What is on my table? End of August 2021.

End of August found me fiddling with printing techniques in my sketchbook, drawing people and flowers over and over with liquid watercolors, drawing house portraits with gouache and adding more and more modifications to my new/old pochade box! (there is enough space there for a few thick Stabilo Woody Pencils (from Lyra) which are considered a kid's instrument but I find them an indispensable tool in so many experiments lately! 

Agapanthuses: a series of sketchbook pages

I've been enjoying drawing agapanthuses over and over again in my sketchbook lately.  I like working in series in general because looking is a process and by drawing objects/people/words/compositions repeatedly I can see them better. And with agapanthuses I also was trying all sorts of techniques that I am playing with at the moment: putting together printing, gouache, and crazy lines. 

 

Agapanthus galore

This week was filled with agapanthus drawings. The end of the agapanthus season is here (even though today on my walk I found a cluster of plants full of buds!). The other day I saw a pile of yard trimmings left by the neighboring gardeners and stopped my car to check if I might take some flowers home. These wonderful people had the flowers ready for me by the time I reached the pile :) 

I made a couple of time-lapse videos of painting these gifted flowers:

Trip to South Tahoe

I made a lip-through video where you can see my sketches from the summer vacation to South Tahoe. Glimpses of Emerald Bay, Eagle Lake, views from kayak, meeting bears and sketching in the forest. Lots of gouache and lots of drawings done with my pocket sketching kit and later added to my main sketchbook. 

And here are some process photos from the trip too.

I made some of the paintings available as prints in my Etsy Store.

What is on my table? End of June 2021.

I've tried and experiences some changes on this blog lately. Some were induced by higher powers and some by me (and I am still thinking about migrating). But in the middle of another redesign process, I realized that I am sitting on a lot of sketches and projects and some unpublished drafts and trying to find the best design or logistic solution instead of going back to why I have this place. Which is to have a little space to share what I am up to, to take a little step away from the everyday things and see some patterns, to be able to remember (and search for) my previous thoughts and solutions, repeating themes and interests. 

And I will start by showing you a view at my table at the end of June.

It was a very big month and a very short month for me because I was traveling! For the first time in a year and a half, I was on the airplane, I was among people and away from all my routines. 

First I got fully vaccinated. And then I went to see my folks in Ukraine. I filled 2/3 of a sketchbook, brought home lots of presents, ideas, and feelings and I am still sorting through all of them!

So the end of June looked like this:

And I will write more about the trip in a separate post :)