Remembering Jean

My friend Jean Vandergrift - passed away  recently. She was a nurse educator and loved art. She was an avid supporter of art and art education! So she left her art work to be sold and the proceeds went to Sugar Land Area Artists - Scholarship fund. A bunch of us got together on a Saturday at the local Imperial Sugar Farmers Market and had a booth next to the "flower lady" - it was a good morning and we sold almost all if her art! Thanks Jean!

School ends and Summer begins!

With wrapping up end of school, moving my whole classroom from outside temp building to finally back inside! Taking care of parent stuff and chauffeuring son to drivers Ed!!!! Haven't had as much time to sketch! However, that's when every little sketch moment is so much more precious~! In May since everyone was busy closing shop, it's also the time the kids are reminded about the local libraries summer reading programs. So I took advantage of kids sitting quietly as I sketched them.

Ink and Wash

Sometimes simple black and white with maybe a touch of color works great. The family dragged me to go walk in the park... Something I absolutely hate to do! Anyways it was a beautiful day, and I ended up with two ink drawings of the park. I did the basic wash at home. The very light touch of veridian green and the spot of red- just enough color to keep the drawing interesting.

Visiting KEMAH -with one E

Went to visit Kemah recently. A small waterfront city just before Galveston. It was the last day of Spring break! What a day to be on the road! Every one was already there and when we reached the Board Walk, it was so crowded, and no parking place! So we ended up going to a restaurant outside the "touristy" spot, and ate tons of crawfish, with songs sung by an amateur singer! It was a nice family time though. Now under the well known Kemah bridge there are some great shops to buy fish from! Though the stores can be quite fishy smelling~ I sat in the car while fish was being bought by the family member. Of course I had my little sketchbook and sketching tools with me. I drew the bridge or overpass (not sure what's the right jargon here)- I used my Lamy filled with Noodlers bulletproof ink. I added the wash later at home to cover some "oops"- I think the black and white turned out great! I like it.:) Ofcourse I misspelt Kemah with an extra "e" in both my sketches! :/

Mid Spring Break

So Wednesday spent time with another art educator to go visit a local Hindu Temple and sketch it. It was a beautiful day! It is amazing how we forget to stop and look around at everything right next to us! This is the one exercise we should all do whether we draw or not - just to appreciate life.
This sketch was done using a Lamy fountain pen filled with Noodlers Bulletproof Black ink and water color.

Its been a long long time

OMG! It HAS been a long time since I have posted anything!! I have been so busy with school, and setting up next years professional development plans for our teachers that I have not had time to do much else!! I did however, start my spring break off by attending the NAEA ( National Art Educators Association) - National Convention in Fort Worth. This was my first visit to Dallas and I must say it is beautiful!
The opening ceremony party was FANTASTIC! There was an Aztec/Mayan costumed man who blew on a conch shell-that sounded like a blast from the ancient past! Need I say he was probably the most photographed that evening! I also got to ride "Molly the Trolley" (free) and check out the down town!
And of course the beautiful Water Garden too!!
I'm so glad that I sketch! It really made me stop, look and enjoy the beauty of Ft. Worth! I'm ready to go back and see the rest of it!!!

A Passion to Draw

Why sketch? I sketch because the pen or pencil is like an extension of my finger, connected to my brain. Whatever is happening around me, my brain sees, records and enjoys-at the same moment my fingers keep moving, retelling the stories unfolding all around me. Like the ancient scribes - I too must record all that which is around me...I am an art-scriber
It is a passion that cannot be denied as I must draw, draw and draw!
I recently spent an evening sitting by my self at a local pub in Sugar Land Town Square. It was interesting to watch the animation of people around me. I did get some strange looks as they passed by my table with scattered pens - as I kept on drawing for several hours. It was very crowded- and I think they wanted my seat!