Tilth Sunday Market

We were all hot and clammy, huddled in a corner of shade cast by a building at the Tilth Sunday Market. This is what I could see from my little spot in the shade. I was happy the guy in the straw hat sat down in the foreground to add some interest to the sketch. On the back of his T-shirt: "A Powerful Voice for Fathers of Children with Special Needs". Nice.

Embarrassed to say this is Truman on the left, as it looks nothing like him. But the hat gives it away. Not sure who this other colorful  pony-tailed character was . . .

Sketching sketchers in Langley

What a fun day with the sketchers! They're lovely models who are cognizant they are being targeted for sketches and make every effort to stay put. Thank you all!
Here are my efforts...

Pat

Sue

Barbara

Sherryl

Bonus Sketch Day

We weren't scheduled to sketch on Friday because we are sketching Sunday at Tilth. But some of the sketchers were getting twitchy at the thought of a Friday afternoon without sketching.  So a few of us got together for an impromptu afternoon of sketching at the Commons that transitioned into a lovely evening of sketching and partying in Mary's back yard. Fun, as always!

South Whidbey Commons with Friday Market tents in the background

Mary's delightful backyard.

Mike!

Weird and Wonderful

A breakthrough in buddy art. Or just a joint mental breakdown. Someone should interpret those whacked-out chakras and auras.  Color by Sherryl, lines by Sue.

Hanging Begonias and Purple Planter

Coral, purple and chartreuse are the dominant colors on my deck this year. The coral tuberous begonias are thriving on the east side of the house. Hanging begonias are especially voluptuous. Gonna try this sketch again and try to let the begonias shine. The purple pot and chartreuse shrub kinda stole the show here.

Pat's sketches

It was so exciting having you here that it took me a while to settle down and enjoy my own house and garden.  Thank you for the beautiful sketches.  It's nice to see my house from your eyes.

view of the sedum table on back patio

Snacks and wine with Antique couch in the background.

A Little More of Pat's World

                           Pat has so many appealing spaces, this just out the front door. I could have sat there
                           the entire day... Thank you for such a delightful afternoon!         

                         

And the Backyard Clock keeps time!

beautiful house in the woods

Pat's World

Yeah, how DOES she do it all? I suspect she doesn't sleep much. Everywhere you look in Pat Brooke's world there is color, texture, and artistry. Her garden and home are artfully designed, maintained, cozy and welcoming. The very pleasant hours of being near my sketcher friends while still in my own experience slipped by so fast I could not believe it when it was time to go. It was hard to choose what to sketch. I settled on this sweet gardening wagon, could not resist The Nook, and was drawn to the stunning bouquet of soft pink roses. Thanks Pat. It was a great day.

In Pat's Garden

Pat has a delightful garden, full of things to see, sketch and enjoy. No one can figure out how she keeps  up with the plants and still has time to paint. Magic? I didn't want to paint green, Green GREEN again so I scouted around until I found a view that was full of color. Greens, yes, but a whole variety of shades, from lime to deep forest. Also a Japanese maple that was deep wine with bright vermillion, a basket of geraniums with something blooming blue, and some far off irises. There was even a sweet little birdhouse back at the edge of the forest. Lovely day, lovely setting and another "sketcher's sunburn" for me!

Pat's Garden

Tis the season for Foxgloves.  While I sketched this beautiful stand in Pat's Garden, it's not reflected here because it happened so quickly, but a golden Monarch butterfly came and visited upon the flowers a moment or two.  Bees were a buzzin', birds a chirpin', sketchers a sketchen'.  Sun was popping in and out.  I tried to capture the sunlight coming through the blooms.

Then I sauntered over to a spot of sweet columbines among the beds of perennials...  

but I also had to capture the essence of Pat's garden ... she has such an eclectic assortment of found and otherwise gathered objects placed among her plantings.  This old bicycle has sedums in its golden baskets, and is part of a garden bed.  Sedums were here there and everywhere, to my delight.  Thanks, Pat, for a wonderful garden sketching experience!!!!

Sketching at Pat's

This is just one of the artfully arranged vignettes in Pat's charming garden. How have we never sketched here before? I have a bad case of garden envy. I came home and weeded for an hour before dinner tonight.

 
This sketch was supposed to be about the Siamese cat, Yang. She was sitting still on the arm of the sofa, beautifully lit by the lamp light. But before I sketched her, she broke her pose and became that lump on the sofa, curled up grooming herself. She tried to redeem herself by sitting in my lap as I tried to paint, covering my black shirt in cat hair.

Cloudstone Sculpture Park

The amazing, fabulous, awesome, jaw dropping surprise of Cloudstone Sculpture Park has already been described very well, so I'll try not to be redundant. It is huge. On all levels. Thanks to Hank for so graciously hosting us on his sacred land of art. Sketching the sculptures and the wonderful old rusty truck were feats of mental gymnastics, visually measuring scale, distance, size, and relationships. While sketching the sculptures I could not help but imagine how it was to design and build them. On the bottom sketch here I wish I had found a way to show the scale. Those bugs on those cylinders were probably the size of a 10 year old kid. If that helps. I loved sitting there with the sun, the breeze, the birds, my imagination, pen, watercolor and sketchpad. A perfect day. To make it more perfect for me Hank chose the bottom sketch for himself to keep. I feel deeply honored. To be fair....many sketchers had already left so he didn't see theirs... I'm still honored.

Whidbey Sketcher in Montana

I managed a few sketches on a recent painting trip to Montana. This view is from the East Glacier Lodge, just a taste of the vastness and majesty of Glacier Park. 

                                                     Painter's Poker, East Glacier

A little garden next to our cottage in Bigfork, a beautiful little town on Flathead Lake.

Bridge Street Cottages, next to the roaring Swan River.

Grand old Mission in St Ignatious, Montana. 

Elegant classical murals inside, built in 1891.

Cloudstone Sculpture Park

So little time, so much to see and paint.  We need to return, it's a spectacular experience.

These are gazillion gallon tanks suspended in the air at the entrance to Cloudstone Park.

Makes me think its a snake?

Fun with Fruit

Can you tell which is the real fruit and which is the tablecloth? Loving my new Schminke enamel watercolor set!

Enjoying some fresh local produce while planning which farms to sketch at this summer.

Cloudstone Sculpture Park

Cloudstone Sculpture Park
Hank Nelson, Sculptor

The Sketchers found another precious place on Whidbey Island .... Hank Nelson's Cloudstone Sculpture Park.  Acres of large granite sculptures, rusted metal sculptures, installation landscapes, unbelievable!
This piece sits on a mound of large stone chips, and is surrounded by beautiful old trees.  Golly ... how tall is it?  5'?  6'?  Wish I'd measured ..... maybe next time.  We definitely want to return ... perhaps for a whole day.  Couldn't possibly begin to do the place justice in a single afternoon.
Thank you, Hank, for allowing us to wander and sketch around your Sculpture Park.

Cloudstone Sculpture Park Whimsy

Mind. Blown. Another magical Whidbey sketching experience. This time at Cloudstone Sculpture Park, one of those special Whidbey places hidden in the woods that makes you say, "Who knew??"  This 80 wooded acres of delight and surprise is the brainchild and life's work of sculptor Hank Nelson. I can't begin to explain it all, so here is a video I found on YouTube narrated by Hank that will give you the tiniest inkling of what it's all about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JSP_BSS5kk

Bird's Nest in Snag

Junk car destined to be reincarnated as a rusty crushed metal sculpture

Sketching at Cloudstone

Another spectacular day in the sunshine. Another "target rich environment" - so MUCH to see and sketch that it was hard to choose just one thing. Here are the three I did - a beautiful red bronze against the brilliant blue sky, up on the top of the hill; the little stucco and log cabin back down at the main gate; and, just before I left, one of a trio of large "sculpture bugs" crawling along a pile of rusty oil barrels. A great day, and I didn't even stay for the happy hour after!

Old Truck - Cloudstone Sculpture Park

old truck "runs great"

Lanahans' Garden

Finally, the Lanahans' garden. Better late than never.

admiralty head lighthouse

Chez Barb's Sketching Retreat

A fabulous time at chez Barb's.  Thank you Barb for hosting the over the top sketcher's retreat.
What a time we had!  So much positive energy and talent in one place.

                        This started out as a sketch of Sherryl but ended up as a buddy art piece.

Barb's hallway not sure where I was going with this one but   

This is a gift from my friend Sherryl Goldfinger.  I love it and had to have it. It's a masterpiece!

Thank you Sherryl I will cherish this forever.  

Still Life Heaven

What can I say.  We had a wonderful time, the weather cooperated and Barbs house is a perfect place to turn and paint anything.  Still life heaven!  You can see that sketching people is not my forte, but I loved everything else.

Empty Robins Nest

Reflecting

Shadow Puppet

sketching the garden