Django at The Commons

Friday turned out to be a most beautiful sunny late September sketching day at The Commons.  We had a handful of musicians gathering and playing Django music.  They didn't stay very long ... but I did get a chance to sketch Ron Thordarson and Ken Ritland.  They were delightful musicians and very fun to sketch.

Kang's Money Plants

Each time we visit the Kang's beautiful lavender fields, I am overwhelmed by the big view. I am not a landscape painter. Can't see the forest for the trees. I always find myself drawn to the circular flower bed with the birch tree surrounded by money plants and irises. This year the money plant's seed pods had turned the most gorgeous range of colors on the day of our visit.

In the Garden

Some flowers in my garden this summer . . .

Sunflower starting to open

Sunflower

Calendulas and Nigella

Dahlia and Kale

Sunflower

 

Pink Hydrangea

Above Holmes Harbor

Thank you, Laurie, for allowing us to play in your yard, and house! And thanks, Rindy, for taking care of the HH particulars. Incredible house, art and setting. This beautiful place has an abundance of subjects. I started with the view:

While my initial layers of the landscape sketch were drying, I thought I'd tackle the bell, which I was dying to ring:

Posted by Kris Wiltse

Great sketching opportunity arranged by Paula Pugh - Conductor's Workshop held at the Methodist Church in Langley. Graphite in a Moleskin sketchbook.

Visit to Lavender Wind Farm

Beautiful Flowers - beautiful weather!

My Happy Volunteers

My vegetable garden is always a happy place because it's chock full of self-seeded flowers. Poppies, calendula and borage in this sketch. But also nigella (love-in-a-mist), evening primrose, johnny jump ups and rose mallow in other parts of the garden.  It's a riot of happy colors. I meticulously weed, dead head, water and tend the volunteers, almost daily, while much of the rest of the yard goes to ruin. Hmmm. . . .

Also, I did a rare direct watercolor sketch! Always a challenge for me to get a good sketch without using ink. I'm happy with the results in this one.

Blue School, Westport, Hat Island

Friday and Sunday sketching!  Today while driving around enjoying our beautiful but chilly views, I came upon a view of Hat Island and decided it was worthy of stopping for a bit.  I was driving on Witter Rd and don't know the name of the street but it's on the other side of the road to Comforts Winery in case you want to try it.

Friday our group was at Blue School Arts in Clinton.  I meandered into the sunny room where Sara was working and made a sketch of a workspace and some weird thing that looks like a bunch of irons out the window.  It must be a Quonset hut??

Last week in Westport, I tried sketching boats from the car.  I decided it's not my forte!  Too many masts and hard to tell where they all come from and one of my boats looks like its falling into the water.  I like land!

Orcas Island Pottery

Yikes, I started this and realized I was on the sketchers blog instead of my own.  What the heck, maybe you'll like it anyway. Pat
A few of my favorite paintings in watercolor are gracing the walls of our Co-op.  I don't always paint larger than a quarter sheet, but the Orcas Island pottery displays were worth the challenge.
I loved the brown and blue mugs, they looked like they would be a pleasure to hold in your hand.  The giant plates on the side of the log building also attracted me.  The sun was shining making very defined shadows and the blue and transparent pinky pearl glaze on one of the plates made me want to paint.





Both of these paintings are professionally framed with conservation clear glass.  I took these photos while they were hanging on the wall at Whidbey Art Gallery so there is a slight glare because of so many lights.

Pitcher and Pear is a large 16x20 or 1/4 sheet with conservation clear glass.  All three of these paintings are available through me walarts@gmail.com or at Whidbey Art Gallery in Langley, WA.  www.whidbeyartists.com.

Blue School Arts

Well, I haven't posted in quite a while!  Also haven't been sketching much.  Yesterday, the sun came out and shone gloriously on us ... and almost as soon as we were done, the clouds came in with cold breezes and light sprinkles.  Big crowd 'o Sketchers!  A good number of us took advantage of the sun and sat out front ... we had lots of sketches of this very scene and it was fun to see each Sketcher's take on it.  What a cool art school!!  Thank you Blue School Arts for letting us invade!

The Taproom

The Taproom was sure hopping Friday afternoon and evening. The sketchers filled the place! Almost. There were seats available for "normal" people. I probably should have sketched something more Taproom-ish but am feeling the need to practice people and the sketchers are great models.