Fun & Fashion Langley Style

Here are my "Langley Fashion Weekend" sketches from last Saturday. It was a fun, festive and fashionable time in the little village by the sea! Check out some video of the event here.

Roberta's Window

Roberta's Door

Chad Harding at the Celtic Viking

Kay Alsip models for "In the Country"

Stage props at the Clyde

More stage props at the Clyde

One last sketch at Mo's!

Sketch Rally

Highway 525 seemed to dangerous to pull over and sketch on, but next time I will try.  Everyone else seemed to manage, so I promise to do better in the future.

Little Red Barn 

Can you see why it looks like a coffee pot?  Depressing rainy colors!

I found Langley Rd tempting and sketched the big ?coffeepot by Waterman Storage.  It has something to do with lumber/milling wood, I think.  After this adventure in the pouring rain, turning on the wipers to be able to see, I met Betty and we drove around looking for animals.  They were all in hiding!  We found this cute barn we couldn't resist.  The neighbors drove by and asked what we were doing parking on their road.  Jeesh!  We showed them the sketchbook and were approved.

525 ROAD RALLY - WRONG AND RIGHT

So there were two ways to do the Road Rally Challenge - the right way and the wrong way.  The FIRST time I did it I did so many things wrong - didn't stay on the highway, didn't stay in my car and did it on the wrong day (Tuesday and I was dry and in bright sunshine!)  About all I did get right was the Animal/Vegetable/Mineral part.    But I am a perfectionist, and a teacher who always gave do-overs for "making it better".  So I awarded myself one today and did the road rally over -  RIGHT this time (well, mostly).  I started my sketches in my car pulled over on 525 (scared I was going to get sideswiped or run off private property with a gun) and sketched what I saw (or shot).  Here are the results.  I had ANOTHER great day, and am happy.  Sue???

(WRONG) ANIMAL!  Llama on "Fence Patrol" on Double Bluff Road

(WRONG) VEGETABLE 1!  Lilac bushes with their own private house - Bayview Road

WRONG AGAIN) VEGETABLE 2 -A field of my favorite Noxious Weed on Bayview Road

(WRONG) MINERAL! - It's there, but so light the scanner wouldn't pick it up - the giant rock that is Mt. Rainer,
seen from Double Bluff Beach park. 

RIGHT ANIMAL!!

RIGHT VEGETABLE!!

RIGHT MINERAL!!

Sketch Rally

Wednesday's sketch rally was a perfect excuse for exploring some of the backroads of Whidbey Island on a rainy day. I spent a quiet hour at South Whidbey State Park enjoying the peace and beauty of these lush woodlands in the rain. Later, I noticed an old faded barn framed in my rearview mirror.

Anchor Books & Coffee

The ambiance and cappuccino were perfect at Anchor Books and Coffee!

525 Sketch Challenge

Bluffs near Bush Point
(Animal: notice the seagull!)

Scotch Broom and the Radio Tower at Bayview Road on 525
(Mineral: notice the tower.)

View from "Wild Birds" entering Clinton on 525
(Vegetable: lots of trees)

Highway 525 Sketch Rally (& Poetry Reading)

Here are my efforts for the Highway 525 Rainy Day Sketch Rally Challenge:

Animal

Vegetable(s) at The Goose Grocer

Minerals? In the silverware tray at Cozy's?

Another mineral! (Because the Gnat is a real gem!)

And for some post-sketch-rally poetry, I made a stop at the Unitarian Church (just off Highway 525) for Natalie's poetry reading and art show. You must stop by if only to see Natalie's piece entitled "Beetle Dream." My favorite piece in the show. Wonderful!

Highway 525 Sketch Rally

The challenge was this:  Highway 525 Sketch Rally

"Grab your sketchbook, get in your car and head for the highway. Make at least 3 stops and sketch something you can see from the side of the road.  The Challenge: 3 sketches: 1 animal, 1 vegetable, 1 mineral (interpretation entirely up to the sketcher)."

I had a ball with this challenge.  Thanks, Sue, for thinking this up.

Animal

Vegetable (The PICKLES Deli sign @ Ken's Korner)

Mineral (my diamond wedding ring) while sketching in the car!

And, we met up at Cozy's in Clinton to compare results.  Fun time!

Fashion sketches

Catherine wearing clothing from In the Country

Emcee"s 

Music for the Eyes robe

Loved the Star Store wigs & clothes

What an impressive fun day Saturday's Fashion Show created.  Despite the gray skies, it was fun and challenging to make myself concentrate on figures (my nemisis).  It was especially challenging in the darkened Clyde theater.  I was in the balcony with a good view but absolutely no light.  Thank you to the Bret & Chad from the  Celtic Viking for adding a different look.  I did a follow up sketch at Music for the Eyes of one of the robes.  The colors and composition of design just drew me in.

An Evening at Mo's

Ahhh, sketching. A pleasure to sit in Mo's eating fries with Ms. Sue. Here's my sketches...

 

 

Anchor Books & Coffee

Anchor Books & Coffee is Whidbey's newest coffee shop/book exchange. I love supporting local businesses and think it's great that Bruce and Trish decided to offer coffee, tea, pies, pastries, ice cream, bagels and chocolates all made on Whidbey Island. Stop in and enjoy a cup of  Mukilteo Coffee Roasters coffee and a slice of Whidbey Pies' marionberry pie with a scoop of Whidbey Island Ice Cream with your free Wi Fi. Looks like a great place for groups to meet, too!

Sidewalk colors at Anchor Books

Lots of color along the sidewalk leading out of the coffee shop up to Wild birds.  Azaleas and rhododendrons in bloom, all sorts of birds and rainbow banners in the sunshine.  

BOOKS, JAVA AND SKETCHING

Wednesday, the WISKs met at the new used bookstore/coffee house in Clinton to have a fun sketching session. A great place for coffee, browsing through books, chatting with friends or reading a book in the back room library.

I stuck with my Lamy pen and fountain pen ink washes since the new sketching paper I purchased didn't take to watercolors so well.

More Manzanillo Sketches

I apologize for being a blog hog, but I told some folks I met in Mexico to check the blog in a week to see some of these sketches. So I have to post them in case they actually check!  I did these on our excursions away from Casa Maya.

Annie's fabulous art studio on the 3rd (or was it the 4th?) floor of her casa.

Calle Cinco, Manzanillo

Marianna, Emily y Eric - Manzanillo Chinese Restaurant

Guitarist on Chicken Beach

The movie was so bad I started sketching Barbara

The Braider and the Braided at Chicken Beach

Guitarist at Senor Gao's restaurant

Family dining at the next table at Senor Gao's

Barb on her 2nd date with the cowboy chaperoned by all the sketchers.
She told him she comes with a posse and she wasn't kidding!

'Tuba y Pina' vendor at Chicken Beach

Birds, bathing beauties and balloons at Chicken Beach
This is a pretty crappy sketch, but it cracks me up. Those 3 figures heading into the water are Phyllis, Barb and Faye.