December 31, 2014
December 25, 2014
A Few of My Favorite Things
Coffee, this guy, our anniversary, and sketching are all a few of my favorite things. This is a sketch from our anniversary in October - my other favorite holiday.
I hope wherever you are in the world, and however you are spending your day, that you enjoy a few of your favorite things.
Merry Christmas :)
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December 24, 2014
Happy Christmas Eve
First, sausage pinwheels. Mmmmm.
Later, at cocktail hour, drinks and snacks. Mmmmm.
Later in the evening I put our ravioli together. It can't be Thanksgiving without ravioli!
It was just the two of us, and it was a really lovely day. Hope yours was good, and that your Christmas is good, too.
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December 18, 2014
Poetry Reading
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December 17, 2014
More Cute
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December 16, 2014
What I Talk About When I Talk About Sketching
Each of the students received either a black Faber Castell Pitt artist pen (fine), or a black Pigma Micron 05, and a grey Faber Castell Pitt artist pen (brush). I went to the Art Center and tested them all out, then bought them out of grey pens.
Studio night, playing with the pens.
Grey in front, black in back, for a change.
This morning my makeup and jewelry made a nice tableau.
I took half of today off, and finished putting my presentation together at lunch. I could have continued to tweak it and add images FOREVER. I talked about myself and my (long) history with sketching, and then gave them some things to think about while sketching (like layers and mark-making), and showed examples from so many of the great sketchers out there.
I had to get to the school early, because apparently there is really bad traffic when school lets out (this was an after-school event). So while I was waiting, of course I sketched!
After my presentation the students asked tons of great questions, then we all looked through my sketchbooks, and I demonstrated some of my sketching materials. After we handed out the pens, most of them sat down and started working in their sketchbooks. Success!
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December 11, 2014
President Elizabeth
I don't know what it is about USk, but I love it, and I love the actual work. It's one of my top three favorite current jobs.
I am excited about this position, and hope to be able to make a bit of a difference in my own inherent-project-manager sort of way. We have a great group and great plans.
So, if you need me any time soon, I'll probably be working!
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December 10, 2014
Sketching with Pencil in a Museum
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December 05, 2014
Friday Night Fun
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December 04, 2014
Fountain Pen and Waterbrush Pen
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December 03, 2014
Studio Night Last Night: Now With Less Angst
This angsty sketch is from last week's Studio Night.
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November 27, 2014
Happy Thanksgiving!
As I've posted before, my family has been having ravioli for Thanksgiving (in addition to the traditional turkey, etc.) since before I was born. Even though we are all spread out now, many in our family try to continue the tradition. Mostly because it is delicious, but also it doesn't seem like Thanksgiving without ravioli.
So how to make ravioli? Get your big brother and your sister-in-law to do it all, like I do. That gravy? They made it. The filling? Ditto. But then there are many of us to help with the assembly of the ravioli. My nephew Joshua helps Richard roll out the dough, nephew Calvin and niece Somerset have been assembling ravioli since they were each about 6 or 7. We have friends who come over to help, some years to make us do it in the first place.
This is pretty much the setup - roller in the corner; dough next to it; filling, flour, pasta cutters, forks, and paper towels in the center; and all of it on top of a plastic throw-away table cloth for easy clean-up.
The freshly made ravioli is put into pans with some corn meal sprinkled on them in layers between waxed paper, then put in the freezer. The sides can't touch! They will break when frozen. I usually inspect everyone's work to make sure it's right. We've had some attempts that yielded heartbreaking results when the ravioli weren't sealed right and they broke when boiled. So as long as everyone does what I say, the ravioli turns out fine.
After we make them, we cook some up for dinner as a reward for all of our hard work.
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November 22, 2014
November 21, 2014
Follow Friday: Melissa Dunn
This is from Melissa's gallery talk a couple of weeks ago. Click image to make it bigger.
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November 20, 2014
The Next Urban Sketchers Symposium
Speaking of the Symposium, I can't believe I never posted this picture! I did not go to the 2014 Symposium in Paraty, Brazil, (even though I worked on it) because we only had time for one major worldwide adventure this year. But look at what the lovely people of Urban Sketchers did for me! They sent me a goodie bag with a Moleskine sketchbook, pencils from Cretacolor, a Super5 pen, and wristbands from the Hong Kong Urban Sketchers. But that's not all! See the accordion book in the back? It is full of sketches by people who were at the Symposium! The sketchers there made them just for me in this little Laloran sketchbook. This is one nice group of people I've gotten myself involved with.
And now we have next year's Symposium to look forward to! It's going to be in Singapore in July and I'm so excited to be working on it again.
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Starting a New Sketchbook
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November 19, 2014
Studio Night Last Night: Painting
Those are tiny pieces of paper for future tiny paintings.
Early in the evening with a very neat palette.
That elusive yellow.
It is not really this dark in my studio, but according to the camera in my phone it is.
Some progress.
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November 18, 2014
November 17, 2014
November 16, 2014
November 15, 2014
November 14, 2014
November 13, 2014
Cars and Quote
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November 12, 2014
Studio Night Last Night: More Comics
At first my plan was to finish them in ink, but I'm not ready for ink yet and it turns out I love making them in pencil! (For now, anyway.)
I call this one Newfies Messing With Us, because for a minute I really did think the nice people at the bed & breakfast sent us to a one room shack for dinner. Those Newfies - they'll mess with you!
I'm going to keep posting one a day. The rest should not require descriptions :)
(click the image to make it bigger)
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November 11, 2014
Teaching
Okay, not really, but the first class does involve me doing a lot of talking about What Sketching Means to Me.
The second class is mostly me talking while we play with loads of sketching materials, and I tell them about all of the great sketchers I know of out there in the world and talk all about composition and depth and layers.
Class 3: sketch, sketch, sketch, sketch, sketch. And snacks!
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November 10, 2014
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Please visit Sketchwork at elizabethalley.com/sketchwork . After 12 years with Blogger, I am incorporating my blog into my website becaus...
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My new office is right next door to the Dixon Gallery and Gardens and every day I park facing the trees and the bushes that are just start...
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As a big thank-you to all of my readers for visiting, I'm giving away this tiny painting ! To enter, just leave a comment on this post b...
Sketchwork Moved!
Please visit Sketchwork at elizabethalley.com/sketchwork . After 12 years with Blogger, I am incorporating my blog into my website becaus...