Sketching, Illustration, Design and Everyday Life.
Copyright by © Nina Khashchina except where noted.
This is my favorite pumpkin (when cooked) - Kabocha. Technically it is winter squash but I like the word pumpkin. It has an amazing variety of greens outside, the skin is delightfully knobby and the insides are my favorite orange-yellow becoming bright orange when cooked. It has a lot of individuality in the way it tastes and I like baking it - each slice covered with different spices. This particular beauty I sketched with acrylic markers in my sketchbook.
October 25 - November 1, 2022. Days 244 - 251 of war.
During these days my parents moved from a temporary place to a little more permanent place. Mom is collecting leaves, pine cones, and sticks and taking photos. She finds lots of interesting plants on her walks and tells me about them. Dad bravely started to swim. And he is working with the photo archives to support Mom's memoir-writing.
Their days start and end with getting in touch with relatives and friends, with everyone who is in Ukraine at the moment. I think this is true for all Ukrainians around the globe these days. They are still checking air raid warnings but not as often. The most important topics are how to get backup plans for power and heating. Also - how people are supporting each other and the country. But we are also receiving some amazing photos of a beautiful fall - in Kharkiv in particular.
It's that time of the year again - when my sketchbook, windowsills, and snack plate are all filled with persimmons! I will share my growing collection of drawings soon but right now I am still reeling from the wonderful trip up to the Santa Cruz Mountains to visit the magical garden and forest of Gay Kraeger!
Suhita and I packed out bags full of the latest art toys to share and had such a wonderful time drawing with Gay who, as usual, is growing an art community around her - an incredibly generous teacher and friend and always a watercolor journaling inspiration!
This is a look at a persimmon tree while sitting under it. One is done with my stencils and masks and another is a free-flowing use of the gouache as watercolors.
For the second sketching session, we went up the hill where the cold wind got us sitting close to the ground behind a fence and I sketched two views from the same locations.
And here is a link to Suhita sketching the same tree and then sketching Gay and me sitting next to her.
A few words to add to the picture:
I am enjoying Kuretake Zig Memory System Calligraphy Marker in black a lot these days. Haven't tried it in other colors but might. After all - the holiday season is upon us :)
I am painting with gouache, working with stencils, and using lots of other media in a new sketchbook. That white bottle in the middle of the sketchbook contains white gouache - I wrote about it and that sketchbook here.
I have some new pencils and enjoy making palettes with them. Thinking about sharing some details - interested?
I voted early. Please vote - wherever you are and whatever your position is - it is important to not be indifferent to what is happening in the world!
It's a persimmon season here in California and I plan to draw them (almost) all!
I wish you a wonderful November.
