Lifeguard

I haven't done a digital sketch in quite a while so I took my iPad Mini with me to the pool the other day. I was looking for water to sketch and thought the pool would qualify. I sat across the pool from the lifeguard and she got more of my attention than the water. lol Like I've said before, I do these so rarely that I forget what I do know about using ArtRage. I think when I finally replace my iPad with something newer I will try a better digital program. The problem is that the programs have a learning curve to them and I don't want to put in the time. I would usually rather sketch the traditional way.

Beach Scenes

On Sunday (which now seems like eons ago) I headed over to Robert Moses State Park to sketch. It was a sunny day but very windy, so there weren't too many people around. I sat in my mobile studio looking at the dunes and painting while several groups came to enjoy the actual beach. I like that most walkways down to the beach have their own unique fences so they usually look different.

Then I drove down to the other end of the parking lot which faced a fence. The Fire Island Lighthouse was visible in the distance. This time I sketched on my iPad with my ArtRage program. If I stop using it for too long I forget what I'm doing.

An update on my hubby. He came home from the rehab facility today. Unfortunately he had a fall about a week and a half ago and pulled the muscle in his good leg. Right now he is in a lot of pain and can't stand or put any pressure on the leg. That made for a very challenging day for me and my sister-in-law. (Thank heaven for her help.) It also felt like the day lasted about a week. Hopefully with bed rest his muscle will heal. He had been doing so well before that. I am looking forward to seeing that again.

Portrait Party & Digital Sketch

For today's NYC Urban Sketchers event we had a portrait party. We've done them quite a few times IRL but today's event was organized on Zoom. Anyone who wanted to attend who didn't know how to use it was tutored by someone who did so that everyone was ready. We all met in the Zoom "auditorium" where Mark welcomed everyone and explained what we would be doing. There was a morning sketch event and an afternoon event. We were split up into random groups of anywhere between 6-8 sketchers and sent off to our meeting room. Each person in the group posed for a 10 minute sketch. My morning group only had 6 people so we finished a bit early. That gave us time to chat with each other and share the sketches we had done. A few of our group were people I am friendly with but some were new to me. One woman was from Calgary. I sketched out each portrait with a water-soluble graphite pencil, and then went over that with permanent ink. Then I added watercolor on top. Here are my sketches from the morning.

At 11:55 we all went back to the "auditorium." Some people went and had lunch, some posted their sketches, and some of us just hung out there talking because it was the first time many of us had seen each other since social isolation began. It was fun to catch up with everyone.

After the lunch break those of us who stayed for the afternoon session or who had just joined for the afternoon session were assigned to another breakaway group meeting to sketch. This time there were 7 people in my group so I got to sketch a total of 11 people. Here are my afternoon sketches...remember each of these was created in 10 minutes.

Of course we were indoor sketching on one of the nicest days we've had in nearly 2 weeks. As soon as we were done with the portraits I headed out for a ride down to Hecksher State Park in Islip. I sat facing the water and sketched with ArtRage on my iPad. Some people were on the sand enjoying the sunshine on one of those orange inflatable cushions. There were a lot of people down by the bay, but for the most part they were in small groups and keeping distant from other people. I didn't get out of my car...just sat with the window open and let the sun shine in.

Equipment

Yesterday I was out for a bit and looked for something that would fit the current Scavenger Hunt on Wet Canvas. One of the items was a piece of heavy machinery or construction equipment. This was parked in the corner of the parking lot by one of the markets...far from anyone else. Sketched from inside my mobile studio.

My niece-in-law posted this on her FB page as a sort of challenge to do to keep us entertained.

Feel free to join in. I imported it into ArtRage and then added the details. It was definitely a learning experience importing it and working in layers.

Lobby Piano

Today while Jerry was doing physical therapy I went down to the lobby of the rehab facility. There is a great piano there sitting in the corner of the lobby. The other day there had been a pianist playing for the residents. I listened for a while and decided I would come back and sketch it at a later time. This was done with ArtRage on my iPad.

Waiting for the Baker

Yesterday I went down to the Cafe' to get coffee while Jerry was having physical therapy. I timed it just right and got my coffee and a cookie before the baker took his break. This lady was there when I got there patiently sitting in front of the counter, which several of the residents seem to do. I guess it gives them a bit of a meeting place. I didn't have my sketchbook but I had brought along my iPad to read. Instead of reading I used the ArtRage program and did a digital sketch of the woman. I was about 75% finished when someone came along and wheeled her off for lunch. Luckily she and the chair were already sketched in and I just needed to add color to most of the sketch.

"30 Paintings in 30 Days" - Day 17 - Iris in Bloom

For day 17 of "30 Paintings in 30 Days" I decided to experiment with masa paper again. I think I got closer to the batik look with this one...what do you think? I may try another one. It takes a while to prep the paper before painting and it is hard to get all the little creases in such a small painting surface. It was done from one of my many iris photos and is 5 x 5.

On Tuesday I spent the day with my sister, Mickey, in NJ...it was an art day. We started with a trip to Dick Blick to buy art supplies. I had brought along a Gelli plate I had bought in the fall but hadn't had time to experiment with yet. That was our first project for the day. We played with stencils and paint making mono prints.

Mickey used the time to make a birthday card for one of her grandchildren.

Next we played with the Artrage, the digital program I've been using on my iPad. Mickey had been working with a different program but wanted a program that did a bit more. She had used Photoshop for her photos, so she had some idea already of what the layers would do. So after a little instruction of the basic mechanics of the program she started sketching like a pro. I sketched her while she was working.

The sketch of the angel on the left was done by Mickey...yes, her Christmas tree was still up too. lol

 The rose is also one of Mickey's sketches.

In addition to these art projects we worked on our paintings for the "30 Day" challenge. We did get a lot done.