Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Picnic at Whidbey Institute


I've had to miss the past couple of regular Whidbey Island Sketchers wednesday meet-ups.  So it was fun to get at least one sketch in on Saturday after lunch at the Whidbey Institute while on the annual Whidbey Island Garden Tour.  Fab tour and glorious lunchtime sketching. 

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Painting With Watercolor II

 
Olympics from Ebey's Bluff

Kris Wiltse's Painting with Watercolor II class is starting Friday, July 2. Check under 'News and Events' for class description and registration details. Hope to see you there!



Thursday, June 24, 2010

Greenbank Cellars Trellise & Barn



Summer's here. We had a sunny day at Greenbank Cellars Winery on Day Road. Thank you to Betty Rayle for the venue. We sipped on the delicious wine, sketched, and thoroughly enjoyed the lazy afternoon. There exists magical feeling when we have warm sun here at last!

Greenbank Cellars Winery


Yea summer, Yea sun! The vineyards are really beautiful now.
The little red birdhouse had a lot of activity too!

Greenbank Cellars Winery





Annette's delightful sketches really feel like a sunny June afternoon!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Greenbank Cellars Winery


Finally! A beautiful, sunny day for sketching!

One of our group members, Betty Rayle, owns this beautiful winery.  She also designs the wine labels and has her studio and an art gallery on site. Whidbey Island Sketchers shared a lovely bottle of bottle of Greenbank Cellars 2007 Madeline Angevine and one of 2007 Siegerebbe during today's sketch! Both estate grown grapes and both outstanding wines!

We also had a visit from our old friend, Cork, the winery cat.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Sketching the Oregon Coast

Bill and I did a trailer travel adventure along the Oregon Coast last week camping at Champoeg Heritage Park, Cape Lookout, Newhalem, and Fort Camby and Fort Worden in Washington. These are some of the watercolor sketches I was able to paint during the rain breaks.


Razor clam diggers at Cape Lookout where it's very rugged







From the window of our trailer, I sketched the pastel grass fields spattered with white daisies at Campoeg Park.















I spotted these dried leaves beneath the large oak trees at Champoeg. Placed them on the table for a still life study.
















I tried to capture the ambience of the ocean spray mist from the breakers along the shoreline. This was done at Cape Lookout camp ground a beautiful spot.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Annette Hanna's Music for the Eyes


Artist, Annette Hanna, is on Whidbey for the summer and will be sketching with our group while she is here.  This pastel of Music for the Eyes on First Street in Langley is her first sketch with Whidbey Island Sketchers. Beautiful work!

Hanna will be be teaching a 3-day workshop "The Landscape in Pastel" in July at Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio.

Music for the Eyes, Langley



These colorful robes are in Music for the Eyes in Langley.
It is an oasis of great things to look at..carpets, textiles and
jewelry from Central Asia. Magic on a gray day!
And I was served a steaming cup of spice tea!

And later had a glass of wine at the Bistro.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Garden Shed

Sat on Mike's Porch and did this sketch of the Chocolate Flower Farm's storefront in downtown Langley. Great place to hangout, drink coffee and sketch.

Langley Sketching

I sketched these flowers while sitting out front of Mike's Place in downtown Langley. Mike's has done a great job with their flower displays this year. Ditto for whoever is responsible for all the beautiful hanging baskets in Langley. We had a constructive discussion about what I could've/should've done to create more value contrast in the hanging basket sketch.


Did a few interior sketches after dinner at Prima Bistro, trying out my new flat waterbrush. I had a lot of trouble controlling water flow and was constantly running out of water in the brush. Upon examination, Kris discovered I had removed a vital piece of plastic that controls the flow of water.  I'm an idiot. But because I'm also an untidy idiot, I had not yet thrown it away and found it later at home. Sometimes two wrongs do make a right?

Downtown Langley

I learned that it's not always the best idea to try to sketch a local icon because everyone knows exactly what it looks like and when the sketch doesn't exactly match, well...  Ok, took a little artistic license, but here goes:  The Dog House.


Always nice to end a sketching session over wine with fellow sketchers.  I liked the quote from Prima Bistro's menu:

"I think it is a great error to consider a heavy tax on wines as a tax on luxury.  On the contrary, it is a tax on the health of our citizens."
~ Thomas Jefferson

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Barbara's Chocolate Sketch

Barbara Mearing's pencil captured the nursery at The Chocolate Farm beautifully. 

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Walking, Eating and Sketching in New York


I had a wonderful week in Brooklyn with my son's family, and managed a quick sketch out the window between grandchildren naps. So much fun with these happy little people. This is the Verrazano Bridge on the right. I loved the contrast between the lush green trees and the variety of architectural shapes.
\
An oasis in Park Slope... Sweet Melissa has chocolate to die for, and a great little garden area in the back.This tree branch made it wonderfully cool back there.

Colorful umbrellas at the Brooklyn Library next to Prospect Park.
The Brooklyn Museum is closed on Monday and Tuesday, so I sat and did this sketch of the Eastern Parkway and another corner of Prospect Park. My sketchbook was nearly blown away in the wind....
Ginko trees and many churches in Brooklyn. This was built in 1889.
Lunchtime meditation in Madison Square Park.




Friday, June 11, 2010

Chocolate Flower Farm & The Edgecliff


This Wednesday's sketching started at Chocolate Flower Farm and ended at The Edgecliff for Happy Hour. It was a great day of sketching and camaraderie with fellow sketchers, the delightful proprietress, Marie, and her collection of free range quirky critters. The chickens have a sad story - they are the last 2 survivors of a racoon assault in the chicken coop. The ducks have it rough, too. Let's just say I personally witnessed the mating ritual and it ain't pretty.

Here's Wendy sketching in the garden while being stalked by the black cat.


The view from the window of The Edgecliff.


















Virginia at her seat at the end of the bar.

Pat's Pears at Greenbank Gallery


Whidbey Island Sketcher, Pat Brookes, is showing her Pear series at Betty Rayle's Greenbank Gallery throughout the summer. Pat will be working there on Sunday, June 13th, and says she would love some company from the sketchers. The gallery is located at Greenbank Cellars Winery - a great place to sketch. The gallery is open on the weekends 11-4 or by appointment.

You can also find a couple of Pat's Pears at Open Door Gallery at Bayview.

The Chocolate Flower Farm 2

I love this place. I do wish the flowers there were real chocolate. When I was a kid that was a fantasy. Everything made of chocolate. I guess a beautiful garden will just have to do.




















And the scene of the yard and a boat near the marina from the Edgecliff.


Chocolate Flower Farm

Just a quick little painting of the garden this week.  Can we return next week?

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Whidbey Island Winery

With Tuesday's break from the rain, I did some quick sketching at the Whidbey Island Winery. The tasting room wasn't open so I couldn't enjoy a glass of wine afterward, darn. But, the objects and scenes to paint make great subjects.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Whidbey Wild Weeds


These four watercolor sketches of noxious wild weeds are from the fields/woodlands on Whidbey. I placed them in a vase so I could sketch them with graphite on watercolor paper and then paint. I used walnut ink for the text so it harmonized with the colors of the paint. The weeds are sour weed; it gives the red color to the open green and yellow fields; geranium robertianum found in shady gardens and woodlands; western starflower clustered in shady areas under trees; woodland strawberry a ground cover in open areas in the woodlands. This was a fun challenge.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Whidbey Camano Land Trust Event in Crockett Barn

I attended the Whidbey Camano Land Trust Conservation Partner Event in the historic Crockett Barn Saturday night and did some quick sketches during the program. This is my favorite kind of sketching. I really get in the zone and don't stress about the results. It's just a sketch.



By the way, Whidbey Camano Land Trust is a remarkable nonprofit organization doing an amazing of job protecting our open spaces and working  to keep Whidbey Island as beautiful as it is. Right now they are pressing hard against a June 10 deadline to raise $4.2 million to save 600+ contiguous acres of Whidbey woods from development north of Freeland. I hope they make it. Give if you can. I'd love to see Whidbey Island Sketchers do an art project someday in support of the Land Trust.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Captain Whidbey Round 2

Joined Sue and Lisbeth for great food, wine and a few sketches at the Captains.




















This bear head in the bar was interesting. Though I don't like such trophies.




Later I sat outdoors on the deck overlooking Penn Cove and did a little sketch of the Madrona seen through the porch pillars. What a fabulous evening and sunset.