A WONDERFUL AFTERNOON OF SKETCHING

Barbara B. welcomed us into her incredible penthouse in Langley for a sketch-up. Every nook and cranny of her charming loft space is filled with interesting and beautiful objects, among twinkling colored holiday lights. There were so many that deciding what to sketch was a real challenge. I chose this comfy sofa filled with pillows, the antique buffet, the dried floral arrangement and the Chinese horse.

Ivar's

Well, I arrived late at Ivar's for our Friday sketch-meet, so I only got one done.  It was fun, though ... I learned from our waitress that the two bartenders I captured were both named "Mike" ... the Mike on the left has worked there for 20 years.  She thought Ivars would want a copy of this.  Hey ... capturing a bit o' history!  Other patrons were so curious and passed around my sketchbook.  It's funny how sketching is so public, and people get so intrigued.  Rarely do they not want to be sketched; its way more common to have people feel highlighted and immortalized by being included.

Ott & Murphy

Langley offers so many delightful music venues ... I noticed on Drewslist that Levi Burkle, on guitar, and Karla Crouch, vocalist, would be at the Ott and Murphy (aka "OM") wine bar.  Sue Van Etten, Sherryl Goldfinger and I arrived to a sardine-packed audience.  Summer, the lovely wine stewart of the evening, pulled stools out of who knows where to give us something to sit on.  Levi and Karla performed number after number, warming up into great show tunes off Broadway.  They were delightful ... Levi also performs on a "mouth trumpet" which is a stitch.  The energy was fantastic.  Summer was so excited ... she said she felt like she was in Paris, with music, wine, and art flowing freely.  Initially, I was afraid we'd be a huge inconvenience, carrying our stuff and taking up space in the intimate tightly packed place.  But ... the fellow patrons were excited about our sketching, calling for us to "SHARE!" during the break.

Levi and Karla at O&M

We had a blast listening to the music of Levi Burkle and Karla Crouch while sketching in the dark at Ott & Murphy's last night. Blind sketching is a kick. It's always interesting to find out what's on the paper when the lights come on!

Levi and Karla

People at the bar

Levi

Our Afternoon at Ivar's

We went to Ivar's in Mukilteo for the world's longest lunch. We sketched from lunchtime through happy hour, with sketchers coming and going throughout the afternoon. Luckily, Ivar's turned out to be a very sketcher-friendly venue. Both the staff and other customers seemed to enjoy having us there. Sketching awakens something in people. I think everyone secretly wants to draw pictures, especially when they see how much fun we have.

I do regret not getting a good sketch of the gulls and I have no excuse. They stood on the railing all afternoon.

Two Guys Lunching (with two other guys looking on)

The view out the window: An unexpected spot of color on a gray day

Ivar's Beautiful Bar Back

Turtleneck Guy at the Bar

After Dark

seattle art museum lobby

mukilteo lighthouse

Sketching With Sue

Well, guess who I sketched with the other day? Sue and I were missing sketchers so we got together at my house and sat on the comfy sofa with our glasses of wine (of course) .....and....we were both looking in the same direction....and after Paint left the rocking chair Robert arrived. So what were we to do? We sketched what we saw. It's always interesting to see how two artists interpret the same scene. We had fun.

Only Half There

Robert said my sketch captured how he felt yesterday - "only half there." But I got the most important parts - the cowboy hat and boot.

The elderly cat, Paint, was much better than Robert at holding a pose.

Last of this Season's Flowers

For a dinner party last weekend, it took a combination of plants from my garden and a nearby farmstand supplemented by grocery store florals to put together arrangements for the table.  First weekend in November and we've finally hit the end of our garden flowers for this season so I had to capture the final ones and look forward to buds in the spring.