A Band Concert Happy New Year!

This sketch is from one of the two holiday school band concerts I attended this month. Since my nephew Calvin has been in 6th grade, I've been to many band concerts. Now he's a freshman and his brother Joshua is in the 6th grade band, and their sister Somerset will be there next year.

Every band concert I've seen makes me feel hopeful for the future of our world. Here's wishing you hope and joy in 2013. Happy New Year!

Sketching at Work

What? I wasn't sketching at work, who said that?!

Just kidding I totally was, but we were in a meeting and there were technical difficulties, and I had a pen and paper. What else was I supposed to do?

Sketching in Collierville

Earlier this month the Memphis Urban Sketchers went all the way out to Collierville to sketch with Plein Air Memphis, a group that meets like we do, only they make paintings instead of sketches.

It was so fun! And the Collierville town square is so lovely.

Christmas Camping

This Christmas we did something a little different, but not too different considering last year we spent Christmas in a cabin. We went camping! Like, in a tent!

It was cold and glorious. I do love a winter landscape. We had the coziest tent and the biggest fire and the best site in Ft. Pillow State Park. And we had the whole place to ourselves!

I didn't make many sketches, as I was too preoccupied with just staring off into the distance. I highly recommend it.

Also, if I had made more sketches of the landscape, they all would have looked like the first sketch. I did enjoy sketching the campsite, though.

We had a weenie roast for Christmas Eve dinner, but we dressed up our hot dogs by putting pimento cheese on them! Because we are geniuses!

After sleeping through a cold and windy night, the temperature stayed low on Christmas morning. A storm was blowing in! We decided to take down our camp before it started raining, then we drove home and had a wonderfully lazy Christmas day at home.

I hope you had a great Christmas, too!

Sketch Portraits

Earlier this month I accidentally offered to make sketch portraits at a Cash Mob at Literacy Mid-South. I'm just kidding, it wasn't an accident, but I did take myself by surprise by suggesting it. See, I don't do faces all that much. They are difficult, and I fear hurting people's feelings by making something that looks dumb. But hey, it turns out I can do it!

Would you like one? Just let me know.

St. Jude Marathon

On December 1st Memphis hosted the St. Jude Marathon and about a bazillion of my friends were running the half version. The marathon route always goes through my neighborhood, so I rode my bike up to a prime viewing and cheering spot. After seeing my friends and ringing my cowbell at them, I made this little sketch to commemorate the day. It is hard to draw people running!

Very Quick Lunch Sketch

I just needed to put pen to paper!

After I finished this sketch a nice woman who saw me sketching asked what I do, as in for a living. I almost answered with what I actually do for a living (booooring), even though I knew it wasn't what she meant. So I said: I'm an artist! Then I gave her a lot of proof: I teach! I show my work! I have a sketch group!

Then I went back to my boring (I say that with love!) job :)

Portrait Sketches at Memphis Cash Mob, Sunday December 9

Tomorrow, Sunday December 9, I am participating in the Memphis Cash Mob! I will be making portrait sketches for $20. Here's the information:

What:
Memphis Cash Mob: Memphis Creative Women's Collective

Where:
Literacy Mid-South, 902 S. Cooper Street

Who:
The women of Memphis Creative Collective make everything from pottery to jewelry to paintings. Most of these women don't have a store front, so they are setting up shop in the lobby of Literacy Mid-South.

How:
The rules are simple: Plan to spend around $20, meet three new people, be a kind and patient mobber, and have fun!

Why:
You need to do some Christmas shopping, and these kind women have generously agreed to donate 10% of their profits during the mob to Literacy Mid-South.

Hope to see you there!!!

Color Workshop at Flicker Street Studio

You can't tell it by this sketch, but I took a color workshop from Nancy Cheairs at Flicker Street Studio today. I spent all day mixing paint and making color charts. It was so great!

(click on the image for more detail)

Sketching People and Writing Random Stuff

My Favorite

Family Time

Sitting outside watching the nieces and nephews playing in the yard, under the great ravioli in the sky.

*** come sketch with me & the Memphis Urban Sketchers this afternoon at the Collierville town square at 1:00 PM! ***