I've Been Away

Have you ever noticed how full your inbox can get when you ignore it for a few days? We were away for most of last week and I spent most of Friday just sorting through it all...


I've found it hard in the past finding something 'artful' to entertain myself on the road. Acrylic paint, canvas, and brushes do not travel easily - I've never come up with a travel kit I could manage very well. I do know someone who paints in the car (as a passenger of course) but I'm not that brave.

Lately I've been really enjoying a set of watercolor pencils I got a while back. I bought a pad of colored pastel paper a few weeks ago and started drawing on this material with my pencils. Now I'm hooked! I love the way the background color sets the mood of the picture.

Here are two examples - the "Sailing Ships" on the gray paper sets a mood of a cool, overcast day with the sun trying to break through. The cartoon image called "Whale Song" is brighter, using the blue paper to tie the sky and sea together.

Sailing Ships
8x10 pencil on pastel paper

Whale Song
8x10 pencil on pastel paper

Now that we're back on the boat I can start painting again. Unfortunately, I'm kind of hooked on those pencils at the moment... Arrrggghhh!

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Busted!

Charles has been working really hard on the boat and I'm starting to feel a little guilty for not putting in equal time. Wednesday morning I told Charles I had a full day of sanding and painting planned.

Here's me sanding...


And here's me painting...

OK, in my defense, I never said WHAT I was going to paint. Charles says I'm working on deck today so he can keep an eye on me...

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What's new with US...

After a long, cold and wet weekend the sun finally came out Monday morning. There was a chill in the air but when we saw the forecast for a week of sunshine we got energetic!

Charles went after the sanding job on the toe rail...

While I began cutting away the sikaflex next to the aluminum to be painted.




Only my hand and fancy fein tool are pictured here (I was having a bad hair day). And NO, I am not the person responsible for that gouge on the teak deck!





Since we were trapped in the boat all day Sunday, I made good use of the down time and the wonderful set of colored pencils Mom gave me before I left Atlanta (Thanks Mom!). Here's a little more of "US"...

Pegasus

Hippopatamus

Icarus

I've got to go back to work now...

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Are you Yawning Yet?

A sketch for this week's Illustration Friday - CONTAGIOUS. I can't watch someone yawn without having to do the same... how about you?

Also played with the colored pastel paper and pencils again and came up with this illustration. I decided to matte and frame it to see how it might looked finished:

"Merry-Go-Horse"
8x10 colored pencil on gray 90lb paper

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Finding Inspiration...

It's strange how you stumble on to things that spark your creativity. Today was a good example.

I checked my FLICKR account and noticed a comment on my Calico cat illustration (see previous blog post). I did not recognize the FLICKR account so I clicked on the Avatar to find out who had visited my FLICKR photostream.

I discovered some amazing pictures from "Tofeset", a FLICKR user on the other side of the world in Haifa, Israel. Here's the funny thing, we're thousands of miles (and numerous time zones) apart but we both love animals AND participate in TNR (trap-neuter-release) programs for feral cats! Amazing!

I spent the next few minutes browsing Tofeset's wonderful photos and then I stumbled on to this one titled "Friendship":



I sent a message off right away and asked if I could PLEASE try my hand at illustrating this amazing photo! Tofeset said yes so I was away with my paper and pencils!

Here's my illustration of the photo. Not as good as the original but I think it does it justice!

Colored pencil on pastel paper

Thanks, Tofeset, for that little spark of inspiration - you made my day!

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Is It Real or Liquitex?

They said he was a Calico -
A rare and special breed.
His colors come from royalty
A very noble seed.

I think perhaps they got it wrong
As I opened my office door
To find my paints and brushes
scattered all about the floor.

Calico was so delighted
with my reds and blues and greens
that he's added to his coat
and looks a masterpiece indeed!

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One of Us is Working...

We've had a lot of rain and a few distractions lately but the sun came out today and Charles got busy. I mean REALLY busy... He hit the deck with a vengeance and really got a lot done in 8 hours. A few more days like this and he'll be putting the paint on...


Ok, now I have to admit something. Aside from cleaning up down below and helping Charles sweep up a few paint chips on deck, I did absolutely nothing today! I read email, surfed, and drew pictures. I found a pad of colored drawing paper meant for pastel work and I decided to try out my pens and watercolor pencils. I really like the results!

An Illustration for Elise

Squirrel Daydreams

For my part of the boat renovations, I did get my varnish ordered and it should be here in a few days. Then I'll get serious about taking things apart and deciding what needs a new paint job and what needs just a few touch up coats!

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Illustration Friday...

I LOVE Illustration Friday. It gives me something to think about, a way to spark my imagination and something creative to do. That said, some Fridays the word for the week just perplexes me. This past Friday the word was "Parade". Wow, that one is easy, right? Just the opposite - instead of battling with a complex idea, I was stuck replaying the movie "The Music Man" in my head. I absolutely refused to recreate that marching band so I resolved myself to sit out this weeks' challenge.

Then I saw an ant carrying a crumb 3 times larger than himself and the idea hit me -
So, here is my quick doodle and entry for Illustration Friday:

Illustration Friday - "Parade"
Pen and Colored Pencil

The Ants have it...

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The White Rabbit goes to Washington

This past week / weekend has been really busy and a lot of fun. We decided to take a break from sanding and painting the boat so we drove from our marina up to Washington, DC Thursday morning to spend a few days exploring our Nation's Capitol. The last time we visited together was about 17 years ago so we expected to see lots of exciting new things.

There were a few new sights to see and the art galleries and museums never fail to delight us but for the most part, it was much like we had left it 17 years ago. I thought about that and found it quite comforting.

We really liked the World War II memorial, it seemed a very appropriate gesture to a generation who gave so much for our freedom. The Mall was still a great place to walk and we tried to imagine what it would have been like to be here with hundreds of thousands of people during our President's recent inauguration.

There was a great exhibit at the Library of Congress about Abraham Lincoln and also a wonderful exhibit about the creation of our Constitution. I was never a fan of history when I was in school but now I think it is very cool - strange huh? After living overseas and traveling the world I also appreciate a lot more the country of which I was lucky to born a citizen. We live in an amazing land with incredible potential and you really can feel it when you visit Washington, DC.

Thanks to our Florida Senator, Mel Martinez, we got a pass to take a tour of the Capitol. It was a great tour, and my first visit inside the Capitol. It was a Friday and the Senate was not in session but we still got to see a lot of building and learned a lot of really interesting facts.

Of course we took a lot of pictures and after arriving back a the boat, I was inspired by one of my favorite photos of the Washington Monument.




I loved the photo but thought to myself - "What's missing?"

The White Rabbit goes to Washington
Illustration #4 in the "Beyond Alice" Series
Watercolor pencil and pen on 140lb paper - 9x12

Why, the White Rabbit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland of course...

Next Saturday we have another trip to Washington, DC planned for a scheduled tour of the White House. I can't wait to see what comes of that!

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The Cheshire Cat

The Cheshire cat wasn't always the wise and mysterious character that Alice meets in "Through the Looking Glass". He was once a young cat, facing the same challenges all cats face - what to eat, when and where to nap, and of course - girls. Although he seems an impressive character to Alice, the Cheshire cat was once quite ordinary. If not for those dentures left on the night stand, he might not have made it into Alice's book at all...

"The Cheshire Cat Finds His Smile"
Illustration #3 in the "Beyond Alice" series
8x10 Watercolor Pencil and pen on 140lb paper

You knew those pearly whites weren't real, didn't you?

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The Mad Hatter and Multimedia

It's been a week since I've picked up a pencil or a brush but now that I've settled into boat life, I can get back to some of my projects. One of my favorite new themes is the "Beyond Alice" illustrations where I put the Alice in Wonderland characters in new settings independent of the story or Alice. In this second illustration, the Mad Hatter is trying to update his look by changing hats, the White Rabbit looks like he'd rather be somewhere else.

The Mad Hatter gets a New Look

Watercolor pencil and pen 9x12 140lb paper

To see the first illustration in this series, click here. I had a great idea last night as I was falling asleep - you're going to love the next illustration with the Cheshire Cat!

And now for something completely different - A boat project to brag about:

We spent a few days last week upgrading our entertainment system on the boat and I have to show it off because it looks (and sounds) great! We have had the same TV and car stereo system for about 18 years. The little TV has always been great for us because it is a multisystem display (handy when you're going between the US and Europe with the boat). Our stereo, a Blaupunkt cassette player, gave us radio and access to our 6 speakers for portable DVD players and other audio devices. A little clumsy but it all worked.
Last year the little TV finally croaked and the stereo was not sounding very good. We knew it was time to update our entertainment system.
With the explosion of choices and our installation of an inverter to give us anytime, reliable 110 power, we could do anything - as long as we kept the spending under $500. Yeah, I hear you, that's not much but we actually spent even less! Check it out:

Old CRT Television to new Flat Screen LCD - things are funner when you flatten them!

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