A quick test of my new Sharpies with watercolor on my new giant watercolor paper. What is more fun than using your kids' markers? Your OWN set of bright colored Sharpies! Blick on Capitol Hill is amazing. First time there...after a lovely birthday lunch with my sister at Oddfellows. Fun. Thanks for all the birthday wishes, friends!
The two bright spots in a yard full of dead leaves and plants on their way out for the winter.
5 months is way too long without a new sketch! I will try to be inspired again!
Me + the kids. Alki. Home. Stovetop espresso > iced coffee.
I could go on and on, but this sums it up. Michael working hard again after a year of being a stay-at-home-super-dad (which is harder?!). Employment! Happiness! Lightness! We love seeing him in this 6 days a week. We love stocking up on sandwich stuff and apples for his daily lunch. Go Michael! Go USPS! Oh...and that little blurb in there is from one of our new favorite songs from the Backyardigans.
I loved seeing HM in all her pink surrounded by these flowers on the way to Westcrest Park last week. I knew I wanted to paint it later.
At first, I was going to do a quick sketch — not get all fussy. The detail-loving part of me couldn’t resist trying to get it right. Usually I sketch with a pen. This time, I used a pencil and erased and erased until it was the best I could get {even though the perspective is a little different than the photo below}.
The drawing sat around for a week. I couldn’t decide if I should use black pen or not — partly because my pen was low and I didn’t want to make a trip to Daniel Smith, and partly because I wanted to keep the softness without all the black lines running through the painting. Finally I decided to go with just the pencil and gouache — only adding a bit of fine black lines at the end for some pop here and there.
I was delighted when, upon adding the stitching on the coat, HM said, “That’s beautiful, Mommy! I love those dots you added!” So observant. She even let me add orange and yellow to her pink leggings.
The highlight of my day. Taking a lunch break with HM and whipping up this instant chocolate pudding. First time I have ever made instant pudding! I am a from-scratch sort of baker/sweets maker. I promised her before bed last night that I would bring home a treat from the store, and had been craving chocolate pudding {also a first for me}. With the first bite, I exclaimed, "It's like eating a bismark doughnut without the doughnut!" {I have also been craving a chocolate covered bismark — or is what I am thinking really a Bavarian Crème? — from Top Pot for a few weeks}. The creamy, chocolately goodness coupled with the Trader Joes's packaging was enough to inspire a quick sketch before getting back to my real work. Limited myself to only red and black Uniball Vision fine point pens — to keep it simple.
At the last minute, I was going to add some brown for the pudding, but Michael said not to — that it would retain its White Stripes look as-is. Good point.
All the things Ezra gets excited about. Crazy about birds, dogs, balls and eating — eating all the time. It's all about being outside — going to the door and hanging on the doorknob until we set him free. Just running up and down the sidewalk with a stick brings him so much delight.
About the sketch of E — I don't know why it took me so long to think to draw from a photo instead of a live model! It's impossible to get the kids to hold still long enough to sketch them. I could start over as much as I needed to, working from some pics on my phone. I have a hard time drawing kids. I still need quite a bit of work on this (particlarly the faces), but thought I would post anyway. He's come a long way from this post — only 2.5 months old!
HM gave me some tips and showed by example how to better draw her brother (along with practicing her lowercase "i"s).
HM's bedtime prayer for me last night. After I tucked her in, I doodled this. Of course, she loves it and will most likely add it to her little piles of treasures around the house. I am sure she will want me to help her draw a unicorn later (even I need help with that!).
A bit of a departure from my just-for-fun sketches. It has been way too long since I have posted a sketch. I won't lie. The only sketching I have been doing is for design projects. So, instead of waiting for the opportunity to sketch my latest snack or nature discovery, here's some real work I have been up to lately.
This innovative, energy efficient home is in the works — renovation is underway in a West Seattle neighborhood. I stopped by last Friday (a rainy day, better to post now than wait for the perfect weather) to take a pic of the newly installed sign. The second phase of the sign will feature more information on the home, photos of the interior, pricing, contact info and a G2B branded flyer.
I was thrilled to discover Island Dog Sign Company for the first time! They worked as the perfect complement to the G2B team and Spill Studio.
To find out more about G2B Homes, check out the latest here.