First Entry in my 2018 Sketchbook Project Sketchbook

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My taco themed sketchbook for the 2018 Sketchbook Project (see the Sketchbook Project) has been officially started with a taco dinner I had with some friends earlier in the month. It'll be fun to explore recipes, ingredients, and taquerias and places serving tacos these next few months! The sketchbooks are due in by 31 Mar 2018. At that point, this and other sketchbooks will be catalogued and put on the shelves. For the moment, however, anyone care to join me for a meal?

Lilly the Aussie

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I like to draw and paint animals. I have three cats and a dog of my own. The trouble is they move around too much, so I rely on photos. However, my Australian Shepherd is somewhat camera shy and it's hard to get her to look at me when I'm taking the picture. I follow various Instagram accounts with dogs as the primary characters. I saw this of Lilly the Aussie (lillytheaussie) and asked her person for permission to draw a picture and she said yes. Here's the result. Such a happy looking dog. Contact me if you'd like an ink and watercolor drawing of your animal friend. 

Sketching with the Seattle Urban Sketchers

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I met up with the Seattle Urban Sketchers last weekend at the Seattle Center Armory and got some sketching, people watching and meeting new people in. There were about 15-20 people who ended up there. It was fascinating, as always, to see how different all the sketchbooks were at the throw down at the end of the gathering. 

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Fancy carved wooden door in Habana Vieja, Cuba

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This was an amazingly detailed and carved wooden door that I came across on the main shopping street, Calle Obispo, in Habana Vieja, Cuba. Part of the attraction aside from the ornateness, was how tall and incredibly narrow it was. No grand pianos or sofas are going through that!

A new color chart

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This chart is a comparison of the same pigment of PY175 as prepared by two manufacturers, Daniel Smith in their Lemon Yellow, and Winsor & Newton with their Winsor Lemon, mixed with Daniel Smith's Transparent Pyrrol Orange. In this case there's not much of a difference. The only difference I notice is for Lemon Yellow in the center where the mix is lighter in value than the chart below's corresponding box. I didn't start with as much Transparent Pyrrol Orange pigment to make my mixes and was running out in my Lemon Yellow - TPO chart.

Nandina in the fall

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Beautiful nandina, or heavenly bamboo, in the fall. Not all of the leaves change color, but the ones that do get this glorious rich red color. Some of these leaves were done wet into wet, others were layers of glazing, paint, let it dry, add another layer of paint. The shadows are always interesting to try to capture especially with double or triple cast shadows. Sometimes, I wonder where exactly is all the the light coming from? Prints will be available soon in the shop.

Color Charts - Just because they make me happy!

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I've started a new large sized Moleskine watercolor sketchbook and I plan to just have watercolor charts and various mixes in it. It is a huge book, 16 1/2" x 11 3/4"/42cm x 29.7cm, especially when open. It's a bit awkward to work in, but each page is so satisfying when complete. Prints will be available for purchase.

This page has Hansa Yellow Light, a cool yellow, and New Gamboge, a warm yellow, mixed with Transparent Pyrrol Orange. The original color is in one of the most right or most left tall rectangles. The mixes between the two colors move gradually towards the center of the page. The smaller boxes below each tall rectangle are with that particular color with some water added and then more water.