How to Cut a Stencil, How to Make a Sign.

This short video illustrates how to cut a stencil to make a sign. I am making some signs like this to put around so that people know when the event is. These events will be happening all over the country, because NO KINGS IN THE USA! 

WHEN IS THE EVENT? 

March 28th, 2026 - this Saturday. 

WHERE TO GO?

In my experience, it is best to go to the event where you have friends (ask them) or go to one near you - here is a map where you can find one quickly: https://www.nokings.org/ 

WHY GO? The main message of this event is that America has no kings. The current administration is threatening democracy and advancing an authoritarian agenda where there is no rule of law but the interest of one person, where loyalty to that person is valued above truth, and where freedom of speech is under assault. This is your chance to be heard, to make a stance, and to openly defend democracy. This is the reason to go.

Some people bring other agendas to these events. I always encourage people to know what they are there for, what they are standing for. There are so many issues to talk about! I do not have to agree with everyone at these events. But we have a common message: democracy is worth our time and energy. Carry a sign that you are ready to stand for - here are some of the amazing examples my art friend Rama Hughes made. Chant what you agree with. Or do not chant. Walk. Or stand. Bike. Drive. Pass by and wave. Bring kids, dogs, and cats. 

What is happening is not normal, and being with people who understand this is very helpful for our survival. Not normalizing the current attempt to make America an authoritarian country is why I will be at the No Kings on March 28th, 2026. 

Another Apricot Orchard - Another Remedy

After a week of drawing lots of people (aka #oneweek100people) I needed a break in the chase after human bodies to sketch and I knew that Suhita Shirodkar (who organized a whole bunch of super cool events for the #oneweek100people this year - from short morning sessions to guest artists to a marathon session) was even more ready to draw something other than humans. And that is how we ended up in one of our yearly sketching locations - Apricot orchard at the Saratoga Public Library. Only the trees were almost done blooming... unseasonable heat pushed blooming time at least 2 weeks ahead, said the caretaker of the orchard (before warning us that sprinklers would be tested soon, so we'd better move to the other side of the library, where there are some blooming nectarines and plums and where sprinklers were not scheduled to go off any moment).  And that is how I ended up with one view of an apricot orchard and one view of what I think is a plum tree ;)
P.S. This is a second Apricot Orchard Outing that saves my sanity this month - here is first one. 

Redbud Tree (aka Judas Tree) in Bloom

My Friday outing was a lot of fun as I ventured into the google campus to draw some blooming trees - and will be back for more as they have some amazing specimens!

Right now redbuds (aka Judas tree) are in bloom, and their delicate branches are covered in magnificently magenta flowers and just a hint of leaves to come (I love the shape of their leaves and the fact that old seedpods are still hanging on many branches). And California Blue sky provided an amazing background - on a bright (and HOT for March) day it was a joy to sketch!

DId I draw 100 people last week? Yes I did! #OneWeek100People2026

This year I took part in #OneWeek100People2026 - this is a challenge organized by @lizsteelart and @m.holmes.art - they run it every year - sometimes via facebook, sometimes on instagram - but the idea is to give your people sketching muscles a workout for a week. I encourage you to check out a blog post from Liz as this year she drew 100 people twice and got interviewed about the project by Guardian - here is a link to the article! 

I love drawing people from life and really enjoyed making this challenge all about my neighborhood in 2025. But my schedule this time around did not allow for so many real-life opportunities - only sketches in the first image were drawn from life:

To get to a 100 I drew from youtube videos - researching movements of tennis players and archers:

And I drew with the wonderful online portrait party drawing group: pencils4tea

And then I joined a super fun 40 min drawing session that Suhita Shirodkar ran this year - her guest artist was a wonderful artist from New Zealand: Andrew James, and we drew musicians:

And on Thursday I was a guest artist at Suhita's substack gathering and we drew from the photos of Ukrainian photographer Alexandra Bolotina. She was a travel and portrait photographer before the full-scale invasion of russian army into Ukraine in 2022 and today her work is spread to photography, organizing creation of adaptive clothing for people who suffered injuries in the war and support children with disabilities. She lives and works in Kharkiv, Ukraine. You can support her work via PayPal donation - send me a note and I will connect you. 

Here is a link to a video recording of our session with Suhita Shirodkar where you can see original photos and process of how these quick portraits were created. 

Apricot Orchard in Bloom as a Remedy for My To-Do List

At the end of a long day, I felt like the more I crossed off my "to-do list," the more I added. This usually puts me in a procrastination mode, out of which I get by asking myself, "What if you did not have to do anything at all - zero obligations - what would you do?" And the answer often prompts me to grab my sketching bag and head out. Which is what I did - because a couple of days before, I saw that this apricot orchard was about to bloom! 

When I got to this sketching location I had little time and felt rather tired and wound up at the same time. My rules for such a situation are: 

1) start drawing as soon as possible

2)  get the first sketch out of my system as quickly as possible with a minimum amount of materials.

So I planted my folding stool within 10 feet of the boundary of the orchard. And I started the warm-yellow line for the roofs behind the trees, because the yellow marker was the first thing I blindly pulled out of my sketch bag. After the yellow, I pulled out the black chisel pen and drew the hero of this sketch: an apricot tree. After that I added details with the purple pencil. That is how the sketch below came to be. And then  I was able to get my gouache pleinair box out and paint the view a little slower - that is the first sketch in this post.