Cats x 3-ish

I need more more more practice. The girls move fast.

Missing numbers

Extra Sweet

The light was pineapple-golden, but Blogger wrung out some of the sweetness.
Still, I thought it tasty enough to share.

City Café, Elgin

Lactuca virosa

Friend of Phở

Including real-life phở spatter (sorry, I was a bit messy.)

The bananas were large, and dangerous...

...hence the chain.

"Best Of 2006"? Hardly.

Stewart Sternberg asked. And then PhotoFriday asked. But I'm the kind of person who finds it difficult to make a "best of" collection of what I think of as ephemeral moments in time.

Well, since they asked, I decided to try.

So, patient reader, please click the links below to see five images -- not always ones that were most resonant for me this year, or "best," but ones that seemed right for this small recap.

And I'm interested in learning what your favorite was, whether it's below or not. Feel free to comment with the link to your fave.

*****

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

*****

And, of course, there were always the silly moments. Seems to me that play skips down the road hand in hand with creativity.

Well, enough of this. I'm grateful to share your attention, your creativity, your community. And I look forward to opening the treasure chest of this new year with you.

"If This is You..."

Seen right after the Luca Cambiaso experience.

Went to see Luca Cambiaso's work

What a joy it was to look, really look at his calligraphic lines. Then, just as I was about to sketch, a young docent came by and said, "You can't use a pen in the gallery -- you have to use pencil." Mercifully, she had some. Cruelly, they were the stubby pencils you see people use to mark miniature golf scores.

I stood looking, and sketching, until sweat began to trickle down my back. Guess I'll have to get in better shape if I want to do this more often.

Winter roses

Piling on

Burning

As ever, you'll see the detail/color better if you click on the image to enlarge. (More sketches later today, after I wander with my camera...have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!)

A small poem

Driving down CR-278

Nacreous sky, mother of pearl of the winter rain
layered, layering on specks of dust, on smoky ash
until pearls tumble unstrung, wobbling and wet-
kissing the incense of a brush-clearing, spattering
on an azure flash that keels past power-lines and over
the fence line, bluebird gone but I’m happy.

More faces

Random acts ≠ Goldsworthy

Left by an unknown hand, and found in the same flood-plain.

Fallen shards of sky

The "Why" Of Things

Back to work, and no good time during the day to sketch. So at home, later, I thought about what to practice with. The cats were scooting about, and every time one saw me gaze their way they'd pop over for a treat. Mur? Aw heck, let's let him be. Draw a cup? An egg?

No, I wanted to sketch a person. The only thing at hand was an old magazine, but it had a photo of Bishop T. D. Jakes (all rights are reserved for/by Adam Buchanan and The Atlantic March 2006 issue.)

Murry'd ask "What?" more than a couple of times as I wrestled with this reference material -- and so I learned that I grunt, mutter to myself, and make other subvocalizations when I'm not quite sure where things are going.

Was it different drawing from a photographic source? Sure -- and contrary to many things I've read lately, for me it was more difficult.

But as I play with these études the "why" of things, not the "how," remains the most interesting core question.

The practice:


The reference source:

Trying new things

I've been working portrait approaches in my mind's eye to life-drawing-referral-guy, and decided to take one out for a walk at Another Of The Infinite Branches Of The Coffee Megapolis.

The colors look a bit weak, so please click for a larger view. It may be I haven't figured out how to best scan these yet.

Standing in the flood-plain