March Sketches!

Here I am at the end of March after drawing a sketch-a-day for 365 days! When I began this challenge last April 1, I thought I would sketch until the danger of COVID-19 had passed. Little did we all know that this pandemic would continue to haunt us a year later. 

Thankfully we have had our two shots of vaccine and are feeling a little safer, but mask-wearing and precautions are still in place and look to be for months to come. 

Last week I was looking ahead to April and felt two things: proud of myself that I was able to stick to the daily sketches for an entire year; relieved and sad that they are completed. What now? I went on line and found a list of '365 Words to inspire.' I think I will choose a word now and then - not everyday - and continue to sketch. After all, I have 3/4 of a sketchbook to fill!

So, on to the March sketches! I'm looking at each page and trying to see how the two images relate to one another...

March 1 - Stop or Go  I first thought of a traffic light. Then went with the figure. (the other sketch on this page was February so I don't have to try to relate this to anything! Maybe the stop and go relate to finishing a year of images and looking ahead at a new year.

Gate and Path - Picket fences are fun to paint. I love open gates that invite me in. A stone path leading into a woods was also inviting. I guess I could have done one painting of a gate leading to a path into the woods!

Destination and Lost - This first one had me thinking for a bit. We are so dependent on our GPS these days.  Siri (or whoever) tells me when I reach my destination. Does anyone use a real map anymore? Even with GPS, we can get lost! There are confusing signs everywhere...  My granddaughter turned a 10 hour trip into a 13 hour trip by following her GPS! Wish she had had a REAL map.

Storm and Sunrise - I worked hard on the storm. My sketchbook is not watercolor paper and I was trying to paint lightning. I finally got out my titanium white paint (a no-no for true watercolorists). Our house faces the wrong direction for a dramatic sunrise, but it is lovely to watch the sun come up through the woods. These both have to do with weather...ahhh, to watch the sunrise after the nighttime storm.

Quarter and Turquoise - I really didn't want to just draw a quarter...but a quarter of a pie was something else. I don't think I have ever eaten a whole quarter of a pie - at least not in one sitting. I guess I could have gotten out some turquoise paint and just painted a blob, but I wanted more of a challenge, so I tried to paint a turquoise rock. I enjoyed working on the shadows. Now, how do these go together? Maybe you could wear your turquoise jewelry while you eat some pie. 

Sandy and Shell - Of course, when I saw the word sandy, I thought of a beach. I did not want to sketch sand...but then I remembered Sandy, Orphan Annie's dog! I used to read the cartoons in the paper and follow her story with Sandy. Oh my, the next day was shell. Maybe I should have drawn a beach after all then it would have been easy to relate the two. The story now has to be Annie and Sandy walking on the beach and finding a shell...

Penguin and Cold - This first one should be easy, but my husband has told me stories about sailing a penguin sailboat as a kid. I think it's under the category 'the good ole days'. The temperature around here in March is still cold, but not this cold. And, here again, I could have made an easy relationship if I had drawn the bird! Maybe, you wouldn't want to go sailing if it was this cold... actually, the water would be frozen!

South Pole and Stripes - I looked up South Pole to find the shape of Antartica. I fear it is changing shape as we face more global warming and glaciers break off. I have been curious about animal stripes. The markings on zebras and tigers seem more interesting that just painting lines. I do not think you would find any zebras or tigers in Antarctica!

Red and White and Stary Night - Red and white screamed picnic tablecloth to me, but I was looking for something a little different. Ahhh, wine! I thought Stary Night was spelled with 2r's, but it has to be Van Gogh! Trying to copy just a piece of Starry Night was quite a challenge... maybe if I had drunk some of the red or white before I tried tp paint it, it would look more Van Gogh-ish!

Van Gogh and Sunflower - There seems to be a theme going here. Here is my attempt at one of the self portraits of Van Gogh. I like it a little better than Starry Night. And, of course, Sunflower... gotta be Van Gogh again.

Beard and Hat - These two words were on the page next to the last two and would have easily transitioned to more Van Gogh, but...  My Vermont farmer son has a beard so he gets equal time. I grew up at a time that little girls wore hats to church, especially at Easter. The straw hat with a ribbon is a favorite to draw. You must know that these two do not go together - my son would not be caught in this hat!

Round and Pointy - A circle or an apple would be much too easy for round. I went in another direction. When I showed this to my art group, they didn't get it... Have you ever sung Row, row, row your boat as a round? You sing that phrase and then the next group begins. As you may remember, I have been working on drawing hands during this past year. So, pointy just had to be like the old 'Uncle Sam wants you' poster. Foreshortening is so challenging. I tried this several times to get it. Relationship? Whoever is leading the song could point at the next group to begin. 

Sharp and Forest - Coming right after pointy, sharp probably should have been a knife. A musical sharp if much more fun than a knife. We live in a pine forest. I love the tall trees, the sound of the wind blowing through, the smells of pine.... not so much all the pollen and the pine 'flowers' that that turn my house and car yellow-green in the spring. But, what about using my musical sharps and singing a song in the forest?

Wolf and Teddy Bear - A wolf howling at the moon comes to mind. This wolf doesn't look very fierce, though. Who doesn't love hugging a teddy bear? Interesting that these two would be on the same page. They seem so different! Maybe this wolf is singing the teddy bear to sleep.

Picnic and dinosaur - It's spring and time to begin thinking about picnics! Might as well begin with a little wine, cheese and bread. Dinosaur, really? He is not invited to this picnic!

We finish up the month - and the year - with

Ostrich and Feather - When I looked up ostrich, I saw wonderful pictures of their faces and considered just doing that...or putting a head in the sand! But, settled for one running! Feather was just a simple image to end with...I could have struggled with an ostrich plume... Thinking a simple, soft ending to the year long project!

Art surprises coming soon...

 

  

"Catch of the Day"

It seems like everything is delayed this year. Normally the St Michaels Art League banner art work has been displayed at our local library and we are getting ready for them to hang along Talbot Street. I usually post my banner image at the beginning of the year. COVID 19 has closed the library so there have been no shows. 

However, I did paint an image and the banner program is in full swing. 

I began thinking about what to paint last summer. What would Mikey do this year? ("Mikey" is the name of the crab that I paint each year. He wears different hats and represents various activities around our town: licking an ice cream cone wearing a baseball cap, steering a boat wearing a captain's hat, holding an anchor wearing a sailor hat or shopping the many festivals that are held each year...wearing a hat with a ribbon...technically, that was probably Michelle, Mikey.)

This year he has been fishing... I began with a sketch just to see what might work.

I liked the idea, but there were too many fish - they got lost. What about just one fish?

One big fish works better, but the pole is too short! I'm switching to a cane pole so I won't have to worry about any kind of reel.

The cane pole works better. I asked my art group about backgrounds. Rather than paint it again multiple time, I cut it out and laid the cut out on different colors...yellow!

blue!

We all agreed on white!

The next question was the size of Mikey. I wanted to make him narrower so that he fit entirely on the paper. One way to try that was to take my cutout and fold it! You can see the fold around his eyes.There, he fits!

I used that as the model for my final sketch

It was fun doing the final painting. It went through a lot of tweaking to get here. We even had a discussion about what color the fishing line should be! I did not want it to be too distracting... it ended up being light green (almost transparent) pencil.

And, here it is! I am calling it "Catch of the Day."

If you are driving through St Michaels mid-April through mid-November, look for Mikey hanging up on a pole! There are also posters available for purchase at Creative Xpressions in St Michaels.

February Sketches

 Another month of COVID-19 lockdown...another month of sketches! The good news is that we have been able to receive our two doses of vaccine and have been told that we can probably safely hug family members in about two weeks! We give thanks to all the essential workers who have risked so much to make this possible for us to get this far.

The other good news is that I had a lovely response from Marion Boddy-Evans - the originator of all the word prompts for this 365 day calendar of sketches. She just might be able to come up with more prompts! As I turn the page to March, I see that it is the final month of prompts. We'll see...

So, on to February... remember the first of each of each month is an either/or and that I am continuing to make up stories about a possible relationship between the images on each page...

Up or Down - For me this had to be escalators. It is important to know which is up and which is down! Perhaps you also had an experience with parent warning you to tie your shoes before you rode on one. Then there are those cartoon scary images of being sucked into the system and coming up with lines down your face.

Leap and Fork - I looked at pictures of leaps - lots of dancers, but my favorites were the risk takers. They take really big leaps. Who knows what's to become of this guy if he doesn't make it? Eating utensils are fun to draw...I almost drew the 'fork in the road', but got a little lazy and just did a fork. Relationship between these two? I would not want to leap on a fork... maybe he's leaping over the cavern to get to his dinner and will use a fork. 

Nib and Five - The 'good old' days, when we really used pens and dipped them in ink. We had lots of different nibs. I always thought they were wonderful shapes. I just had to make lots of fives - my fifth five was a hand... yes, I'm still into hands. It would be fun to draw a lot of fives with different nibs.

Folded and Envelope - A few weeks ago I saw a short video of a couple thousand white doves - folded origami - that were hanging from the ceiling at the National Cathedral in Washington. It was mesmerizing as the gentle air current slowly moved them. The website offered directions on how to fold paper to make a dove. So I was ready for folded. Envelope has a front and a back. I would do both. If you look closely at the back - it is folded.

Sit and On the moon - When I thought about sit, it sounded like a command to a dog. This one is quite obedient. I wanted to paint the view from the moon. I have always been in awe of the 'big blue marble' ever since I first saw the photo taken from space. It didn't turn out as I had hoped, but it was fun drawing the little guy on the moon. I remember watching as that American flag was planted there. I do not know that anyone has ever sat on the moon, but I guess it could be done.

Slowest and Fastest - When I think of slowest I think of snails and tortoises. So, here's a snail. The next day was fastest. They are on the same page so, it would have been fun to do the tortoise and the hare, but I had already done a snail. Fastest then became the winner of the race. I never go to marathons, but have seen pictures of the fastest runner breaking through the finish line banner. What a thrill that must be! Relationship?  Opposites...

Apple core and Love - Half-eaten apples have wonderful shapes. I had fun painting the apple core. It was interesting that love was listed for Feb. 13 - Valentines Day is the next day. Sketch about love...emotions are harder to draw than things. I have seen lots of pictures of people making a heart with their hands (and I am into hands). At this point my hands are old and gnarly., Difficult to make a heart shape, so I googled images. I was a good exercise. The two sketches - I love to eat apples and loved painting the core.

 

Friend and Under the oak - It's been so long since we could touch anyone. I yearn to be able put my arm around a friend and give a hug. I love looking at and sketching trees. Tree skeletons (the branches in winter) are amazing. I needed to put something under the oak, so there are a couple little flowers...but I am thinking that friends sitting together under there (not socially distanced) would be lovely.

Wave and Footprint - I miss looking at waves. It is so soothing to sit next to moving water and just be there. Of course, the day after wave there would be footprint. I played with three footprints...with and without shoes. Footprints in the sand are in so much poetry, music and prose.

Pawprint and Seagull - Having just sketched footprint, here is pawprint. I remember looking for prints after a snowfall. We usually saw rabbit or deer. Fortunately we never ran into anything bigger like this one! Actually, I don't even know what animal this is...lack of claws looks less threatening. We live many miles from the ocean, but I always think it's very strange to see flocks of seagulls in shopping area parking lots, particularly after rain. I don't think these two critters would be in the same place so they are probably not predator and prey. Not sure how they relate!

Chips and Tomato sauce - These word prompts come from the UK so I expect that chips meant more like French fries (as in fish and chips). However, I am a chocoholic so chips mean a different food group to me! Sketching tomato sauce would seem to be just a mess of redness, so I did a pot of it and added tomatoes. It looks like this page could be dinner in the making... spaghetti with tomato sauce and chocolate chip cookies!

Chase and Feeling blue - I have a well used credit card from Chase Bank. That seemed easier to sketch than some sort of running contest. Sadness, tearful emotions are certainly feeling blue. Why not just cover the whole thing with blue to emphasize the point? Hmmm, I guess I would feel blue if I had overextended my credit card!

Catch and Rainbow - My granddaughters love to visit us. They go out on the dock and catch fish and crabs. They never tire of pulling out a live catch! I am a rainbow chaser. As the rain begins to let up I frequently run outside looking for the bow in the sky. I have yet to catch the pot of gold...

Spoon and Jam - I love wooden utensils. Maybe it is because I was a woodworker, but there is a certain feeling about stirring a pot with a wooden spoon. I am not a jam maker, but my (organic farmer) son is. It's a real treat to taste what he has 'put up.' He now grows blueberries - but strawberries seemed more colorful to paint that day. Of course, these go together! Just stick a spoon in that jam!

The last day of February is sandwich. I should not be drawing or writing about food in mid-morning. Just sketching this sandwich made me hungry! I put a little salad next to the sandwich... healthy food.

One more month and I will celebrate a year's worth of sketches...