Apple-Pine: stencils

Showing posts with label stencils. Show all posts

Thoughts on Dahlias

I've been thinking about adding dahlias to my little garden, though I hear they are hard to grow - mostly because you have to remember to take the tubers out of the ground and then put them back in, and it has to happen at a certain time. It does not sound too complicated by itself, but the way my garden works (so far) is that as soon as I take something out, I put something else in. So there might be no place for them by the time I should stick them back in - some other lovely plant might be happily growing in their spot. And it feels a little unfair. Dahlias are also maddening for me to draw - but I love trying :) Perhaps I will get a plant too and see if it can survive without leaving the soil for the winter?

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.

Virtual Traveling (with Street View World Tour) - Carts & Kiosks!

I traveled around the world (virtually) to draw food carts and kiosks! I did my traveling via online gathering of #streetviewworldtour organized by Jenny Adam and Eleanor Doughty - they have a new website for this project streetviewworldtour.com

This months visiting artist was Sibylle Lienhard @sibyllelienhard and I learned a lot about watering holes in Germany (we visited Frankfurt and Offenbach), about elotes and esquites in Oaxaca, Mexico, and drew a gorgeous city square in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Bike and Sketch

One of the best things to add to riding a bike is a sketching stop!

Early Bloom: January in California

Everything is blooming a little earlier this year - and these decorative pear trees are first in my collection of California blossoms this year. It was a gorgeously sunny day. I used my printmaking kit and gouache - you can see process photos below - click on the image to see it larger.

Virtual Traveling (with Street View World Tour) - Urban Gardens

I missed a couple of months this summer, but was happy to be back for the October Street View World Tour! This month, we were drawing urban gardens, and a guest artist was Isabell Seidel. As we watched her weave a pattern of shapes on the page, a conversation about how she started using more flat brushes came up, and then a topic of mixing greens came up - an evergreen interest of mine! A subject of viridian green and how to survive having it in the palette was dear to my heart :) It was a pleasure to look at the urban gardens - what a great topic and such interesting places we visited!

If you are not familiar - A Street View World Tour is a fun, no-pressure gathering hosted by Jenny Adam and Eleanor Doughty via Gage Academy. You can learn more about these monthly free events and about these locations at the links above.

My previous participations include a trip to Kharkiv, Ukraine where I was the guest artist, Drawing Sky Holes, Kenya, Boats, Night Life, Hawaiian Foliage, Light and Shadow, and Japan, Ohio, Arizona and Taipei, Convenience Stores Around the World, Castles, Portugal, Boats around the world, and Hawaii (I am quite sure that I participated in a few more but I am not sure I ever posted about them - will try to find and add to this collection!)

Seattle 2025: Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 4: Sketching Across the Water

Watching the ferry go back and forth became such a part of my days during Edmonds Sketcher Fest that I just had to get on it!

Ferry is a beautiful boat designed to be double-ended (meaning there is a propeller on each side and the vessel does not need to turn around), is a part of the public transportation system of the Washington State, and is a wonderful way of getting around!

I went on the Kingston Ferry two times: once as a part of the post-Sketcher-Fest outing with a bunch of people who were sketching too (Thank you for driving and conversation, Nishant!). I got to see Port Gamble and enjoyed a wonderful walk from the church to the water and back.

And second time with the family - to explore forests on the Olympic peninsula, flip some rocks on the beach at the tide-out, watch people and dogs, and eat a crepe lunch. Here are some sketches from both outings.

Seattle 2025: Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 2 - Workshop View.

I found a perfect location for my workshop right in front of the Edmonds Waterfront Center, and then found a couple of slightly different angles, and tried to sketch it several times before doing it with all the participants. I also sketched it for the back of my name tag, as a little memento for the organizers about this year's Sketcher Fest - I do not have a scan of it. Then I sketched the same view with my group while explaining all the steps, making mistakes, and showing how to correct them. And then I sketched the same view after the event. Can you guess the order?

Seattle 2025: Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 1 - My Workshop.

It was my absolute pleasure to be one of the Guest Artists at the Sketcher Fest Edmonds this year!

The weekend spent with so many great sketchers was amazing and I will make several posts about it as there were too many wonderful meetings, overlaps, and connections. But officially for me as an Guest Artist the weekend contained one workshop on Saturday (mine was "Printmaking on the Go: Wild Textures Tamed with Stencils"), one Artist Talk - I gave a 45 minute presentation on the topic of "Extreme Travel Sketching: What to Bring and How to Survive" where I talked about how I sketch while scuba diving a lot. And there was a day at the sketchbook fair where all the guest artists had a table where they were sharing original sketchbooks with visitors. And they were available for answering questions, commenting, etc. In short, it was AMAZING and I would love to attend one of these events myself!! (Being a guest artist meant that between teaching, manning my table, and giving a talk, I could not do all the questioning, nosing, looking, and asking that was available for the attendees).

Now that you know a little bit about the event, here are some photos from my workshop. I was honored to have an amazing artist, Virginia Hein, as my class volunteer! She took all of these pictures and was a wonderful support on many levels - not to mention that she created an amazing poster for the Festival this year!

I had a fantastic group of students who enthusiastically dove with me into the world of making textures on location. We had an inspiring view, perfect weather, and shared the experience of learning a ton as we captured a view at a pier and across the Puget Sound in our sketchbooks. Would do this again in a heartbeat!

Chicago Trip, Part Four: Extra Time

Before my workshop I got to walk the city with a Mary Jo Ernst (finally meeting in person!) and see her do some magic with her blue pen at my location. And then we joined a USk Chicago Seminar Sketchwalk by the Water Tower and sketched a view down the Michigan ave.

And after the workshop I got to spend time time in the city - I already wrote about my museum visit and sketch of the bean - but after that I drew the lake and at the very end of the day as I passed through the tiny park by the Drake Hotel I witnessed a sparkle of fireflies (and some rabbits too) - being in a tiny dark park in the middle of huge city and watching fireflies dance in front of you was an experience that made this whole trip extra special! My huge thanks goes to my trop companion who talked me into "one more walk before calling it a night" and then noticed fireflies and pointed that in my attempt to make a firefly sketch and video at the same time I did not notice bunny sitting right in front of me. Thank you!

Practicing My Workshop Before the Trip

This week I took my portable printmaking kit, which I will be using in the upcoming classes, to 2 different locations.

First one was virtual travel - but I was allowed only things that were in my "workshop bag". I was drawing with the Street View World Tour - hosted by Jenny Adam and Eleanor Doughty via Gage Academy. I had limited amount of time, so I did only one sketch while Sarah Bixler painted O'ahu, Hawaii in gouache - I wanted both to travel there in person and paint this in gouache!! But with the restrictions on that day, this is what I came up with:

And then I had the pleasure of being introduced to a new (for me) little lake by my friends. With a shady path, some buildings against the mountains, lots of different greens to reflect in the water, and various birds to sketch, it felt like a mini adventure! This time, my kit went on location and got another workout!

Sketching on a Campus of San José State University

Two views from the same bench on the campus of San José State University.

Stencils, printmaking tools, ballpoint pen and actyling markers. Click on the image to see a larger version and some finger smudges (somehow drawing with markers always ends up being a finger painting ordeal for me!).

Virtual Traveling (with Street View World Tour) - Boats throughout the world!

On the first Thursday of each month, a lovely group of people from all over the world gets together to sketch from the google street views. This month we were drawing boats and a guest artist was Nina Johansson - whose careful weaving of the ink line was very therapeutic and her demonstration of varied line made with a custom fude nib in a popular TWSBI pen - was a pleasure to watch. We looked at boats in Stockholm, London, and Hong Kong and every single drawing below challenged me in a new way. I am not brave enough to sail in any of these based on my drawings - but I am braver about the general idea of drawing boats after this hour!

My previous participations include a trip to Kharkiv, Ukraine where I was the guest artist, Drawing Sky Holes, Kenya, Boats, Night Life, Hawaiian Foliage, Light and Shadow, and Japan, Ohio, Arizona and Taipei, Convenience Stores Around the World, Castles, Portugal (I am quite sure that I participated in a few more but I am not sure I ever posted about them - will try to find and add to this collection!)