Little Walks That Make Me Happy

Just a few little sketches from little walks here and there:

Experiment Result: Changing my Schedule to Get More Walks During Daytime Results in More Sketches! (and a happier me)

I actually like when time changes twice a year, but not in a rational way. 

I like lights everywhere and special baking projects that I start when this time arrives. I like that mornings are lighter (at least for a bit), and I like that later I can track changes in the light as the day begins. 

Rationally, I know that this sudden change is a cause for a lot of stress to a lot of people, including me! In reality, I am unhappy that it gets dark so early, and my evening walks are a struggle, a fight with myself that I start to lose. So this year, to get a cure for my struggles, I decided to embrace morning or lunch walks - and this brought some sketching opportunities!

 

More Little Outings

We had our first real rain of the season - and for a couple of days, between the weather and a gazillion things on my to-do list, I was left with my window and my own hand (drawn left-handedly - a record of some wheel-throwing injuries) for sketching. But then a gorgeous sky called for me to go out and paint it with my pocket gouache kit!

Little Notes From Walks and Hikes

These are three sketches from different days, but they tell a story of how some of the sketching is happening these days. I always have some drawing materials with me, but recently I started using more colored pencils but my black pen is always with me. Often when I draw on location the light situation is making me move super fast - palm trees were on a super sunny day, and the paper was blinding me. Where the evening sketch was done while the sun was disappearing. When I add these little sketches from the day to my main sketchbook, I might add some notes. And sometimes all the notes are from the moment when I was sketching - like on the very last drawing - where I was trying to find with my eyes all the birds that I was able to hear - and ants were driving me away from my perching spot!

Participating in Democracy

Last week was filled with many events that were hard on many levels. Here is what I am doing in response:

1. As I live in the United States I called my representatives and left a message (there were answering machine options and humans who picked up the phone. You can also write an email). My message was super short: Name, zip code of where I live, and these words: I would like to encourage (name of your senator or representative) to support Ukraine and I do not want my country - USA - to be aligned with russia who is an aggressor in this conflict. Thank you.

It took me 5 minutes from clicking on a link (see below) to find a phone numbers to hanging up after the last phone call. This is how democracy works - we tell people who represent our interests what we want and stand up for what we believe in. Nobody can change what is happening alone but every single one of us can make a choice and add to one side of the equation or another. Not making a choice is also a choice. 

Find your senator: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

Find your representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives

Or use an automated reach-out tool.

2. I joined several local in-person events concentrating on supporting Ukraine and also on protesting against the corruption of truth and democracy in this country. I believe that the United States is shifting toward authoritarianism and we as a nation need to fight for democracy and the rule of law. So I painted a sign, packed my sketching kit, and went to join people who were expressing their opinion about gutting the United States and all it stands for by people whose main qualification is loyalty to one person - but not to the law, constitution, or country. 

Here are some images for you:

If you are interested in more ideas for how to move forward - here is an article that I found very useful: How *you* can protect democracy.

Sketches from my Pockets of Time

I enjoy a proper sketching opportunity and have several sets of materials to bring with me on location or paint in my little studio. But as a strong believer in sketching everywhere, I also sketch in any little pockets of time. Knowing this, I carry some options in all of my bags/jackets: a little watercolor kit here, a few markers there, a folded piece of paper in a jacket pocket with two pencils, a pocket sketchbook in my little shoulder bag with a pen, a spiral-bound sketchbook in my backpack, etc. At the beginning of each day (or sometimes at the end of the day), I sit down to add these little sketches into a story that's unfolding in my main sketchbook. Below are a few glimpses of some of these little moments :) 

 

Thanksgiving Weekend Brings Pocket Sketching Back

It's been one complicated year! One of my Thanksgiving traditions is to start wrapping up projects and write lists - lists of gratitude, lists of dreams, lists of plans, lists of what worked and what did not this year. I will continue this throughout the end of the year as it is a lengthy project for a planning maniac like me :) But one important thing that already came out of this "pause and regroup" is I cleaned my sketchkit (actually several that blended into one), streamlined it, and while I took some lovely walks, I collected some treasures and drew - in pockets of time, in pocket sketchbooks, with my pocket kits.

Travel Sketching: Airports

I spent a week traveling on the East Coast of the USA, and to get there and back, a hefty dose of air travel was needed - which means people sketching! And some attempts at drawing from the window of a plane that moves at over 550 miles per hour. Not too many details were visible! But what views!!

Zig Calligraphy pen and uniball vision fine (gray body) in a cotton midori notebook. 

This is a series of posts about Fall 2024 trip to East Coast.

1. Airport Sketching 

2. Choosing sketching tools

3. Leaf Drawing Party

4. Catching Some Color / Fall feelings

5. Printmaking on the go.

Everyday Life: Grateful.

I am drawing through a rather hectic time - lots of things are moving in different directions, and between deciding how to answer the big life questions and tiny life questions I am adding lines to my pocket sketchbook. I draw a neighbor in the line while waiting. Our nonagenarian while visiting. My friend's kitchen while sipping delicious chai. Drying flowers. Workers. Everyday stuff. 

One thing I am sure of: when everything is in flex and feels like you are not sure where is up or down or when everything feels like you almost know what you are doing - and during all the times in between - having people who support you is precious. Thank you!

Click on the images to see them larger and read the notes if you wish. 

Did I see the Northern lights?

I saw in the news that an unusual solar storm was happening and by the end of the day was cautiously excited about the possibility of actually seeing aurora borealis on my doorstep. The idea of setting appropriate expectations is something I've been working on for some time so the plan was to "just take a late night stroll near the bay as if this is just a regular thing for me to be in a park in the middle of the night". First things first - the park was pretty packed and there was enough light to walk on the path :) Secondly - at half past midnight without any special equipment and with the application of consciously reined in imagination the sky looked lit from all the cities below and yes, there were some amorphous clouds with a possibly different shade of color (I saw red). They were moving a bit (as clouds do) and there were a couple of strangely vertical parts of the clouds. That is my honest review. With a sketch done on location. 

But with a little phone magic, I dot these photos.

Did I see the Aurora Borealis?