"MYSTERY" Fun at Studio 106

The little Red Shed outside Studio 106 on the alley.

Sherryl in her Giant Pink Hat

The Major Paynes'

So I got brave and joined the REAL WOMEN, women made of tough stuff (like Wired Wilma) and drove out through what was left of the cold and snow (not much of it by Sunday), to sketch downtown during Mystery Weekend.  Phyllis Ray left us her FABULOUS cozy dream studio to use while she hid out in Mexico.   It was quite sublime - Sherryl posed, as did some of the "cast members" and I was totally taken by the little red shed out front.

...and another sketch of "Wired Wilma"

What fun!

Mystery Weekend at Studio 106 - Day 1

It was snowing, icy, cold, real cold. Road conditions were bad. Sidewalk conditions were bad. But the mystery solvers were out in force searching for clues.  And the REAL women of Whidbey Island Sketchers rose to the challenge and made it down to open Studio 106 yesterday. (That would be Sherryl, Diana, Wired Wilma, Hula Fish and me.)

Hula Fish likes Phyllis' book, "Sea Stories"

Special thanks to Paul G. for bringing us hot soup!

The pink azalea is still lookin' good!

Hope to see the rest of you sissies today!

More from Mexico!

Thanks to Whidbey Island Sketchers I'm continuing my sketch a day here. My current question is when is a sketch a sketch and when does it become a full on painting? I somehow like my quick sketches better than the ones I work on more, but I just can't help myself. Rapture of the painting takes over unless someone interrupts me or my attention gets somehow diverted. Two of these sketches are from our sweet Bouquita Beach (otherwise known as Chicken Beach because it is so protected and shallow and has very light surf), and the other was done on our terrace overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I think of Whidbey Island and of snow.

Sketching at the Braeburn with snow approaching, eating luscious soup and laughing with friends was the best. I think I did the later more than the former. Ah well, it was great.

Braeburn Sketches

I didn't get a single sketch finished at the Braeburn on Wednesday. So I'm posting some I did there a few weeks ago.

Mystery Sketchers After Hours

We sometimes perform mysterious sketching rituals in eerie undisclosed locations after dark. Artists' models, Wired Wilma and Hula Fish posed for us last night as the storm was blowing outside and the candles were flickering inside. Wilma and Hula will also be appearing at Studio 106 this weekend for your Mystery Weekend mystery sketching enjoyment.

The Braeburn: Inside and Outside

Eating hearty soup and sipping tea in the Braeburn Cafe, it felt warm and cozy as the snowstorm approached Langley. By contrast, this bare tree outside the window seemed cold and lonely.

Braeburn, and a Hula Fish?

The curry chicken sandwich and salad at the Braeburn in Langley was delicious. Did this sketch pretty fast knowing they were closing at 3.

 

Sherryl was kind enough to invite us over for snacks and wine afterward. She's particularly fond of her hula fish which she set in the middle of her dining room table for us to sketch. It's one of those hula girls, but a fish head with large lips, sparkles and a grass skirt. A colorful character!

Then I got in a sketch of Sue sketching the hula fish.

At the Braeburn

Great little restaurant on Second Street....snow was expected...but we enjoyed the warmth, ambience and good food...then it did start to snow just as we were leaving...

Buenos tardes from Casa Amanecer

My sketch a day program is going along swimmingly. Here are two sketches from La Bouquita Beach and one from our living room. I really like the very simple little sketch in the middle of a fruit vendor. I had just a minute or two to capture them before they moved. The first sketch is of the inflatable beach toy vendor. I love seeing those toys going down the beach. The flower sketch helped to settle me into myself after a day of a great many people being in and out all day.

Hola from sunny, warm, delicious Mexico!

I promised myself I'd do at least one sketch a day....and think of the Whidbey Island Sketchers. So far I have missed only one day. One day I sketched my lounge chair and the view, another is my friend Lynn reading on the terrace, and today I sketched this cart on the beach. The weather is perfect, the views fantastic, Too much to see and do and eat and drink......Life is good.

Julie's Hearing Voices: "Sketch Me"

Julie says:

I saw these floats and net on my husbands work bench as I was walking by. I heard them calling "sketch me".

I also heard these poor old guys whimpering from the supply cabinet in my art class.

More sketching at Diane and Bob's

When I arrived Judi, Serafina, Julie and (another) Diane were sketching in front of the gorgeous view at the dining table.   An orchid filled a charming little cart that Diane and Bob had collected for their delightful  home.  Thanks, Diane for sharing such a lovely place to sketch.

Sketching at Diane & Bob's

Limes, lemons & tea for us

Old trunk and beautiful wall cabinet and two of Dianes oil paintings

This Wednesday a few of us met at Diane & Bob B's home to sketch some of their incredible collectibles.  This ambitious couple built a home around items they have collected over the years.  The newel posts purchased at an Estate sale support the huge marble counter and the railing above the living room.  The huge black panel in the kitchen from an old stove and beautiful cupboards and artifacts everywhere.  It looks like Judy did a painting of the pups, two cute soft brown poodles.  Bob built Diane a small studio just off the back deck with all the crate wood lining the inside walls and a view of Holmes Harbor.  There is so much more, but you will just have to come another time and see or pay to go on a Home or Kitchen tour. This home is unique beyond words.  Thank you Diane & Bob.
 Here are my two small offerings.  Pat

More Saratoga Sound

An amazing experience sitting so close to the musicians of The Saratoga Sound quintet as they rehearsed. And some of the hardest sketching I've ever done. Thank you, Saratoga Sound, for allowing us to be present during rehearsal. It was an honor!

Salvatore Morisco and Gloria Ferry Brennan

Kim Tinuviel and James Hinkley

The Saratoga Sound!

 I had the opportunity to sketch at a recent performance as well as a rehearsal of The Saratoga Sound, an exciting string quintet comprised of members of the Saratoga Chamber Orchestra plus Salvatore Morisco, a fantastic violinist/arranger from Naples, Italy. If you missed their recent sold-out Langley House Concert, "The Italian Connection," there will be an encore performance tomorrow night at the Langley Methodist Church. Movie music, Jazz, Classical, Tango -  Fabuloso! You are in for a real treat!

James Hinkley ,Cello, at rehearsal

Kim Tinuvial, Double Bass

 

Gloria Ferry Brennan, Violin

Louise Fiori, Viola

Kim Tinuviel, Double Bass, at rehearsal

Bass at Rest, Intermission

Chaise Lounge & Soji Screen at Red Rooster

Julie's sketch of Red Rooster Antique Mall's chaise lounge & soji screen on a sunny day. Julie says: "Love my Pentel brush pen."

A sweet little pair of Poo's - Jazzy and Phoebe

Diane B. so graciously opened her magnificent Greenbank home to us today and it was just an amazing time.  Not only were there wonderful things to see in her home everywhere you looked, but there was the dearest little welcoming committee at the door every time someone came in!  When they were quite done checking out every new guest they retreated to the comfort of their basket in front of the woodstove for a snuggle. 

Julie's Purple Chair at Bayview

Julie's sketch of the famous purple chair at  Bayview Cash Store

Sunny Sketching in Arizona

Here are a few sketches from my trip to Arizona.  This is the chapel at Tlaquepaque in Sedona.  Tlaquepaque was built in the 1970s to be an village of artists.  It was built to resemble a Mexican village and its namesake is just outside Guadalajara, Mexico. 

It was a stunning, sunny afternoon in Sedona with way to much to sketch and way too little time. 



Sketched with SedonaNan over lunch at the Javelina Cantina in Sedona.  I met Nance at the 1st International Urban Sketching Symposium last summer in Portland, OR.

Then back to Wickenburg, AZ where I managed a quick sketch of 2 guys in the Country Grass Band playing at Chaparral.  And - just had to throw in a sketch of a young saguaro cactus in my in-laws' front yard!  No arms yet; saguaro don't grow arms until they're 50 years old.

If it's February in the Pacific Northwest, you can pretty well bet that every plane to the sunny Southwest will be packed!  Ours was no exception.

Island Views

Barbers Point beach

Foster Botanical Jungle

Left half of next picture of North Shore waves

Right half - Pupukea Beach Oahu

Continuing the Island theme, here are a few images of Oahu from our recent trip.
Pat Brookes