Summer Bounty

No matter how I look at it,  there is no denying that we are heading into the fall. But summer is still on my mind - especially since the San Francisco Bay Area does not get fall weather till the end of November. To compensate, people are trying to introduce the upcoming season with decorations (pumpkins are everywhere!) But there are still a couple of weeks left on the schedule for the farmer's market that I frequent in the summer, so I will still count this as a summer-themed post. 

I already reported on a few things that were especially memorable this growing season (avocados, figs, and eggplants). But some beauties - found, grown, and purchased - were left out of the conversation:

Neighbor's tree had an abundance of plums - I carried them in a little bag improvised with my handkerchief. We also picked up some apples and a tasty, yet angle-shaped asian pear (they are in the peak of the season by the way!) 

This strawberry was something from the other world - and helped me to make my choice of the strawberry basket an easy one (I usually struggle for at least a couple of minutes before deciding which one to buy). 

Waiting as a Gift of Time

This week, I had to wait for some time in an office with no windows and no people to draw. While the wait itself was inevitable, I had the freedom to walk outside, and despite the fact that my "to-do" list was calling my name, I chose to sit on the grass and look at this amazing power line pole. I could not count all the wires - but I could sketch them!

Here are some process photos and close-ups. I used my gouache+watercolor palette and tried out correction pen for the white lines over gouache. 

I am working on reframing things. This time it worked.

Monterey Bay by Foot

After a gorgeous morning on the water, Monterey Bay offered many interesting activities and sights - I had a great afternoon, but sketched only two of them: a view from one of the coves:

And a breakwater beach, which is at the moment completely occupied by sea lions. Apparently, sometime in August, a colony of sea lions moved onto the beach, and now it is closed for all but tiny-eared, and as graceful in the water as they are not on land, pinnipeds. I sketched them for as long as I could stand the fragrance and level of sound and ran away. 

Kayaking in Monterrey Bay

I recently spent some hours on the water - kayaking in Monterey Bay. It was a day with a perfectly gray morning and temperature, and a very gentle swell. I forgot my binoculars this time (which possibly contributed to drawing more) and took my "water" sketch kit consisting of a PVC support board, stone paper sketchbook (connected to each other with a rubber band), and a plastic mechanical pencil with a chisel lead - on a string, also connected to my board. 

There were several beautiful pods of sea otters, lots of sea lions jumping out of the water (at first I thought they were dolphins), and quite a few curious harbor seals. Tons of birds: brown pelicans, oystercatchers, double-crested cormorants, pushing brandt cormorants off the rock,  and some snowy plovers up close! Oh - and seagulls, so many seagulls. 

There were several types of jellyfish - notably the Purple-striped jelly (Chrysaora Colorata) - needless to say that I kept my hands out of the water while we were nearby! 

Here are my sketches as they looked right there in Monterey:

I had more pages with some sketches so "abrupt" that I did not even take pictures of them - but ended up joyfully adding color later at home - this is how watercolor and gouache act on stone paper:

Two Last Figs of the Season

I thought that we ate the very last fig - and it was everything I wanted from a fig: sweet, colorful, unexpectedly complex inside, shiny in some places and matte in others - in one word - perfect end to the season. And then - a few days ago, while I was checking leaves for signs of fall, I saw another perfectly ripe (and quite small) fig!

Grateful: Gift of Flowers

I recently returned home to find a beautiful bouquet of unknown (to me) flowers! They became my companion in catching special fall light in the morning and in the evening. My search for their name took me to many places online (it is Veronica/speedwell variety - Veronica spicata). I learned that there is a mystery series with the same name!  I could not puzzle out the shape of the inflorescence, but enjoyed the twisty flat end. And watched colors change with time.

Having them right in front of me resulted in playing with my materials more, with no results in mind, and it felt wonderful. I just said hi to them every day. Great gift - I recommend it for both giving and receiving! Here are some of the sketches:

Reading Notes: My Current Favorite Book on Gray

I continue my Ode to Gray by sharing a a fascinating book about the history of London, which I think is actually a book about grays! 

It is called London: A History by a wonderful illustrator and ceramist, Laura Carlin. There were many fascinating facts in this book, but all I could think of while reading it was "another gray, and here is yet another". If you are interested in London, illustration, history, color in general, gray or grey in particular, texture, or tracing choices artists make through pieces of art - look up this book!

Another thought that was running through my mind while I looked at these drawings was how different is the gray of Hammershoi! 

An Ode to Gray

I've been thinking a lot about what we think we like and what, in truth, we do. For example, I have a collection of images that are grouped because I liked the colors in them. It is quite large, and I find it fascinating to open it from time to time and see how my color interests change and where I am at the moment (or was a year ago). Or what colors I buy or mix all the time - and then see if they end up in actual projects. And also to see some complete outliers or examples of I would never have guessed was my pick - but that is a story for another time. 

Recently, I noticed that the number of grays in the world around me has grown - there are more different types of gray cars on the highways, there are more grays in the house paint store and in designs that I see on paper and online. And in my sketchbook too! I am very interested in bringing textures and printmaking ideas into drawing on location, and I was tracking a particular texture in grays. It got exacerbated after I learned more about lithography and saw some amazing textures at the Ruth Asawa Retrospective this summer. So I ran a whole bunch of tiny experiments which involved lithographic crayons and tusche crayons, but also all sorts of grays that were lying around my studio. One of the things I was after was finding a solution that does not smudge, as graphite / liquid graphite does (think an alternative to tailor's art graph and possibly darker). I think I was able to reproduce the effect I was after, but it is probably too time-consuming for my preferred speed of working. Here are some of the experiments (click on the image to see it larger and read my notes):

Notable Eggplants of this Year

I am a big fan of eggplants - the color, texture, shape, and, as I found out this year, leaves and flowers - all are beautiful, unexpected and inspiring! 

This year we had a very first eggplant plant (in a pot) that gave us several gorgeously purple and star-shaped flowers that were looking down, and then a lovely berry (did you know these are berries??), even though someone tried to eat before us (see sketch below). 

Then my Dad scored stripy eggplants and was super excited to hear that I've never seen anything like that. And then I got a present of an eggplant with a nose! What a year!

We learned how to make a super tasty Baba ghanoush - before we learned how to spell it :) I should probably draw the recipe before the season is over and we stop making it. 

Gouache Reconstitution Process

I've been working with a watercolor+gouache palette for some time now, and also kept a whole bunch of gouache colors - pre-mixed in various ways. The system is not really systematic - it is more of an "oh, I mixed a really cool color and I will carry it with me for some time" situation. So here is how it looks:

I wanted to adjust some of these mixes and realized that a couple of my gouache tubes are completely dry - as in brick dry. Below is a record of my experiment I did to reconstitute them back to life (successful, if a bit messy).

On My Table: Beginning of September 2025

I think August was a very full month, and I have no idea how it went so quickly! Which is something I say often but some months it is feels like it is way more so. I have piles and piles of things on my table: from projects I completed to projects that are about to start. Mementos, messages and little drawing gifts. Projects I thought about but never acted on, things I have to do, scraps of paper where I test materials or write down ideas, or doodle crazy faces to get some drawing steam out of my system before I tackle another non-drawing project. But I've been drawing! And I saw some amazing sunsets recently - so now I can go and clear all this mess away from my desk and hopefully connect my phone to make some videos of sketchbook flip-throughs!  

Summer Travel: Toronto - Airport Sketches

Air travel means there is always a chance to draw people! But airplanes are not designed for a good view - at least I haven't mastered a way to capture something more than an "ear view". Waiting time is another thing! 

Summer Travel: Toronto. Small sketches and notes.

While in Toronto, I walked every day and fell in love with the city that I saw. I took some photos, and drew some things with a tiny set of tools that fits in my waist pack together with other essentials (see photo at the bottom of this post). 

My favorite things:
- little parks, many on little hills
- streets that curve so that you do not see the other end
- apples and sunflowers in the middle of the city
- an amazing cemetery that is actually a huge park
- so many Ukrainian flags
- almost in every window - Canadian flag - and how many versions! Large and small, stickers, made out of flowers, with lights, kids' drawings etc.