Tina’s Top 11 Memorable Sketches

This time of year, it’s a media standby to list the top 10 events of the past 12 months, so I might as well do it, too. Instead of choosing my 10 “best” or “favorite” sketches (I don’t like to evaluate sketches that way; they are all part of the same process), I’ve selected 10 that are the most memorable for various personal reasons. Some evoke particularly strong sensory feelings of a place; others represent a change in perception; still others simply took place in unique circumstances. (Clicking the title of the sketch will take you to the original post.)

Suzzallo Library

Jan. 20, Suzzallo Library: Sketching this gothic window during a Seattle Urban Sketchers gathering completely exhausted me!

"Terror Bird"

Feb. 22, Brazilian “Terror Bird,” Burke Museum: Before I tried it, I used to think sketching a skeleton would be too challenging for me. This “terror bird” changed my view: Skeletons are indeed challenging, but they are also so fascinating that they became my favorite natural history subject matter. In fact, I became a Burke member this day so that I could look forward to sketching many more skeletons.

UW cherry trees

March 30, University of Washington cherry trees: On a record-breaking warm spring day (wearing flip-flops in March is unheard of!), I joined hundreds of people simply rejoicing in the beauty of cherry blossoms.

"Waiting for the Interurban"

May 10, Waiting for the Interurban, Fremont neighborhood: On a particularly sunny and pleasant day, the Friday sketchers gathered in Fremont to sketch icons like this sculpture. Despite the continually obstructing stream of traffic as I sketched, I remember being perfectly comfortable in the mid-day sunshine, basking in the fun.

Greenwood Car Show

June 29, Greenwood Car Show: Sketching these classic cars and chatting with their owners helped me to slay a sketching nemesis. Though they remain challenging, now I think cars really aren’t so bad, a thought that was reinforced a few days ago at the LeMay Car Museum.

Arc deTriomf

July 13, Arc deTriomf, Barcelona: Sketched at the culminating gathering of hundreds of sketchers during the International Urban Sketching Symposium, the Arc de Triomf is now a symbol for me of feeling a part of that worldwide community.

Koln Cathedral

July 18, Köln Cathedral, Köln: This sketch was a record-breaker for me, the longest I have spent on any one sketch – two hours. The day was sunny and warm but not yet hot. As I sat with my back against a pillar, hundreds of commuters busily walking by without so much as a glance at the cathedral, I continually marveled to be in the presence of such architectural splendor.

Maple in Wedgwood

Oct. 12, maple tree, Wedgwood neighborhood: Just one of many trees I sketched last autumn, this maple helped me slay a second sketching nemesis. How could I find an enemy in a sketch subject that gave me so much joy to portray?

Smith Tower

Nov. 15, Smith Tower sketched from the Columbia Tower: It wasn’t just that it was my birthday celebration that made this day special. A view from the 73^rd floor makes everything seem grand and amazing.

The Seattle Sketcher on New Day

Dec. 16, Gabi’s appearance on New Day Northwest: I had never been in a live TV studio audience before, so the event was memorable in that regard. Sketching the Seattle Sketcher on the program made the event even more memorable.

From Hiroshima to Hope

Edited 12/29/13: I suddenly remembered a sketch event that was especially memorable for me because it was one of few opportunities I’ve taken for actual reportage sketching: The “From Hiroshima to Hope” annual commemoration in honor of the victims of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. I thought about eliminating one of the other sketches from this post, but who says a “top 10” list has to be limited to 10?

Budding

2/26/13 Ultra Black ink, Platinum Carbon ink wash, Stillman & Birn sketchbook

From my car parked at the Sand Point Metropolitan Market, I looked closely at a tree across the street, and even from that distance, I could see that it was full of buds. Yesterday when the sun came out, it almost seemed like spring could be on its way, but I don’t want to jinx it by talking about it. Instead, I’ll mention that I once read in a drawing instruction book that sketching trees in winter is better training than when they are in full foliage because you can see their shapes so much more clearly. (Or to put it another way, you can’t hide behind blobs that you call “leaves.”)

This sketch made me think that it might be time to replace cars with trees as my new sketching nemesis. (Based on the recent Urban Sketchers Flickr thread on this topic, trees are the sketching nemesis of at least a couple of fellow sketchers.) Not that I’ve conquered cars – far from it – but I told myself two months ago that I would sketch a car a week until I either improved or got tired of it. I am now exhausted of cars.

To keep myself honest, I’ll say it out loud here: Trees are my new sketching nemesis. I’ll sketch a tree a week until my sketches improve or I get tired of it, whichever comes first. (Maybe by then, the trees will have leaves!)

Fountains: The New Sketching Nemesis

8/12/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook

Before you read further, follow this link to a sketch of a small fountain at Fremont Coffee Company by Gail Wong. When I first saw this sketch last night, I was stunned by how beautifully she captured the water streaming out of the fountain. The stream is partly transparent to objects in the background, yet it also appears white as splashing, flowing water often does. I asked her if she used gouache, white ink or some other opaque white medium to capture that stream so accurately, and this was her response: “I saved the white of the paper for the water and put light washes of the blue mix without eliminating the white of the page.”

 

She makes it sound so simple! Imagining that the technique she described has got to be one of the most difficult things to accomplish with watercolor, I was intrigued and determined to give it a try (so call me a masochist).

 

I knew of a fountain at Northgate’s Thornton Place with multiple streams of water, so I gave it a shot. I was right: It’s got to be one of the most difficult watercolor techniques. (And never mind the tree gone wild in the background.) But now that I understand her technique, I’m going to give it a shot whenever I see a fountain.

 

Hey, a new sketching nemesis! Not that I’ve conquered cars, trees and architecture yet, but there are fewer fountains in Seattle than any of my other sketching nemeses, so they won’t haunt me quite as often.

Not Quite Leaves

4/1/14 Platinum Carbon ink, Kuretake brush pen, watercolor,
Zig marker, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Everywhere I look, I’m starting to see bits of pale green on trees. They aren’t quite leaves yet, but they’re not buds anymore, either – they’re more like tiny clusters of pre-leaves. (I’m sure there’s a technical name for this stage, but I like the term pre-leaf.) Last October I sketched this same traffic circle maple when it was in its full fall glory. Soon it will be so full of leaves that I won’t be able to see its limbs anymore, so when I passed by it today, I decided it would be a good time to catch it in this delightful state – full of promise.

I’m not going to miss sketching trees in their bareness, but I’ve come to appreciate what they’ve taught me about the shapes of trees. In fact, I’ve learned that every season has something new to teach. It’s been more than a year – four complete seasons – since I declared that trees were a sketching nemesis. I’ve since called a truce, not because I’ve conquered them (they will probably remain a challenge for as long as I sketch), but because it’s impossible to have an enemy that gives me so much joy.

Technical note: In January when I sketched this same tree completely leafless, I had said that my Sailor pen was made for sketching bare limbs. But after sketching bare trees all winter, I’m now declaring that my Kuretake Fountain Brush Pen is ideal for sketching tree limbs. I don’t think I can get this kind of line with any other sketching instrument in my vast arsenal.

Another technical note: The last couple of times that I’ve opened up my watercolor box, I’ve found mold growing on my blob of DS Quinacridone Sienna. I’ve never seen mold on any other paint, and in the year or so that I’ve kept Quin Sienna in my kit continuously, I’ve never seen mold on it – until now. I don’t think I’m treating the paints any differently than before, and they almost always get a chance to dry out between uses. Have you seen this happen? Any suggestions?

Two More Trees

10/9/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Strathmore 400 140 lb. paper

On Monday I said that I was going to sketch as many trees as possible before they lose their leaves, and I wasn’t kidding. Here are two more.

As I pulled into the Whole Foods parking lot (I didn’t use the underground garage this time, since it wasn’t raining), I noticed that all the trees surrounding the store and in the lot had turned a bright yellow. After sketching one (at right) in front of the loading dock, I looked closely at its leaves – long, narrow, pointed and only slightly serrated (see below). I put a leaf in my purse for further research. (Anyone know what this is?)

 

The afternoon turned out so sunny and beautiful that I had my car’s top down when I spotted this aspen (below) in the parking lot of St. Catherine of Siena Parish (which I sketched a year ago. In the background is the Maple Leaf water tower, which I also sketched last year). Apparently nothing was going on at the church, because the parking lot was deserted. With space to park wherever I wanted, I had the rare opportunity to use my topless car, which is at a good height for painting, as a taboret. The ultimate portable studio, huh? (See bottom of post.)

10/9/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Strathmore 400 140 lb. paper

By the way, back in February, I had declared trees to be my latest sketching nemesis (architecture and cars had come first). Somewhere between lots of practice (as of today, 56 blog posts are tagged “tree”) and using heavier papers, trees and I have called a truce. This is not to say that they are no longer challenging – indeed, they are still one of my most difficult sketching subjects – but I stopped avoiding trees long ago, and I look forward to attempting to convey each tree’s unique “treeness.” How can I have a nemesis that makes me happy? I’m checking this one off my list.

MiataGrrl's traveling taboret.

Green Lake Trees

10/21/17 photo reference (in progress)

This cluster of trees is something I see whenever I walk around Green Lake. The trees form a distinctive group – growing so close together that they look like they might have been a single tree at one point – so they are unusual and memorable. When Suzanne, my graphite drawing instructor, suggested that we bring in our own photos for last week’s lesson on foliage, I knew these trees would make an interesting study.

Although I think I did a fairly good job of making the brightly lit trunks stand out from the background, I’m not as happy with the foliage. The branches in the light don’t seem to come forward enough, but I’m not sure how to fix that. As for shadows, I worked through the full range from 2H all the way up to 4B this time, and I finally stopped – not because I think it’s done but because after about 10 hours of work, I’d had enough of it for the week. I’m hoping Suzanne’s feedback will help me figure out what to do next.

Compared to clouds (which I prefer to imply rather than draw explicitly) and rocky cliffs and shorelines (which I rarely encounter here in the Maple Leaf neighborhood), trees are something I see and sketch regularly. I’m fully motivated to continue learning how to make foliage look more dimensional and tree-like because I think it will help to improve most of my urban sketches. During my first couple years of sketching, trees were such a challenging subject for me that I officially declared them a sketching nemesis. Since trees are (thankfully) unavoidable in the urban landscape, I decided it was easier to face them than run away, and I tried to practice them regularly.

Then, as now, I loved trying to capture the graceful structure of tree trunks and branches (I still enjoy sketching trees more in winter!), but when it came to foliage, I was always stumped. Buildings or other objects made primarily of planes can be shaded on one side to show their three-dimensional structure. Trees, too, face the sun in only one direction, but they are a hundred times harder to show dimensionally. Each leaf casts a shadow in a slightly different direction, and each branch is lighted on top but shaded underneath. The tree as a whole is spherical, cylindrical or conical, not cubic, so the shading moves gradually around it to the unlit side, not at a distinct plane. It’s easy enough to show a tree’s shape silhouetted against the sky, but what about all those foreshortened branches coming toward me? It’s enough to drive a sketcher bananas! 

Still, a few years ago when I first declared trees to be a nemesis, I would not have been able to articulate why they are so friggin’ difficult to draw, and now I am, so I guess I understand more about them now than I did then. Of course, understanding trees and drawing them are not the same.

Trees are My Friends

5/8/19

When I first began sketching, I declared many sketching nemeses. Architecture (or maybe architectural perspective is more accurate) was an early one; another was cars; and another was trees. Each caused me anxiety when it was part of a composition I was considering, so my first impulse was to avoid the nemesis and look for something else to sketch. But I knew that the only way to slay a nemesis was to face it head-on and practice.

5/12/19

Eventually, with enough practice, the anxiety went away, though the subject matter didn’t become less challenging. Buildings, cars and trees are all still challenging to me, but they have become fun challenges, and I no longer feel the impulse to run.

Trees, however, have changed again for me in a way that the other two former nemeses have not. I now find drawing trees to be not only challenging and fun; it is also relaxing and meditative. Sometimes when I’m feeling stressed or burdened, or my mind has been engaged in some kind of heavy lifting, I step outside and find a tree to sketch. A 15-minute tree break relaxes me so that I can return to whatever I was doing before, refreshed. (Each of these recent sketches was done in about 15 minutes.) Trees have made a full transformation from nemesis to friend.

5/11/19

Below are some sketches I made during my first year or so of sketching when trees were still in enemy territory. I’m happy that I didn’t run; trees are worth making friends with.

4/5/13

2/18/13

6/3/12

Cars Are the New Architecture

12/21/12 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Zig and Pitt Big Brush markers

My big sketching bugaboo used to be architecture. Freaked out by the challenge of perspective, I used to avoid sketching buildings whenever possible. Last summer, with many sunny days and no more excuses, I sketched the Green Lake Seattle Public Library, a brick Tudor home I’ve admired, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and several other buildings, and somewhere along the way, I realized I had stopped fearing architecture. Mind you, it’s definitely still a challenge, and probably always will be, but now I actually welcome that challenge.

 

So now I have a new sketching nemesis: cars. What is it about cars that is so friggin’ difficult? They are neither curved and organic like people and animals, nor are they made of straight parallel or perpendicular lines that follow perspective rules the way buildings do. Plus all those shiny, reflective surfaces and curved trim pieces that look so good in glossy magazine ads are a sketcher’s nightmare. Out in the urban landscape, I find myself composing sketches in ways that allow me to avoid including cars, which are, of course, everywhere. The more I reluctantly include a car or two in my sketches, the more I loathe them. I have ruined many otherwise decent sketches when I put a car in the background.

 

But I’m running out of excuses, and I’ve concluded that the long winter ahead would be a good time to sit in my parked car sketching other parked cars. So let’s just call this BMW sketched at a Green Lake parking lot my baseline. Bring ‘em on.

Jump-Starting the Nemesis

2/18/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook

This week’s Urban Sketchers Flickr Group weekly theme, “Sketching Nemesis,” is one that was inspired by my own blog posts about how I have been trying to improve my sketches of cars by forcing myself to draw them regularly. At some point, I made a loose commitment (how’s that for an oxymoron) to sketch at least one car a week. When I read the weekly theme, I remembered that I didn’t sketch a car at all last week and felt a pang of guilt. So I went out this afternoon and sketched four in one composition (and actually several more in the background) to make up for it.

 

But there was a little more to this otherwise mundane sketching adventure. When I sit in my car to sketch, I like to listen to jazz and NPR news on the radio. I was about 40 minutes into my sketch when the radio suddenly died. What the heck…? I started fiddling with the radio knob when – uh-oh. I realized I had left the headlights on, so it wasn’t just my radio that was dead.

 

Fortunately, Allstate Roadside Assistance came to my rescue! And what did I do while I waited for my jump start to come? Finished my sketch, of course, and then sketched some more.

Brazil, Part 2: Architecture and the City Scene

8/26/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolors,
 Caran d'Ache Museum pencils,
Canson XL 140 lb. paper
(Pousada do Ouro courtyard, Paraty)

You know I’m not a fan of sketching architecture, my persistent sketching nemesis. But even I was inspired by the lovely colonial buildings and colorful doors and windows of Paraty. My favorite architectural sketch of the whole two weeks is the one at right of the hotel where we (and all of the symposium staff, it turned out) stayed in Paraty, the Pousada do Ouro. This courtyard showing some of its brightly colored windows and doors is emblematic of Paraty’s charm.

Rio, too, was full of majestic architecture, but there I was more taken with the overall city life rather than individual buildings. After spending all day at one major tourist attraction or another (more on those later), I looked forward to coming “home” to our hotel neighborhood and sketching ordinary folks hanging out in parks and squares.

(For more sketches as well as photos from my Brazil travels, see this Flickr album.)

8/27/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Museum pencils, Canson XL (Paraty)

8-30-14 watercolor, Moleskine watercolor sketchbook (Santa Teresa, Paraty)
This is only the portion that would fit on my scanner. To see a photo of the
whole sketch in this landscape-format sketchbook, see my Flickr album.

8/31/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Canson XL
(Igreja de N. Sra. do Rosario, Paraty)

9/1/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Canson XL
(Ruo do Comercio near the bridge, Paraty. This was my farewell-
to-Paraty sketch just after sundown.)

9/1/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Canson XL
(back view of Igreja de N. Sra. do Rosario, Paraty)

9/4/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, J Herbin Vert Olive ink,
Kuretake brush pen, Canson XL (Sao Bento Monastery, Rio)

9/1/14 Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi, Diamine Grey, J. Herbin Vert
Olive inks, Zig marker, Museum pencils, Canson XL
(near Theatro Municipal, Rio)

9/5/14 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Take-Sumi, Museum pencils, Canson XL
(men playing cards at Largo do Machado, Rio)

9/7/14 Take-Sumi and Diamine Grey inks, Museum pencil, Canson XL
(sketched from a cafe on Rua de Catete, Rio)

9/7/14 Platinum Carbon and Diamine Grey inks, watercolor,
Museum pencils, Canson XL (my farewell-to-Rio sketch at Largo do Machado Square, Rio)

First Snow

2/9/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook

It’s not the first snowfall of the season, but the first that piled up and stuck. A half-inch of accumulation was predicted in my neck of the Pacific Northwest, but we actually got a couple of inches overnight. Waking to flocked trees and the thick kind of quiet that comes with snowfall is always a bit magical (especially on Sunday when there’s nowhere to commute to).

It’s also the first snow I attempted to sketch – ever. Although it has snowed at least once a year since I started sketching in 2011, I remember feeling completely technically unprepared each time: How do I paint the white? Do I draw it, or just try to paint around it? It was overwhelming.

I wasn’t much better prepared this morning. But I have been admiring the many beautiful snow sketches of Shari Blaukopf, Nina Johansson and Joan T., so I had been looking forward to an opportunity to give it a shot. Since I don’t drive in snow (not in my little convertible hockey puck!), and I felt no compelling reason to put on my boots, I simply opened the front door and stood on our dry porch to sketch the scene across the street. (The temperature was in the low 30s, so I didn’t even have to put gloves on.)

Maybe snow should become my latest sketching nemesis. But given that it snows here only a couple of times per season, I won’t get many opportunities to try to slay it. I’ll just be happy that I got this sketch done in the nick of time to post it to this week’s Urban Sketchers Flickr group theme, “Weather.”

(Speaking of sketching nemeses, I just noticed that this sketch includes three of mine: architecture, trees and cars. Battling three nemeses in a single sketch on a Sunday morning! Time to go in for hot chocolate.)

U Village Fountain

6/2/14 Platinum Carbon and Diamine Grey inks, watercolor, water-soluble colored pencil, Zig marker, Pitt Artist Pen, Uniball opaque white gel pen, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

A couple of years ago I sketched an interesting sculptural stone fountain at University Village. Then last summer I decided that fountains and other forms of flowing water should be a sketching nemesis, so I went to U Village with the intention of sketching it again, but apparently I got confused and couldn’t find it (I sketched a different water feature instead). I was so flummoxed that I even wondered if it had been removed during the shopping complex’s recent remodel.

In the U-District for an errand this afternoon, I stopped in at U Village, determined to find that fountain again. There it was, in the same place as ever. And sketching flowing water is still just as challenging as ever.

Some things don’t change, even when I wish they would.

Bellevue Botanical Garden



8/23/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor, Stillman & Birn sketchbook

Only three sketchers showed up for the Friday ad hoc gathering, so we rattled around in the spacious Bellevue Botanical Garden. Currently under major renovation to make it even larger, the BBG is deep and full of tall trees, making it seem more like an arboretum than a traditional garden.

 

Still at work on my latest sketching nemesis – fountains and other sources of streaming water – I first tackled a lovely series of waterfalls in the Yao Japanese Garden area, where the wide leaves of the Darmera Peltata opened like umbrellas beside the rocks.

 

8/23/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor

8/23/13 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor

Next I went up near the visitor’s center, where several bushes of Rosa Rugosa still had a few white blossoms that the bees were happy about. But most of the roses had already given way to red and orange rose hips as big and bright as cherry tomatoes. Whenever I’m out urban sketching, I feel compelled to capture the “big picture” and tell more of the story (whatever that is), but in a large garden like BBG, sometimes the tiny details of rose hips and bees tell a story, too. (Visit Kate's blog to see her sketch of me sketching these.)

 

In the few remaining minutes before our meeting time to share sketches, I wandered over to the construction area and dashed off a large bed of black-eyed Susans lending color to heavy machinery and construction workers taking a lunch break.

8/23/13 Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi ink, Zig marker, Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook

Direct Watercolor, Days 2 - 10

 

6/9/23 This is my favorite from the first 10 days; I think the composition, the color scheme (secondary triad plus a bit of yellow) and the painting technique were all successful, which rarely happens with any medium. In retrospect, I wish I had mixed the yellow from the tree with the green I used for the grass, which would have integrated the overall palette better and made the grass warmer. (Photo reference)

Already near the halfway point of the 30x30 Direct Watercolor challenge that began June 1, I’m enjoying it even as I struggle heartily. I told myself I wouldn’t apply the additional pressure of sharing paintings daily on social media if I didn’t feel like it. I’m finding, however, that the Facebook group dedicated to the challenge is motivating and encouraging. Participants from around the world have a vast range of painting experience from sheer beginners to obvious masters. I am continually awed and inspired as I learn helpful tips. The team of moderators (led by Marc Holmes and Uma Kelkar) offers suggestions and feedback as well as general encouragement. In fact, many participants are also active in commenting.

6/2/23 Earthsworld reference photo

Here are a few things I’ve learned or observed so far (comments specific to individual sketches are in the cutlines):

This is an excellent challenge for me at this stage of learning watercolors because direct painting is something I definitely would not be doing without an external push. It’s challenging but not so daunting that I feel like quitting.

A key to direct watercolor success is to use reference photos with strong value contrasts and simple shapes (see, Ian Roberts – I’ve been paying attention!) that are easy to draw so I can focus on the painting.

Beyond the practice of painting without a preliminary drawing, I’m also exploring ways to use watercolor paints that are different from what I learned from Kathleen Moore a few months ago. Specifically, I’m mixing more on the paper instead of the tray and using more wet-in-wet techniques.

6/3/23 The view through our livingroom window

Trees are once again my nemesis – at least as far as watercolor goes. Ten years ago when I was just starting out, I had declared trees my nemesis – I really hated the blobby, unformed trees I was sketching with watercolors and had no idea how to improve (this post shows some early ones and talks about how trees and I eventually became friends). I never really liked the trees I sketched until I switched to watercolor pencils, which enable me to give trees both form and texture. I’m back to hating my painted trees again – blobby yet flat, without form, and mostly without texture. For the remainder of the challenge, I’m going to make an active effort to study the watercolor trees of artists I admire (Virginia Hein and Chris Haldane immediately come to mind) and see if I can improve by the end of the month.

6/4/23 Possibly my least favorite from this batch. Poorly integrated palette, weak composition, shapeless tree with unclear lighting and unfortunate dark blobs, and bright red awning that was my primary interest in this reference photo until I put it in. 

In the first 10 days, I did mostly portraits and urban scenes from photo references. With so many additional challenges on location, I was planning to do direct watercolors only at home, but you know me – I can’t stay away from urban sketching for long. I attempted it twice – once from my livingroom window and once from my mobile studio. Using paints on the livingroom couch is fraught with peril (though there are benefits to having old, dirty furniture). Painting in my car, which has a narrow center console, isn’t much better, but I now have a portable palette that’s tolerable (though not ideal). Stay tuned for the review.

6/5/23 The trees at right are the only trees I like from the first 10 days -- with some form, not so blobby and good use of wet-in-wet. Never mind the wonky vehicle! (Photo reference)

6/6/23 This is the full sketch that includes the palm trees I discussed in my 6/12/23 post. I like this simple composition, but I could have used darker values somewhere -- maybe the windows. (Photo reference)

6/7/23 The dark violet in the Kuretake palette that I used prominently here is exactly the kind of cool violet I like to use in a secondary triad. I'm trying to duplicate it in a tube color for my portable palette. (Photo reference)

6/8/23 Wedgwood neighborhood. My only true urban sketch, made from my mobile studio. Exactly the kind of trees that have become my nemesis all over again. I like the sky, though.

6/9/23 My first try at a Zorn palette with watercolors (Earthsworld reference photo)

Precarious couch painting!