Drawing Trash Bins and Back Alleys with Friends

Back alleys were on my list for some time, but there was always something blooming or an event happening or a new building there or an interesting tree here. But this time I got my wish - a whole morning of drawing trash bins behind the actual businesses! A joyful way to spend time with friends - thank you for joining me, Suhita and Uma! Below are my sketches and process photos.

A Question About Changing Mind and a Mess of a Sketch of an Oak

I often wonder what makes me change my mind about a drawing. I liked it on location (see photo). I really did not like it later to such a degree that I  tried to fix it. I did not like the results so much that I spent quite some time writing about all kinds of things about this sketch. And now I am kind of liking it. I know that changing your mind about work as time passes is a common situation - do you know why it happens to you? Click on the image to see my comments and questions. 

On My Table: Beginning of October 2026

October 2026:

I find myself using a lot of bullet-nib Stabilo 68 markers - they are not waterproof, but there is something about the quality of line and transparency of colors that gives me a chance to find shapes by movement instead of precision.

I made some very pink things recently - I will share them soon - but pink inks and watercolors are still on my desk.

My gouache and watercolor sets need a thorough clean-up and top-off, but I was able to draw with them later that week still!

I am trying to bring fewer art supplies with me to sketching outings - so instead of taking "all that was in the bag plus all from the table", I picked a small number of things and put them in this orange bag with pockets. It worked once, but on the next day the bag was so full I was having a hard time fitting it in my backpack. Should I get a bigger backpack? lol I know the answer and am getting my "core tools" sorted out to get to my goal of not looking like a walking art store. 

I am working on some new pottery pieces and new projects - sketches all over the table. 

Drawing With Friends in San Jose

When a sketching friend is in town, it is always a reason to get together with even more sketching friends and have a little sketching party! This time, a long-time reader of this blog, a art friend of many years, an unstoppable daily sketcher, pencil-connoisseur, art supplies conversation companion, and a Mazda Miata aficionado, Tina Koyama from Seattle (known on instagram as miatagrrl, was in the Bay Area! And we got to sketch, talk art supplies, all the urban sketching news, and try (first time for me) a bunch of sweets. It was such a great get-together!! Thank you, Tina, and I hope you will visit us again - I promise I know more wild power lines for us to draw! 

Click on the image to read all the conversation bits I recorded. 

Thank you Suhita Shirodkar and Uma Kelkar for the wonderful company, laughs and sweets!

My New Ceramics Adventures: Glaze Drip!

Two recent glazing experiments turned out very pretty (I am a human with a soft spot for everything blue :) but this glaze is runny (meaning when it is going through high-temperature firing in a kiln it becomes more viscous than other glazes and might drip. And that is exactly what happened to my two vases! But since it was minimal, I consulted with my pottery team, donned safety glasses and a particle mask, and picked up a Dremel tool. Now I thought that dremel was a tool - like a hammer or pliers. But it is a Xerox! (meaning Dremel is a company name - one of the manufacturers of compact rotary tools!)

And in just a few minutes I got sharp edges sanded down and vases suitable for drawing, filling with flowers and sticks, and gifting :)