Sketching the Maiden at the Island County Historical Society

I knew before I went to sketch at the museum that the Maiden of Deception Pass would probably be my subject. She's a carved figure in the style of a totem painted in beautiful turquoise, green, pale pinks, white and black. The myth captured me when I had read it a few years back. Probably because it’s a kind-of mermaid story and I’ve always been attracted to mermaids. They live in the sea and who wouldn’t want to breath under water and see the wonders? She accidentally slips into the water and a merman takes her hand. She eventually marries him to provide food for her people. I included a link to the story at the end if you’re interested in reading it.

My first sketch is a quick study of the maiden. Too pretty. She’s crude and I love that about the carving. Even though I'm not happy with her prettiness I like the sketch for how the watercolor went down. This is done in a small Stillman and Birn Beta hardbound sketchbook. Fairly thirsty stuff, but takes watercolors nicely.

My second sketch I bit off too much size wise. It became unwieldy and was taking too long to dry. This was done in an A4 moleskin wc book. Had a lot of fun playing with the paint, making marks and blobs.

While waiting for paint to dry, I turned around for a quick sketch of this ceremonial robe. Didn’t get a chance to read about it cuz happy hour. I got priorities.

Here's the link to the myth:

http://www.bladegallery.com/graphics/Maiden_of_Deception_Pass_Legend.pdf

Lopez Island trip to de Medici Ming Papers and more....

Well, I'm not the long-winded type but this past Friday, Saturday was special.  There is something about dropping time on a small Island with a bunch of friends that are meandering, sharing and enjoying the slower pace that happens when you leave to your got to's at home.
Our got to's were to meet at an early enough hour that we could meander up Whidbey to Anacortes to catch a ferry to Lopez.  We had two cars almost full and were meeting a couple of walk-ons sketchers at the ferry.  It was raining!!!  Didn't matter!!  Paula said it would stop by the time we got to Lopez!  She was right!!
 Rain

No Rain!

We did the usual stuff checking in to the hotel, wandering around town, getting food from the Taco truck, Bakery, and coffee shop; then off to our appointment which was about 5 miles out of town.
Destination, a BIG yellow container full of art papers, stationary, calendars, cards, trinkets, and INSPIRATION!


We had to take turns poking around to find all the hidden treasures so, the rest of us hung out in the barn.  A barn full of treasures of a different sort; a large pachyderm, a minstrel, found lamps; saved scissors, saws, a collection of jam jars, lots more plus a wood stove to keep us cozy.   We opened the Happy hour supplies, sketchbooks and got to work.  Meanwhile, Terry, Caps husband, serenaded us with his original songs and guitar.  Time stopped!


Outside, the weather went from a drying mist to beautiful sunset and full dark with incredible color in the sky.  I forgot to mention we were surrounded by farms, fields and the goat farm which we visited the next day.  See Billy above.  He is golden in the sunshine, but very unkempt. I forgot to sketch his feet. 8-0!

The Tower on the Guest House at the Clay Estate, Greenbank

The Guest House on the Clay Estate in Greenbank (on Whidbey Island) sits high up on a bluff looking west over Saratoga Passage. I did not go up there but my guess is that the Tower room has a panoramic view of the water of Straits and of the main body of Whidbey Island beyond (and from that height probably Camano Island and the Cascades, too!)
We Sketchers met there today to enjoy the landscaping on the beautifully groomed grounds. It only took me moments when I arrived to decide that this view, from the circle drive approach to the building, was the perfect drawing site for me.  It was a "big bite", but I went ahead and dove in anyway. Many thanks to our hosts for the day.

Grapes for the Birds

Never Have I Ever had a bad day with the Whidbey Island Sketchers. Today was just absolutely wonderful. The weather was perfect under another popcorn sky, almost everyone turned out, we were at the Whidbey Winery so there were grapes bursting and ready to be picked, “fake birds of terror” (to another bird) were singing (electronically), the “groaning board” was heaped with good food and WINE, and we were sketching up a storm. It simply doesn’t get better than this. And we marveled yet again at how this large a group consistently gets along and supports each other so well!
When we asked what kind of grapes the ones on the fence were, the ones I was sketching, our hostess informed us they were just decorative grapes, not for wine, and they were there stricly as "sacrificial fruit", for the benefit of the birds - to keep them distracted from eating the grapes on the "money vines"! 

RED HAT BUBBLE BEARS AND A BUDDHA

At the beautiful log home in the deep woods of our hostess, artist and collector of eccentrics, Janet Ross, a kitchen window full of delightful etceteras - including a row of brightly colored bottles, empty now of their soap bubble solutions, but still possessed of jaunty red hats. And a Buddha with a red glass ball. And an orange glass pumpkin. And a flying red heart. JOY on a windowsill.

Sunday sketching & Cloudstone

It was a warm day at Cloudstone, but it was so relaxing to wander through the trees and visit the many earthworks and sculptures set in the Trees.  My sketch was done in the shade of a bulldozer.

This Sunday was another one of those special days where you want to "just be out there enjoying the day".  I started to drive somewhere and got around the corner from my home and decided heck, the Dahlia house looked like a good subject.  Crazy perspective on the back of the bench but ....eh!

Sue and Case

I did this one from a photo after I got back home. This is our warm-hearted Sue walking with one of the little ladies that she checks in on regularly. Her visits clearly mean so much to so many. Thank you Sue for being who you are.

Sketching Weekend

It's kinda cool when I look at my sketchbooks and think of all of you.....who I was sitting with, the wonderful sharing and connection. I miss you all! It was GREAT weekend visiting Whidbey Island!

Madrona colors

Thanks to Missy for a shared blop of Transparent Pyrol Orange and to Sandra for a shared blop of Lapis Lazuli. We also found some new pencils with 3 colors in the lead, but they weren't water soluble. 

But the cold day made my Anacortes madrona grove story more haphazard than Sue's -  fresh wet colors in my paint box and no testing before it touched the page. I was balancing all my gear and dancing around on a hill to stay warm, then oops, touched the wrong blue and I had "midnight in the grove."

Madronas on a Cloudy Day

A few of us sketched with the Anacortes Sketchers at the Madrona Grove in Anacortes last Monday. It was an overcast day, chilly, breezy, no shadows, no sunny back lighting.

Very different than last year's sketch at the same location:

Poetry (and Hula Hoops) in Motion

She was hula hoop dancing for tips on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Port Townsend, right next to the tarot card reader in the gypsy wagon. Drawing her was impossible, but what the hell. Her name is Alex Eisenberg.

ASIATIC LILIES AND LAVENDER AT FINE GELFAND'S HOUSE

It may have been Friday the 13th, but we, the Whidbey Island Sketchers, were having very GOOD luck, because we got to visit Fine and Jerry Gelfand's home in Greenbank. Set on high bank with a majestic overlook of Puget Sound in the Salish Sea, textile artist Fine has crafted a fantasy, secret sunken garden reached only by a meandering brick path down, down through lush vegetation and colorful flowers. At the bottom it all surrounds a glade, in the center of which stands an ancient Island boulder of epic proportions. Fine discovered on the hill, dug down to its base, then had it pushed with dozers down to its present location. 
From an artist/gardener's visionary eye and a tremendous amount of hard work the Gelfands carved all of this magic from the tangle of blackberry bushes they inherited with the purchase of the land.

Pat's Garden, Then and Now

in August of 2015, the sketchers met to draw member Pat's new house, with its promise of gardens to come. She invited us to image what her plantings might look like. Now here it is, three years later, just before the fourth of July holiday, and her garden area has gone from sparse but full of potential, to bursting with colorful fulfillment. 

An orchid at Grethe and Diane's house

We sketchers were invited on Friday to Grethe and Diane's magnificent art filled home overlooking the water in Langley. With so many wonderful things to see and appreciate, it was a real challenge to pick just one to sketch, but this orchid sitting in the middle of the table in their kitchen caught my eye immediately. I KNOW its sublime color is totally NOT natural, but I was so taken with it anyway. Such blues, violets and deep purple, all in one flower, all in one petal. Its name is "Black Sapphire" and it is a Phalaenopsis Orchid. 

Shoes & Boats

Hello blogger,
Long time no post.  Here are a couple of recent sketches from WISketchers meets.

At Melissa Lebo's lovely, art-filled home today, the group painted, talked, laughed and enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow artists. It's so inspiring to see what everyone creates!

Sketching at the home of Patti and Jeff White in Clinton

Another fabulous art filled Island home, (of course!) tucked into the woods, this one belonging to watercolor artist and instructor Patti White. So much to see and sketch inside Patti and Jeff's home (western art! Navajo style blankets! Birch bark and Tramp Art picture frames!), but I was caught before I even got inside, by the view of the house itself and of Maxwelton marsh glimpsed beyond from the top of a winding brick path. I plunked myself down to catch the hues and textures of the shakes, the varieties and colors of plants, and the stones and brickwork. This is to say nothing of the collections of bright blown glass bubbles and forms in vessels, various rusted metal art pieces, trickle and drip water features, and a Georgia Gerber bronze madonna and child otter sculpture. It was a very pleasant day made more so by the great turnout we had from the Sketchers who were not off to Europe and Mexico!
Sketched onsite outside, then added color at home after throw-down, and checking out Paula's awesome cards!!

One is Silver and the other Gold

Being a sketcher has another advantage, the ability to connect with other like souls. I've been to a few outings with the downtown Austin group and a north suburbs group called Hill Country sketchers. Fun thing is that all feel like they know you/us just a little bit from the places and things we did together. I love the shared language!

Unchain My Heart: 60's Night at Bloom's

I probably did a dozen sketches at Bloom's Friday night, but this one of David Gregor is my favorite. I find sketching on cheap paper very liberating. Fountain pen and brush pen on recycled rough brown butcher paper.

 

David Gregor

 I'm including this one below just to share process. Just look at all those crazy lines searching for the shapes in the folds of his clothes, fingers and the guitar! I like the way his left hand seems to be in motion. Nearly blind contour.

What a Doll!

We sketched in the Bayview Cash Store yesterday. I scoured the building and settled on these charming handmade dolls hanging on the walls in Side Market. I also met the artist, Valerie Johnson, who happened to be working there yesterday.  An interesting factoid: her dolls are dressed in garments made from artist Peggy Juve's fabric scraps.  Valerie also makes costumes for local theater, including Island Shakespeare productions. I'm looking forward to sketching more of her creations. I love art that makes me smile.

Glass Making with Katrina and Althea

We sketched at the Greenbank glass studio of Katrina Hude and Althea Holden last week. Katrina had the furnaces going and helper Brian on site to help with creating the magic. We got 2 hours of demos, and our hostesses were the mostest. It was a smokin hot sketcher venue and very happy hour!

Brian on one end of a long glass rod

Katrina

Katrina

A bowl of floating hellebore blossoms on the kitchen counter