Useless Bay Coffee

We're back in Useless Bay Coffee where there is always interesting conversation and purposeful people to sketch.

Sketching at Betty Rayle's Studio

Lisbeth was a wonderful character to sketch. I started with color and finished with pen.

Quick sketching, playing with color and line.

Useless Bay Sketches

A few sketches of locals from Useless Bay Coffee.

Island County Budget Hearing

You can get in a lot of practice sketching people at an Island County Budget Hearing - 3 1/2 hours! Lots of interesting characters in attendance. Didn't have the courage to get out my watercolor set though. Maybe next time.

Saturday Sketching at Bayview

Sue and I sketched this afternoon at Bayview Corner. People were hard to come by as drawing subjects, so did my best. I had a very enjoyable afternoon with Ms. Van Etten.

Star Store chef planning a menu, it looked like.

I tried to convey the openness of the atrium.

I think this captures a better view of it, though a narrow slice.

Lisbeth x Three

Lisbeth in water soluble ink and water.

This sketch surprised me. All I did at the studio was block in some colors and then gave up on it. Tonight I added ink, using my ink line drawing of Lisbeth as a reference.

This is another "sketch from a sketch" done at home, using my black & white drawing as a reference. My favorite of the three.

Whidbey Pies Cafe

I'm learning how to control the water so I don't end up with these big unwanted dark puddles.

Betty Rayle's Sketch of Lisbeth

This is Betty's sketch of Lisbeth wearing her wonderful purple hat and colorful scarf. Delightful!

Drawing Funky and Eating Pie

Today was our scheduled drawing day. Unfortunately I arrived late to our destination, Betty Rayle's studio, (Greenbank Cellars Winery) with only 20 minutes left to draw Lisbeth, our model. She's our newest member. I brought my oil pastels, so thought I'd do a quick study.

These are pretty crude drawings. Today I felt like I didn't get in any warm ups. With that said, I've noticed my work is becoming more funky and less concerned about draftsmanship and accuracy. I used to like delicate lines but have come to enjoy strong, direct marks. It's just more fun.


Lisbeth


Sue and I then migrated to Whidbey Pies Cafe down the road to do some more sketching. And of course, pie.


Some people enjoying a late afternoon sandwich. They were discussing their passion for horses, I think.

The Old Stove

Sketching lets us spend time in our favorite places and to get to know new ones. I love the new Greenbank Store, upstairs and downstairs! We get to meet with friends and play with pens and colors in warm cozy places on these dark December days.

Baby Island View: Greenbank Store Cafe

We looked out on Baby Island from upstairs as the brownies were baking downstairs!

Greenbank Store Front

We were excited to have local artist and vintner, Betty Rayle, join our little group at the Greenbank Store. She sketched this whimsical and charming image of the front of the store, looking out the front door to the gas pumps. Great fun. Thank you Betty!

Old Stove and Cowboy: The Greenbank Store

The beautiful stove at The Greenbank Store - The most popular subject of this week's sketches! What a great place to sketch. I could spend a month sketching there and still not capture all the charms of the Greenbank Store and Cafe. Upstairs, downstairs, in the deli, out the windows, the old gas pumps - everywhere you look - it's a veritable feast for the imagination.

This guy was reading the paper at the counter at the front of the store. Somebody still reads newspapers! I call him Cowboy at the Counter.

Greenbank Cafe and Store Sketches

We had a wonderful day sketching at the Greenbank Cafe and Store. The cafe's in a loft and overlooks the store, allowing one a birds eye view of the goods below. The whole place is full of drawings to be done with it's friendly old country funk, wrought iron and wood staircase, and well worn creaky floors. The decorative wood stove downstairs was a great piece to center on so it was a must to include. I began in the cafe with a little black and white drawing fully intending to look over the railing down onto the store to sketch, but didn't get to it. All in all, it was a great day of drawing, and meeting new and interesting people.

Walking the Trails of Greenbank Farm

First Street Christmas Tree in Langley

Fountain Pen and Waterbrush

Faces

Exploring faces in a crowd with watercolor.

This was drawn with a pencil. I found myself pushing the graphite around with my fingers.













 
Meditating over coffee. Started this with watercolor and finished it with ink.

Fun Feet

Fun folds and angles. No worries about insulting anyone with an unflattering image. It's only a foot.

Brown Dog

Just received my new little Windsor & Newton Cotman watercolor set and had to give it a try. I really like it. The colors aren't as transparent as my usual kit, but they dissolve easily which is much less wearing on brushes. It's very compact with lots of mixing wells, as you can see below. Approx. 5.25" wide. It all folds snugly together. Easy to carry. Cute!







These little pencils were done in my new Moleskin sketchbook. Love it!

No One is Safe

Steve, my tech support guy
Originally uploaded by Sue Van Etten

My computer at work has been so sluggish lately, I had Steve, the tech support guy, come over for a look-see this morning. Little did he know . . . while he was working on my PC, I was working on a sketch of him working on my PC. Diagnosis: my hard drive is old and tired. I'm putting it out of its misery. I ordered an iMac this afternoon! Thanks, Steve, for being such a good sport.

Let My Sleeping Dogs Lie

So I can draw them. At some point I hope to become a rapid drawer, catching moments in my mind and able to put them down. Dogs running, birds flitting, horses scratching. Zoey and Reese, my two dogs, had settled down for a good chew on their bones so I tried to capture them in gestures. I ended up with just lines that don't describe much, so I'm posting just one of Zoey. I did take advantage of Reese after he decided to nap on the couch. He kept looking at me with that "stop looking at me" look. But then his eyes got very heavy and he drifted off, occasionally opening one eye to see if I was still at it. Zoey is acutely aware of anything looking at her such as a camera or me. It makes her anxious. She'll get used to it.

Zoe busy chewing a bone.



Reese, fast asleep.



Reese peering at me. So how big are those ears? Huge!



Long legged boy. I exaggerated a bit.