Breakfast in the Lobby

The nice part of staying at the Hampton Inn in Marietta, Georgia is that several other family members were staying there too. One of my nephews came from CA and I hadn't seen him since his wedding 6/7 years ago. It was great to have a breakfast area with a lot of seating where we were able to sit around and catch up on things before going to the service. 

Savannah Part 3

For the afternoon session of the NYC Urban Sketchers virtual visit to Savannah we ventured to the waterfront and to Bonaventure Cemetery. I did my third sketch of a spot along the water. It had all the components I like to see...awnings, windows, and crumbling sections of the facade. This is an art gallery on East River Street. I liked doing the brickwork in this.

I didn't do a sketch of Bonaventure Cemetery, but I have several reference photos saved so it may happen yet...so stay tuned.

Savannah Part 2

Savannah has so many great buildings and beautiful architecture. I found the Flannery O'Connor House which was the home of Mary Flannery O'Connor who wrote novels, short stories, and essays. I don't know her work so I can't tell you anything about it. I did like how narrow this building was compared to some of the much larger plantation style houses.

Inktober Day 22 - Elberton Part II

While I was out on Elberton's square sketching the mercantile, I also did a small sketch of the top of the Elberton Courthouse for my Day 22 Inktober sketch.

#inktober

#inktober2019

Of course I can't resist color for too long, so I had to do a sketch of part of the square. One of the trees had such great color...sort of autumnal although there wasn't much color down there yet. This was done on a pad of Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed Media paper that is 3.1 x 4.1 inches that I got as a goodie bag gift at the Amsterdam Urban Sketching Symposium.

One of my nephews and his wife who actually live in Elberton loved the little sketches and wanted them to hang in their house. Of course I couldn't resist giving them to them. They also want me to do a sketch of their house, but I'll have to do that from photos when they send me some.

Elberton is the granite capital of the world...that is it's claim to fame. It is a cute town that is a throwback in time. My nephew's house is from the 1920s and is adorable. He renovated it but kept a lot of the charm of the original house...no open floor concept for them.

I took a few photos of signs in the town.

Inktober Day 20 & 21 - Out of Town

I am behind a day even though I scheduled a few posts. I was out of town for the last few days attending my nephew's wedding in Elberton, GA. I flew down with my sister, Mickey on Thursday morning. Of course I did an obligatory sketch at the airport. Even though I added color I am counting this as my Day 20 Inktober sketch.
Since I was carrying on my luggage and planned on not bringing my backpack, I took very little in sketching supplies...a "Pen & Ink" brand sketchbook that is 3 1/2 x 5 1/2, a Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed Media pad that is 3.1 x 4.1 inches, my Lamy pen, a few assorted pens and a tiny water brush. The sketchbook paper was very thin and not the best for wet media but I used it anyway.

#inktober

#inktober2019

The wedding itself was Friday night, but I had time in the morning to go out into the square and sketch this view of Begley Mercantile for my Day 21 Inktober sketch. Elberton had some interesting buildings to sketch but being with family that I haven't seen in quite a while kept me from having much free time and on Saturday it rained the entire day. 

More to come tomorrow.

Here are a few photos of the happy couple, Patrick and Cayla.

And a photo of me and my siblings. It has been over 2 years since we were all together.

That's me on the left, my sister, Tina (Maine), my brother, Joe (father of the groom and lives in GA) and my sister, Mickey (from NJ).

Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad

On Saturday my brother and his wife took us up to Blue Ridge, Georgia so that my sister, Mickey could meet her internet friend, Angel. This town was selected because it was easy for all of us to get to and had a scenic downtown so that the photographers could take photos and I could sketch. I did a sketch of a bit of the town and part of the Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad.

Dinner

I guess I am becoming one of those sketchers who sketches their meals. lol My Wed night sketch group leader suggested that everyone sketch their dinner because of the snowy conditions in NY the other day. I was on the road in Roanoke, VA so I sketched my steamed shrimp, hush puppies (a dead giveaway that I was south of NYC) and a sweet potato...very healthy because I didn't touch the hush puppies. For those of you who don't know what hush puppies are they are deep fried corn bread pieces.

Here are a few photos from my trip so far.

We visited my nephew, John, in GA. Here we are at the river. Left to right are my sister Mickey, my nephew John, my sister-in-law Joan and me.

Mickey, my brother Joe, sister-in-law Joan, and me.

Mys sister Mickey met a long-time internet friend, Angel, for the first time in Blue Ridge, GA. Angel lives in GA.

Mickey and I arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC for the workshop we are taking.

We hit the beach for a walk...beautiful weather!

The other evening the Patchogue Sketch Club met down at the end of Blue Point Avenue. There is a parking area with a gazebo and a small beach. Even though it had been warm during the day, by evening the wind had picked up and it was cold. All the sketchers had to work from their cars.

This is about 4 x 6.

April 13 - Augusta, GA

Suffolk County Farm Sketches

I made a trip to the Suffolk County Farm the other day. It is a good time of year to go because many baby animals are born around now.

First I sketched the cows who usually stay put while they are eating, but once they are finished have no loyalty to the artist sketching them. lol

Next I went over to sketch the sheep who were all clustered together by the shed. There was one baby included in the group.

The peacock had his feathers spread when I sat down, but that didn't last for long. Most of the feathers I had to do by memory.

Inside there were some baby goats that were just one day old. Mama goat was ignoring them for the most part, until I almost finished the sketch. Then she decided it was feeding time.

April 12 - Savannah, GA

Gardens in Athens

My stister, Mickey, and I ventured out in the heat in Athens, GA to paint in the garden area of the welcome center across the street from our hotel. It started out overcast and was bearable, but when the sun came out it was much too hot.



Downtown Athens, Georgia

This past weekend we went down to Athens, GA for my nephew's wedding. Of course I took my sketchbooks. It was hot, but I took my small book out with me when I walked there at 7 before it got too hot. This is a view up College Avenue from right in front of the college.

The second day I sketched the Georgia Theater on Clayton and Lumpkin Streets.

I did the sketches directly in pen for my 75 day challenge and added the color in the comfort of my air conditioned room back at the hotel.