Meet the new tree…
Same as the old tree…
My Three Bosses
November 28, 2011
Here are my bosses at Zoe’s Kitchen. They’re pretty cool. Not only do they tolerate me and all my weirdness, but they don’t seem to mind it when I sketch them.
Mix it Up
November 18, 2011Okay so I realize that this sketch of a mixer is not very exciting. But what you can’t tell is that this mixer is seriously as tall as a person. That’s why I felt compelled to draw it. But I should have drawn a person or something next to it to give an idea of the size. 
By the way this was done at the Crystal Creek Sandwich Shop in Flagstaff, AZ where they make their own bread.
Jenga
November 17, 2011
I hate Jenga. It takes forever to play and in the end you just have a big mess to pick up. But my friends love it, so that’s that. At least people stay relatively still as they sit on the edge of their seat watching the tower wobble and sway. It’s much easier to draw people playing Jenga than it is to draw them playing basketball.
Munched
November 16, 2011A few weeks ago I saw a show called Munched at Space 55 theatre in Phoenix. Actually I saw it three times. It was that good. During one of the shows I did a few sketches.
The show is about a girl who’s mother gets convicted of munchausen by proxy and thrown in jail. The girl grows up hating her mother and believing she was crazy.
The story is told in alternate view points between the mother (played by Kim Porter) and the daughter (played by Michelle Kable).
There were two other actors in the show (David Weiss and Shawna Franks) who played all of the other characters. It was a pretty big job.
Usually by the end of the show a lot of people in the audience would be crying (and embarrassed about it). And they would all have different opinions as to what really happened and whether or not the mother was guilty.
If this show was still running I would probably see it a fourth time. Every time I’ve seen it I’ve gotten something else out of it.
Check out what’s up next for Space 55 at www.space55.org.
Grand Canyon Rail Road
November 13, 2011A couple weeks ago my husband and I went with his family on a trip north to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. We went up there to celebrate my mother-in-law’s birthday, but I have to admit that I had such a great time that I sometimes thought it was my birthday.
Here is the first sketch of the trip. I drew this of Richard while we were having breakfast at the Flagstaff La Quinta, which earns a five-star rating in my book because it has the trifecta:
1) Fitness center 2) Jacuzzi 3) Free breakfast
Additionally, the La Quinta is pet-friendly, which I–being allergic to all creatures great and small–was a little worried about. But the hotel was very clean and I don’t think I sneezed even once. Also, having an elevator open to reveal a beautiful labrador standing there is not the worst way to start your day.
Next came the main purpose of the trip: The Grand Canyon Rail Road!
I am crazy about trains, but have had very few chances to ride them. I have been wanting to ride the Grand Canyon Rail Road forever, so this was a great adventure, as well as a perfect opportunity for sketching.
Here is a sketch of Richard, his ‘rents, and the ‘phews on the train as we rode from Williams to the Grand Canyon. I’ve been working with colored pencil ever since my Rim to Rim trip a couple weeks prior (see this post for more on that). In this sketch I’ve learned to pull back a little on the pencils, using them to splash a bit of color on the drawing, without completely saturating every inch of paper.
Here are a few more quick sketches of the fam on the ride up. That’s my nephew Ethan saying his trademark phrase, “I hungry!”
One of the great things about the Grand Canyon RR is the on board entertainment. There are musicians, train robbers, and lawmen. We chatted for a while with this sheriff who turned out to be from my home state of South Dakota.
And what’s a train ride without a little cowboy music?
Once we got to the Grand Canyon we had about three hours to hang out before we had to get on the train to ride back. We enjoyed a fantastic lunch at a place on the south rim called “El Tovar” where my Arnold Palmer was so beautiful I had to document it.
Then we walked the rim trail and enjoyed the beautiful weather until it was time to catch the train back to Williams. I spent much of the ride back coloring the drawings that I did on the ride up.
The next day we drove back to Phoenix by way of Sedona where we stopped for lunch at a place called Shugrue’s (which was amazing by the way). I did this awful sketch while we waiting for our food.
The girl in the glasses is my sister-in-law Christa and these sketches do NOT do her justice. She is a beautiful woman and yet for some reason she is one of the most challenging people to draw. I have been trying and failing to capture her likeness for over ten years now. Some day I will get it right.
On the plus side, I don’t have to worry about forgetting the name of that restaurant. That is another benefit of carrying a sketchbook everywhere you go. When you go to someplace great you can write down the name so you won’t forget. I have also noted “get the quiche’.”
Please note that I did NOT do the following drawing. I found this in a newspaper in Flagstaff that was talking about a local exhibit and I found it so inspiring that I cut it out and pasted it into my sketchbook for later reference. The artist’s name is Susan J. Klein. I have since located her website which features many other lovely pieces.
At some point during the trip Christa told me about a crayon holder that her friend made for her kids, which inspired me to draw up these plans for a new pen and pencil holder for myself. Since I like to draw on the go I am always trying to figure out easy and efficient ways to carry around all my stuff (or my “instruments” as my boss Kathy calls them).
I have since purchased some fabric, and with some sewing tips from my pal Sharon, I have begun to make this new and improved instrument holder. I haven’t finished it yet but when I do I will post some photos and report on it’s effectiveness.
Thank you Paula and Jim, for such a great vacation.
Life Drawing Gallery
October 27, 2011A couple months ago I inventoried all my old artwork, threw out about 90% and photographed what remained. I thought I would post a few of those old drawings here because, well…I am a little behind on scanning my sketchbook. And also I really miss the college days, so why not take a trip down memory lane.
These drawings are all from around 1999-2001 (I think).
This drawing here is a quick five minute gesture drawing. We always did a few two or five minute gesture drawings at the beginning of class to get warmed up. I remember one guy once compared them to practicing scales on the piano. I usually just threw them away when I was done, but I couldn’t part with this one. I was really proud of it then and I still am now. I wish the drawings I did these days had that kind of line quality.
Here is another fairly quick drawing. This one probably took ten or twenty minutes. I wish I had done a little more work on the chair.
Here is a longer drawing. Black and white conte on toned paper. This one probably took about 2 hours. I remember the night I did this drawing. I was really proud of it at the time. Back then I was pretty obsessed with life drawing, but I was also really struggling with it. I was okay, but I had some really gifted friends that just put me to shame (and still do). At one point I was taking 6-9 hours of life drawing per day and rarely cranked out anything I liked. The night I did this one I felt like I was finally starting to get it. Incidentally I don’t really like this one so much anymore. Terrible line quality, and the hair sucks. I still can’t draw hair to save my life.
In this drawing we were told to make a box of some sort on the page and do a drawing that focuses on composition. So I went with the good ol’ triangle. I love triangles. Also, I always loved drawing the female models from the side when they had their arm up. The shadows would always fall in an interesting and beautiful way that was fun to draw.
Ah, here we have the elusive male model. In art school the ratio of female to male models was about five to one, and even when we did have a male model it was often a somewhat skeezy older guy. So on the rare occasion when we actually had youngish male model it was pretty great. I remember that the checkerboard way in which the light was falling on this guy made for a fun but very challenging drawing.
Here is another female from the side with a raised arm. I could draw these all day. I’m not sure if I intentionally focused on the arm and head and let the rest gesture out on purpose, or if I just ran out of time and tried to pass it off as intentional.
Another black and white conte on toned paper. Not much to comment on this one except that I love the triangle shape that is created by the jaw line and underside of the chin when people tilt their head back in that way.
Here is another one of the same model. I think this one took me three hours. My teacher Jerry was big on creating shadow with marks. Hatching, cross-hatching, whatever. Mark making was very important. Only pansies create shadow by blending.
Carrie’s Big Adventure
October 18, 2011Last March I went to the exciting metropolis of Cedar Rapids, Iowa to attend my little brother’s wedding. If you aren’t familiar with the reputation of this wild and crazy city, go rent the movie by the same name and you will get the idea.
I brought along my sketchbook so as to capture all of the important family moments.
Such as this gem that I did at the rehearsal dinner. By the way, I was drunk out of my gourd when I did this, so hey, not bad. I recognize some of those people. I also stole two glasses from the restaurant, and found out the next morning that I’d been unknowingly drinking doubles all night. Damn you, Annie!
Later that night the party moved to our hotel where we celebrated the upcoming union the Behrens way, by playing poker. Actually, I sat the game out. I was never allowed into the game when I was a kid, so by this point I figured, why mess with tradition? Also, I was still intoxicated.
Ah, here we are at the wedding. When I got married my friend Michael did a lovely little sketch of me and my husband saying our wedding vows that turned out to be the greatest gift we could have ever received. I had hoped to do the same for Brady, but alas, It just didn’t come out too good. That’s the problem with sketching. Or at least, that is the problem with me. I never know–or have any control over–when I’ll be on fire and when I’ll draw as though someone replaced my hand with a dead fish.
I did this one at the reception sometime after dancing the Macarena but before pocketing several fistfuls of M&Ms to ensure that I would have some food for the next day. Hmm. I really committed a lot of theft on this trip. I guess Cedar Rapids just brings out the criminal in me.
The day after the wedding most of my family left early to return to their various midwestern towns. But my flight didn’t leave until that evening, so I figured I had better take in all the Cedar Rapids I could while I still had time. I took a cab down to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, where I did sketched these three guys.
Fun Fact: Grant Wood, the guy who painted American Gothic (you know, the old farm couple with a pitchfork standing in front of a house) came from–you guessed it–Cedar Rapids! And while I was not fortunate enough to see American Gothic at the CRMA (it’s in Chicago) I did see another one of his major works: Woman with Plant.
By the way, in case you’re now doubting my skills (and really, I can’t blame you) I would just like to point out that in the real “Woman With Plant,” Grant Wood painted the woman’s black shirt to look extremely flat. Google it if you don’t believe me. My flat crosshatching of the shirt was an attempt to copy that. Also, does that poor woman look miserable or what?
After a few hours at the museum I spent the rest of the day walking across the entire city. I could have taken a cab, but that would have cost $20. And more importantly I would have missed out on an opportunity to experience the true flavor of Cedar Rapids. Some highlights include: Coe College, Mount Mercy Hospital, and at least two Hardees.
We have now reached the conclusion of the trip. I will close this post with a few scenes from the airplanes and airports as I journeyed to and from the great state of Iowa.
Thanks for reading.
Rim2Rim
October 12, 2011This past weekend I joined up with about 20 other people to hike the Grand Canyon from the South Rim to the North Rim. I brought along my sketchbook with the hopes of doing a few sketches to remember the experience by and came back with more than I expected.
As I’ve stated before, I have never been very comfortable with using color. This past year it has been my goal to work with it more, and I’ve made a few attempts with watercolor that came out okay, but I’m still having a tough time. One of the challenges is that I am usually drawing on the go: in restaurants, museums, on buses, airplanes, or at some kind of festival. It gets real tricky trying to do watercolors in these settings, especially since I am pretty awkward with it to begin with.
So this weekend I tried something different. A couple months ago a co-worker randomly interofficed a small set of German colored pencils to me, so I brought them on the trip and took a bold step into the world of color.
These aren’t masterpieces by any standard, but they are definitely important drawings for me. I’ve written before about lightbulb drawings–the products of moments when I somehow become enlightened by an idea and reach a new skill level. These drawings represent the time I found my way into working with color.
The most important drawing from the weekend is this one that I did from the deck of the North Rim Lodge.
Not only is it in color, but it’s also a landscape, which is something else I struggle with. This is probably one of the hardest sketches I’ve ever done. The challenge was figuring out how to take a very complicated landscape and simplify it to fit within the limitations of time, color, and paper size, but also still make it recognizable for what it was. I actually started and abandoned two other sketches before I finally produced this one.
The whole weekend was pretty great. I did a ton of hiking, met a bunch of cool people, and had some fun times around the campfire. But coming home with these drawings ensured that it will be unforgettable.
Dojo Notes
September 23, 2011I’ve really fallen behind on this blog lately. Not because I haven’t been sketching, but because I haven’t been scanning. Scanning is actually more time consuming than drawing! (And not nearly as fun.)
The reason I haven’t had time to do any scanning is because I’ve been pretty consumed with my other endeavors, particularly my latest obsession: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. You may think that sketching and Jiu-Jitsu have nothing to do with each other, but alas you would be wrong. Just as my instructor Darrell believes that practicing Jiu-Jitsu will improve all areas of your life, I believe the same when it comes to drawing.
Case in point: I am terrible at sports, and I am a slow learner. I never catch on to anything quickly, and have a real hard time remembering things. Luckily after 30-some years of living I have finally figured how to deal with these challenges. The best way for me to learn anything (even sports) is to take notes. And what’s even better than that is to supplement those notes with illustrations.
So here are some pages from my dojo notebook. Thanks to this I have managed to retain a million times more than I would have without it. And I couldn’t have done that without knowing how to draw.
sketchbookfactory 