"THREE TEAPOTS OUTSIDE FREELAND, WA" . . .

. . .  and INSIDE the Senior Thrift Store. Or Island Thrift. Or whatever it is called now. At any rate, the place is wonderfully restored since the fire in their attic, and the upstairs is full of new little cubby rooms and nooks and crannies filled with kitschy stuff. I took these colorful ceramic teapots off their shelf in the "tea room" and hauled them out to the furniture section, set them up as a still life arrangement on a table, sat in a comfortable chair, and sketched the day away. And listened to the birds and water sounds coming from a nearby "painting". And to a random guy who sat down at the old upright piano and proceeded to play jazz, and ragtime, and classical and rock. It was a terrific visit to a favorite sketch venue. 

ISLAND COUNTY FD "PRET A PORTER"

Back to Sketching after many weeks "off". WI Sketchers met at Freeland Fire Station #31 to sketch the impressive (BIG) fire equipment and the facility. Here is the Island County Pret a Porter (ready to wear) - rubbah boots, helmets and gloves.

Fire Station #31 in Freeland

While most of the sketchers soaked up sunshine outside the firehouse,  Judith Van Arnam ventured inside. This is Judith's sketch of the rescue mannequins Crash Kelly and Rescue Randy entangled on the floor.

@ the EARTH SANCTUARY

I can't wait for the end of this tent caterpillar cycle so I can go back to here to sketch again WITHOUT the creeping, crawling, pooping, chewing ickiness of the orange fuzzies. Yes, I know they are part of the wonder and beauty of nature the Sanctuary is celebrating, but eeeeeuuuuuwww!

Carla Stroh's Garden Art

Whidbey Island is an astonishing "rock" of beautiful vistas, home, and gardens.  Carla ... thank you for welcoming us to your paradise!  An animal artist, I lately can't help but to find the faces in the garden ... and you have plenty!  I just ran out of time.  Here's your bird bath, with magnificent rhodies in full bloom.  

This Georgia Gerber ... her first large bronze cast? ... is precious.  I just had to capture it from two angles, tho I still didn't get it all.  This sculpture, truth be told, is of a family of three.  Maybe next time I'll find the way to get the whole family in.

Senior Thrift Store

Sunny afternoon at the Senior Thrift.

at Holmes Harbor Cellars

http://holmesharborcellars.com/

From Community Thrift to Tapas

What an afternoon in Freeland.  First to sketch at Community Thrift and then to Happy Hour at The Roaming Radish where we enjoyed the tastiest of tapas with local wine.  Fantastic combination!

Sketched the massive clothing and shoe racks at Community Thrift from above on the second floor.

Ms Cynthia - sketched at The Roaming Radish
 

Sherryl especially loved Community Thrift's artificial cactus.

 

LILA THE CONCIERGE

Sketching today with the WISkers at Whidbey Telephone, at the WiFire Cafe.

A fine day at the WiFire Cafe in Freeland, with new friends Amy and Kelly, and old friends Mary, Sherryl, Sue, Susan, Mike, Faye and Julie. And Lila, who didn't KNOW she'd worn a turquoise top today!

Whidbey Telecom

Nice day sketching with everyone in the cafe at Whidbey Island Telecom.

Happy Hour at Maple Ridge

The sketchers had a ball at Maple Ridge Assisted Living Community yesterday! We're looking forward to going back again and again. Such a great place to sketch during the cold, rainy season! A big thanks to Summer for inviting us.

Dancers at Happy Hour

Tim Donovan entertains the Happy Hour crowd at Maple Ridge.

Fern

Friday Afternoon in the Freeland Library

"It's the sketchers!" I heard this as we descended on the Freeland Library yesterday afternoon.  The place was packed with activity for us to sketch.  Of course I had to draw Computer Guy but also tried to capture my view into the children's room where lots of sketching was going on. 

 

Library Guys

What a hub of activity the Freeland Library was on Friday. Dozens of people of all ages were making use of the library resources - it was a model of community vitality. And a truly happening place!

A guy with a long gray beard AND a funky hat? Of course, I drew him.

I thought this guy was very interesting. Everything about him said "Grandpa", except that prominent hoop earring! I was getting too hungry to sketch by the time I got to him and didn't have the strength to draw the details. Added color and finished it up over appetizers at China City.

Kudos to Whidbey Telecom

The Whidbey Island Sketchers experienced  Whidbey Telecom's state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center yesterday. Our little phone company really knocked it out of the park with this space. What a great showcase of local artists' works and great resource for the community. I was particularly blown away by Tim Leonard's metalwork and Kim Hoelting's woodwork, both of which were used in this counter. Joe Menth's mural-sized photography of vintage Whidbey Telephone switchboard equipment is also a must-see.

Mr. South Whidbey 2011

I volunteer as a vote-counter at the raucous Mr. South Whidbey (a fundraiser for Friends of Friends Medical Support Fund) every year. We vote-counters sit at the very back of Freeland Hall tallying up all the "votes" that are cast throughout the evening in the form of dollar bills, scrip, checks, quarters, nickles and dimes.  It's not a great vantage point for sketching the doings on the stage, but I got a couple quick and dirty impressions in my pocket-sized Moleskine.

Brian Plebenek,in drag, belts out a song for the crowd. He didn't win, but he SHOULD have -  if the contest were based on showmanship and heart. A real crowd-pleaser. He gave us a great performance from beginning to end.

Richard Epstein, in the King Tut headdress, was one of the "six-pack boys" collecting votes from the audience in 6-pack cartons. He was a candidate in last year's pageant.

Randy Hudson, Michael McInerny and the Mr. SW candidates entertain the crowd with a song.

The crowd gathers in Freeland Hall before the show begins.

Giddy Up

We lucked out at the M-Bar-C Ranch. The sketchers arrived on the same day the ferrier was there so we had an ongoing parade of horses coming through to have their shoes changed all afternoon. It was great fun listening to the staff and volunteers talk about the horses and their individual personalities. They are reportedly a fat, lazy bunch (the horses, not the staff).The staff was great and made us feel very welcome. Can't wait to go back and sketch the miniature horses, the donkey, mule and buildings!

What's New at Freeland Recycle

Sketching at Freeland Recycle is always fun with tons of old rusty items that one might like for their garden art or just great for sketching. The items in the three sketches are only a few of the many items spread throughout several acres.

Freeland Art Studios

Caught Sue Taves polishing her current masterpiece.

So many breathtaking pieces of art.

Freeland Art Studios & Dean Tile and Design

Freeland Art Studios

I got one sketch done in the sunny sculpture garden at Freeland Art Studios before I was driven to get out of the sun.

Tile artist Carol Dean let us sketch in her tile studio next door. We loved all the fun and funky clay head sculptures/planters. I want one. At least one. They were fabulous and I didn't do them justice. I'm blaming it on Carol's adorable Italian Greyhound, Silvie, who was ensconced on my lap while I was trying to sketch.

 Went out for dinner at Prima after sketching and did a quick sketch in my small pocket-sized Moleskine while waiting for my salad. The guy on the left was talking to his wife and the guy on the right studying the menu for a very long time. I always appreciate subjects who save me the trouble of drawing their mouths :-)

Big Day of Sketching

12:30 pm: Maxwelton Valley Cow (#11?)

Yesterday was a full day of sketching for me. I headed out at noon to do the Rural Whidbey Sketch Rally Challenge sketches and kept sketching through lunch, drinks and dinner at China City and book club!

I found cows on Maxwelton Road for "Something with 2 eyes and a Tail" and a rusty old truck on Double Bluff for "Something Rusty."  "Something Odd"?  . . . it was supposed to be the lower half of a man's body stick out from the open hood of the rusty truck, but it doesn't show up in the sketch. So, how about a guy taking a nap in Timbuktu at 2 in the afternoon? I found it odd that he wasn't snoring . . .

12:30 pm: More Maxwelton Valley Cows

 

2:30 pm: Rusty Truck on Double Bluff Road

2 pm: Lunch and a sketch of a napping patron at Timbuktu Coffee in Freeland

4 pm: Sketchers meet-up at China City. (Jay and Cathy)

7 pm: My book group meets on Wednesday evenings.