy with right now...

liking the effects of white ink, and i can't seem to get over the cranes. they're huge robotic horses. or something. but i love them.
Labels: art, doodle, one-a-day, painting, sketches

:: ewee 1:25:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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:: Monday, March 02, 2009 ::

sketches: ink in progress (day 8)
the top photo is a more recent shot of the layout i started ages ago. thinking about home and past (the boxes are meant to be snapshots and are based on real photos of me and my fam).

the second photo is of its beginnings. i spent the better part of the 24hour comics day on this and the fishcake painting (also pictured).

have i mentioned how slowly everything seems to come together these days? but i am loving all the tinkering and putzing that i can put into even the smallest of details. it's likely that at least part of it is a result of living with glaucoma. the slightest bleariness can send me in a panic (hello, i'm generally under-rested!).

the two closeups below are of the very grand, very fabulous grand lake theater and the oakland harbor (i <3 !!! those cranes...)

Labels: art, doodle, one-a-day, painting, sketches

:: ewee 3:39:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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sketches: ink in progress (day 7, a bit late...)
bit of sketching from this weekend. didn't get in as much time for drawing this weekend (gladly cuz there was too much fun to be had...). but i did get started on this bit, and am hoping to finish it tonight. i'm playing with the removable white tape to make a sketch in between the lines, so to speak.

it's a little frustrating to me how slow everything feels--paintings and drawings take me so much longer than i imagine they will. and i'm suddenly a bit wrapped up in tiny tiny drawings. to prove that my eyes are still able to work that small? dunno.
Labels: art, doodle, one-a-day, painting, sketches

:: ewee 2:45:00 PM [+] :: 0 comments ::
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