A Trip to the Zoo (Sketching FAST!)

I got a chance to visit the Oakland Zoo and had a great time trying to capture moving animals. 

I witnessed a training session of the Elephant (her name is Osh) - the handler would spread her arms and the elephant would show her ears. And the training of the geriatric male colony of fruit bats - the trainer showed her palms with the fingers spread and the fruit bat would open up its wings. I believe this is so that an accurate assessment of the state of the animal can be made and not for the benefit of the public - but the public definitely enjoyed the show. There was a lion who was hiding so well that only a baby who was looking in the most obscure place was able to notice a tail - and we followed a happy scream and also saw a tail :) 

It was a hot day and many were hiding in the shade - some of that shade looked so inviting that I would not mind hiding there myself. Perhaps in a Hyena exhibit? Or with gibbons! (there is a baby gibbon at Oakland Zoo!) 

Poppies - experiments!

Poppy season (moving from California Poppies to Flanders Poppies to Matilija Poppies) left me with all sorts of experimental thoughts this year - some things will come out next year when I face these challenging flowers again. Some are becoming an exhibition which I am pitching to show locally. And here are some of the results that I am ready to share:

How I Did Not Participate in a Challenge

For several years in a row, I enjoyed participating in a #30X30directwatercolor challenge. It was created several years ago by two unstoppable artists Uma Kelkar and Marc Taro Holmes. The original rule was that during the month of June, one would create 30 sketches with watercolor but without any help from the line-making tools (pencil, pen, etc.)  I've enjoyed bending the rules to work in gouache and did this challenge for several years in a row concentrating on a solid block of work done in a short period - like an art sprint in the middle of the year! 

In 2017 I did 30 tiny gouaches, in 2018 I did 30 drawings made with 20 brushstrokes or less, in 2019 I did 30 mini gouache paintings, in 2020 I did a bunch of interiors and virtual traveling from photos and livestreams, I was traveling to Ukraine in June 2021 so I skipped that year and the next year the war entered our lives.

This year things did not align for me to do this challenge however I did the next best thing I could: I kept the challenge on my radar:

1. During this June I tried to follow the #30x30directwatercolor hashtag on instagram and check out facebook group to comment on some of the works that others were making. I looked at what goals people were pursuing, and how they were managing to keep the rhythm (as anyone who did even a week-long challenge knows, there are always ups and downs in motivation, quality, and support in any challenges). 

2. Every time I had a little bit of extra time and/ or energy - I tried to do something in the spirit of the challenge - even if it was a tiny thing. 

The way I think about challenges - they are great but sometimes too much of a commitment for a particular person or time of their life. So one can "try it on" while they are happening - as you would try a shirt you might want to buy sometime in the future. It surely is different from doing a whole thirty drawings. But you might get a feel and perhaps even jot down some ideas for how to make it joyful and sustainable when the time comes and you are ready.

Here are some of my June examples - I've shared Jacaranda sketches and poppies before - but adding them here as an example for this particular conversation. 

 

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! 

On the move: my violets through the sketchbook lens.

I just moved my two African Violets to a new light situation, and they are trying to figure out how to react. As I monitor their progress, I start looking at the sketches I've done of them to see how much change I can observe.