Piano lamp

This ink drawing was a result of a number of sketches done studying the relationship of this lamp to the piano it sits on and the mirror behind it.  There were 2 or 3 before this drawing. This is about a 9" x  12" format with a BIC gel pen.  It does not show a date, but it was late last fall. These are good projects for cool dark evenings after daylight savings ends.

Night carport

Here is an evening sketch of the carport across from Dorothy's house. It was a warm enough evening in November to actually stand outside and sketch in the near dark. In a sketch pad 5 x 9 inch with a ball point pen.

Stephanie's cousin's place. Her cousin's husband Larry is turning these 2 places into a ceramics studio.  There is a lot of decoration on the back building. Endless subjects to draw, everywhere. I do not think the owners were here at the time, but had shown us around the place on previous stops. We were headed into town to meet them, but I took a minute for a drawing as the ladies tried to contact their cousin.

SR's lamp

We were at SR's for some reason one evening and seeing as I had my sketch pad and a minute or two, I was able to get this sketch of the lamp beside her fireplace. The date and the signature both seem to have been cropped from this image...

the willow

It was a beautiful day in early October. Stephanie and I had taken a short walk- or actually a ride on the tandem bike- over to the park. It was at the edge of the parking lot that I found this willow hanging at eye level for me to draw.  So while Stephanie read her book at the picnic table close by, I started this sketch which was finished later at home.  Done in a 5" x 9" format with a ball point pen.

a weal mouse (without an r)

Sitting in the living room late one evening I began to see the relationship between these 3 things. This was after having a REAL mouse problem earlier in the fall. When you add wheels and a mouse you get some funny combinations.... at least in my brain!  Don't ask how... At first I started with a couple quick sketches of the wireless mouse for the laptop, then added the wheel from it to a minivan, then the final step. There are a lot of other morphs that could be added from here down the page.... way down the page..  Pretty creepy huh?

waiting room

We were at the hospital for testing. My part was to behave myself in the waiting room for a few minutes. That is not too hard to do usually, especially if I have a sketch pad in tow.

Crossfire

The parking lot at the Lawrence Nature Trail is where I was sitting just long enough to do this sketch.

Alley house

After spending one night at home from a trip, this was the first drawing I did the next day. There are a lot of places like this in vintage neighborhoods across the country- places whose origin is obscured back in a time when there was  a lot more variety of buildings in the back of small lots near downtown
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Pelican sketches

Here are a few simple thumbnails of these big birds I was looking for.  They were getting ready for a night in the wild!  Out in the middle of a shallow pond they were mostly tucked in like the middle ones, but one looked like he was still standing guard. There were only a handful by this time, not the hundred or so I had seen a couple weeks before. They had been coming in for landing 15 or 20 at a time with there landing gear down to ski across the pond.  By now however, it was late October. It is interesting comparing these whites to the browns in east Florida. These whites prefer shallow water in which they feed while sitting or standing often in large groups, at least during migration. The browns of the coastal areas are everywhere. The search for food out maybe just past the serf  by flying along and diving into the water to catch fish in their bill.  Then they will lift off directly from the water, unlike the whites who take much more effort to get airborne...

Not actually a field sketch, as I brought this one leaf in the house for closer examination.  It was evening when I got around to doing a couple drawings of the distinctive characteristic of an elm leaf. This was a dry fall leaf.   We used to climb the elms as kids in SW Nebraska. The leaves also have a very distinct feel to them; and very distinct parallel veins as well. One side of the base may have 2 or 3 more veins than the other side.

20 ft trees

There is along the east walk at Prairie Park a lot of variety of vegetation.  This clump of large bushes is along the walkway just north of the southernmost ditch that crosses the walk. Looks like a fruit tree to me; that tells you what I know about it!  But I find it interesting to sketch what catches my eye and later some can actually be identified... These were done nearly life sized in a 5" x 9" pad.  The color became quite red as you moved closer to the terminal end of the sprout. As the notes say, this was done on Halloween day.

Second Moving Day

This represents the closing in on a long awaited goal. We had been helping our daughter get moved back to Lawrence and into a house.  It had been a 9 month or longer project.  This was the 2nd day of moving stuff from storage into the new place.  I had a few minutes and so did this sketch of the place from across the street.  We are on the west side of Prairie Park, and she on the east side.

Garage Sale Special

Not sure that I did not pick up this cup at the "Sally Shop" rather than a garage sale. Though a little taller and rounder than the classic white "hotel" cups of "yesteryear", it still is white and has classic lines.  And the round base makes for good practice drawing curves. So I did several sketches and practice runs before finishing with this ink drawing.  I was satisfied with the overall look of the piece.

Nathan at the Piano

The very first drawing done when we arrived in Minnesota mid November. Nathan was giving us a quick concert on the piano with his tuba sitting behind him on the floor. Most of these are done with a pen of one kind or another- it is a lot more durable than pencil for carrying around under less than ideal conditions.

Vermilion River Ruins

Here we are still in Minnesota touring with our daughter... We stopped to get some drinks in Vermilion at a downtown C-store. So we asked what there was to see close by. We were close to the Vermilion river falls and park. The small river flows from the west drops over some significant falls before flowing into the Mighty Mississippi. So also does Minnehaha Creek not far north of this spot. We had a nice walk and were led to the ruins of a grist mill hidden in the woods along the river bank. Only parts of the towering walls were still standing in the river; reaching from the rivers edge to well above our heads. This is a history it would be nice to know a little more about. It was October 14th last year. The sign in the bottom right indicated the Minnesota River Trail bike path.

Snake plant at Rebok's

It was the day before Grandma Ruth had her heart attack that I last posted. It has been a busy time, a long time and not all easy, but we have had much help and support from family and friends.  It seems now like a good time to start posting again... There have been a lot of trips and sketch pads since then...
Here is the note I wrote in November about this simple drawing done in our daughter's living room on the 16 of October: "There were some times during the day when I had time to just sketch whatever was close. This snake plant was a sprout that originally came from our neighbor a number of years ago."