On My Table: Beginning of September 2024.

September is here and with it a new school year! This means it is time to update plans, revise schedules, see what might fit before the year is over - and don't forget to eat apples! (I just found an amazingly fragrant variety of apple which I knew from my childhood in Ukraine and they are all over my kitchen table, computer table, drawing table - see below? The light yellow-green apple is the one! (the other one is also very good - Cosmic Crisp).

Things mentioned above:

Apples Білий налив - I found an article in Ukrainian and not sure what is the name of this in English. 

Pentel Sign Pen (Pentel Arts Sign Pen Brush, Black Pigment Ink) - looks like they exist in gray and sepia as well!

Transon Palette (Transon Paint Storage Palette Box 24 Wells Airtight Stay Wet for Watercolor, Gouache, Acrylic and Oil Paint)

On My Table: Beginning of August 2024.

First of August had too many things in it to take a photo but here is what was on my table by the third:

I am still figuring out how my workspace will function in the new studio. Quite a few materials were unpacked and some got lost after I thought that unpacking was completed. I am figuring out video set-up and light for different parts of the day and just waiting for the deeper feeling of the space.

But I am busy working on several commissions and this is the exciting stage when lots of sketching is happening (you can find a hint of three different projects here). I try to go paint on locations as often as possible, enjoy tomatoes and stone fruits from farmer's market, read new garden-related mysteries (more about it soon), and look for opportunities to insert frozen yogurt breaks in my summer life. And how is your summer going? 

On My Table: Beginning of July 2024.

This is how my "just moved" art table looks like at the beginning of July 2024. 

There are piles of old sketchbooks and artwork (see an elephant on the right?) I will scan these before I turn them into something else - would you like to see some?

There are recent sketches and some tools that are still looking for a place in the new studio space - like my fox tail brush and an arm which I am using to record process videos. I have a pile of sketchbooks to make flip-throughs!

And there is a small set of tools that I kept in my bag during the move. Between this kit and a pocket sketchbook with a ballpoint pen, I kept my drawing going despite many things shifting in all kinds of directions. Moving is not a linear or easy process but keeping my practice helped a lot!  

Here is a brief description of my "Moving Kit":

A - My travel watercolor+gouache palette; 

B - Bag with brushes (water brushes and some good brushes for when there is more than 2 minutes + tiny water jar and a pencil sharpener). 

C - Small zipped bag with a minimal kit of my favorite materials. Having your favorite tools is like having your favorite food - a must!

So this is how July starts for me: still, some unpacking, organizing new space, trying to catch up on all the projects put on hold during the move - and drawing through all of that! 

Sketchbook #108: My Life Drawing Class