The stories that could be told at the Compass Rose.

Thank you Jan and Marshall for a lovely Valentines Day at the Compass Rose.

COMPASS ROSE REDUX

A return visit to the Compass Rose in Coupeville, hosted by Jan and Marshall. Another delightful day among the Bronson's fascinating, eclectic collections of treasures. Thank you again for the warm hospitality!

"Catch-up" sketches

 I needed something to demo on Sunday afternoon at Bailey's so I hauled out the sketch I did at the M-C Ranch and added some paint and ink to it.  So it is a little more than a sketch, a little less than a painting.  Pretty happy with it, all in all.  Composition and focal point still a little "centered", but I attempted to fix it with light.  What do you think, Pat?

I also had this one in the pencil/ink stage that I found in the bottom of the old art pack, so it came out and got some paint, too.  This one was from way back at the Compass Rose in Coupeville.  It was an amaryllis on top of a cabinet in that fantastic country kitchen.

SKETCHING in the COMPASS ROSE KITCHEN

"TO CROP .  .  .  .   .

OR NOT TO CROP?  THAT IS THE QUESTION"

So MUCH from which to choose!  But the kitchen, with its copper pans, orchid, amaryllis and bamboo plants, maiolica crockery and perky rooster pitcher called to me the most.  The Nutcracker Chef and I settled in at the cozy little table for a long and satisfying sketching session.

Compass Rose Mantel

Who cleans all this silver?

With so much to choose from, we could be painting at the Compass Rose for months.  I chose the convenience of sitting at the dining room table, where I could see the decorations on top of the fireplace mantle.  I liked the challenge of the overlapping rounded objects and the way the light played off of them.  Pat Brookes

24 Carrot Bunny

I sketched this bunny at the Red Rooster Antique Mall a few weeks ago. The subject was actually a candlestick. I finished it in the Compass Rose B&B second floor sitting room on Wednesday with a little help from my friends. Mary gave me a new "sketch and wash" graphite pencil to experiment with and Natalie suggested adding the carrot and title "24 Carrot Bunny". My best work ever!

Beautiful Details Everywhere at The Compass Rose

The Compass Rose B & B in Coupeville is such an amazing place. With so much to sketch I was in sensory overload and ended up focusing on just a couple of simple details like the doorbell and a pretty lamp.

Again, with the Bathroom . . . at Compass Rose B&B

Compass Rose Upstairs Bath

I think I've found my niche. I like to draw old-fashioned bathrooms. This one at the end of the hall on the second floor of Compass Rose B&B is especially lovely.

Nat (the gnat) and Missy at "our table" at Toby's

After an afternoon of hard sketching at the Compass Rose, we stopped at Toby's to unwind and eat garlicky bivalves. I got a decent likeness of Natalie despite all the faces she was making to try to foil me.