The Winter view

Cynthia had the chairs turned around into the room;
the red quilts and pillows added just the right touch for Christmas!

It just isn't Christmas till we visit Cynthia!

Cynthia knows how to make Christmas special.  Her home is a Winter Wonderland with scenes everywhere of beautiful reds and blues, many Santa, quilts and pillows, candlesticks, tablecloths.  It may sound like a lot, but her house can handle all these items and every year it is more beautiful than the year before.  Thank you for sharing your home with a lot of sketching, eating, talking women.  We love it!

Only a couple of the beautifully decorated bookcases!

Even a pink theme!  A girl after my own heart!

Camels, birds, and Sketchers, OH MY!

Camels, Birds, and Sketchers, OH MY!

What could be a finer celebration of gratefulness, good cheer, friendships, and island living than to gather with over 20 talented and uber friendly sketchers who came bearing fantastic food and art supplies?  I was honored, delighted and overjoyed to host the Second Annual WISK Xmas Sketch at Chez B.  This morning, I'm sipping my coffee and dining on yummy delicious Food of the Gods leftovers, delighting as the sketches are pouring into the blog.   It feels like a huge gift to see my home and person in such talented sketches!  A merry holiday to all my dear friends and thank you for your huge hearts and spirits.  LOVE TO ALL!

CHRISTMAS PARTY @ BARBARA BARRY'S HOUSE

I opened the pocket in my Sketcher's kit yesterday and instead of my watercolors, my Caran D'Ache Neocolor II's fell out. I took that as a sign and used them for this sketch. Very different feel. Very different vibe. Lesson learned - you can't ink OVER them. They sure do get bright when water is applied, though. Wowza.

 The 12 feet of tree Barbara brought indoors from the 20 foot tree she cut down!

 The "Queen of Rhinestone Bling" (or are they REAL diamonds????)

 The groaning board.

 Oh no!! Egg down!! Egg down!!!

 A lovely statue. 

 Sketchers doin' what we do.

 The art critic.

 Santa!

 And a few of his ladies.

See you next year, Jolly old Elf (or Jolly old Dave, as the case may be.)

Christmas Treasures

Wishing all my sketching friends and your families a wonderful Christmas! This is my collection of odd little Christmas trees----the more Charlie-Brownish the better!

Thank You, Sherryl!

Just getting around to posting Sherryl's beautiful little Christmas cards. I got two! And they are wonderful gems. She decided to do a block print and experiment with embossing on the lighter image. Difficult to see because it's scanned. Using a rounded instrument like a spoon one can create an embossed image by soaking an un-sized, heavy paper for a few minutes, placing down on the cut block and rubbing with a spoon. Thank you, Sherryl!!! I love them!

Island Holidays

December's sketch challenge theme was "Island Holidays".  View all the festive submissions here on our Monthly Sketch Challenge page.

Merry Christmas from Coupeville

A very Merry Christmas wish to my fellow Whidbey Island Sketchers.  Good cheer to you and here's to joyous sketching during the holiday weekend.

Timbuktu and China City

You'd think by the title I'm a world traveler. Whidbey is it's own world, but maybe someday I'll venture off the rock. Here's my sketch from the wonderful coffee shop, Timbuktu. And a couple from the bar at China City...

Timkuktu counter with goodies. Everything is yummy!

Cruiser and a friend.

A guy at the bar.

The Red Christmas Tree at Timbuktu

Things are looking mighty festive at Timbuktu Java Bar in Freeland (previously known as 1504 Coffeehouse). I couldn't resist drawing the red Christmas tree on the counter, but there was tons of other wonderful stuff to draw on future visits - including the adorable Dylan, the proprietors' son. You can sure tell an artist is in charge of this place. The owners were very gracious and welcoming to our big noisy group of sketchers. The food was great, too. We'll definitely be back. Soon, I hope!

Two Great Whidbey Spots

Two different spots with equally interesting subjects to sketch today.

Christmas decorations @ Timbuktu Java Bar and Gallery in Freeland



Cruzer & friend at China City in Freeland



Christmas Pageant

Waiting to perform in Pageant

The Holy Couple, Baby & Shepard

First Street Christmas Tree in Langley