Rust Bucket

My wife and I were in Ludington, MI again over the weekend. Had a nice stay at a B&B there. This old truck has been a fixture in front of a downtown Ludington antique store for years (meaning I've walked by it a bunch).

I finally had time over the weekend to get the truck down on paper. I found out later it's a good thing. One of the people I was talking to when we were in Ludington told me the block in which the truck now resides is going to be torn down to make way for a new development.

Google Urban Sketchers Map

Hi all!  Feel free to add your location to the new Urban Sketchers map Gabi created!  You can find it here: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=213045706426173609546.0004cd150dcd00d371328&msa=0

That way if you're traveling you may be able to hook up with other sketchers.

You click "Edit," at upper left, then click on the little upside down teardrop.  A window opens where you type your info...join us!

Here's how to make a live link of your URLs, above...I didn't, but managed to find a way to edit it!

Bike & Sketch

I'm still here, but I've been quiet. Need to work on that. I had a great day Tuesday! Decided to pull a vacation day and have a biking and sketching day through urban Topeka. The Fall colors are just too nice to be ignored. This required riding a rural rail-to-trail into town, and then catching an urban trail to see the sites. This was so much fun I could die. The day was peaceful, the Autumn air could be tasted, and had plenty of coffee breaks. Does it get any better? Oh yeah, sketching, too. I need to kick myself back into the habit.

I carried by gear in a sling (shoulder) bag slung behind me as I rode, and it worked fine. Maybe I could be confused with a young fit urban messenger cyclist? Or not (I have graying in the temples, for those of you who don't know me). This was my test ride for sketching/cycling (thumbs up). The pen sketching and watercolor pencil work I did on-site. Then, over coffee at World Cup, I started the text, which I finish at home.

One memorable moment: I sketched the Monroe School, which was the site of the Brown vs. Board of Education case. The National Parks has restored the building and created great displays inside. Anyway, before I went in I sat down on the sidewalk across the street near my bike to sketch the front of the building. No traffic. No people. I'm in my own zone when a class of high school age kids rush out to leave the building, chattering up a storm. I feel really out of place, but I just pretend I'm a spaced out artist at work and it worked! Nobody laughed at the middle-aged old fart sitting/sketching on the sidewalk. Guess I passed as an artist? My daughter would have died from embarrassment.

Climbing Hydrangea--more leafy and now less

 
























I drew the climbing hydrangea outside our south-facing living room two years ago and then again today. I designed the trellis 20 years ago and had it custom made by a local blacksmith. My husband then planted the hydrangea and, over the years, has trained it so when leafed out we have privacy from our neighbor's driveway and house, which is only a few feet away. Today, with many of the leaves fallen, the blue of the neighbor's house is seen.

When I picked the last of our pepper crop over a week ago, they were all light green. Look what happened: a couple turned red in the bowl! Procrastinating on doing this drawing maybe wasn't a bad thing.

Scooter's Malt Shop

We hit 75 degrees here today. By Friday our high is supposed to be 48. So today was a great day to hit the road with the sketch book. My wife and I drove south of Battle Creek to Scotts, Michigan.

Scotts was founded in the 1800s and, in its day, was a pretty large town with a grain mill, railroad traffic, farm commerce, a pickle factory, and large population. The town burned and was re-built a couple of times. Today little remains except for the town's center....four corners, and a few homes. We had a great lunch at the Scotts Corner Cafe, that's it with the flag in front, right across the street from Scooter's Malt shop. The weather was perfect for a malt today...unfortunately Scooters is closed for the season.

It's Raining Leaves...Help!

Yep, I really do love fall colors, the leaves, the trees...I like 'em a lot! Unfortunately, all my beautiful Maples are in the process of depositing.their color all over my yard. In fact It's been pouring leaves all day. So...here's my mid morning view of all that wonderful color. And oh, after all my work this morning, the front yard is buried again. My wife says the people that live here must be real slackers when it comes to taking care of their yard!

Fall Fiesta Outside--Comfy Chair Inside

Fall Fiesta from 2nd Floor Window

When a straight-line windstorm toppled two seventy-five-year-old maples three years ago in the front of our house, we planted a Fall Fiesta maple to replace them. My husband and I love this new little tree and revel when its leaves turn their full brilliance.

Fall Fiesta in Porch Window

Working on a watercolor block, I roughed in the composition first with water soluble graphite, applied with a brush. Then came the Neocolor II water soluble wax pastels.

To the right: a watercolor of the same tree, seen through a first floor window, done 2 years ago:


This is my husband's favorite chair:

Nighttime Easy Chair

House Across Clay

 And a winter, night view from the same      window of the house across the street.