Monthly Archives: March 2009

Liberal, Kansas

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Out again on another business trip.  I kind of enjoy going out of town on business.  New places and new people can be exciting and fun.  It is tiring, though, to be “on” that long.  I require a bit more down time than is available when traveling.  After the long drive all day, and after we ate dinner and rehearsed our presentation, I grabbed my artist paraphernalia and headed off to the lobby.  It was dark and cold outside so I didn’t get to do any sight seeing.  I drew the EDM challenge first then decided to play with my mini sketch kit.  OK, the truth is I had been looking forward to playing with the watercolor kit all day.  So I dashed out this rendition of the fireplace mantle in the hotel lobby.

The EDM challenge was to draw a mailbox.  Being that I was in a hotel, there were not a whole lot of mailboxes handy.  I asked the clerk where I might find the closest one.  She assumed that I wanted to mail a letter and directed me to the outgoing mail basket.  Well, there’s something a little different.

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EDM 73: Draw a mailbox

Walking The Path…

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Have you ever noticed how all of the great men and women of the past were habitual walkers?  Moses, The Buddha, Jesus, Muhamad,  Ghandi and his peaceful disobedience, Dr. Martin Luther King and his march on Washington, all seemed to use walking as a means of finding and “fighting” for truths.  I have recently taken up walking.  I was looking for a low impact way of moving my body for a minimum of 3o minutes every day.  One day, it was pointed out to me that all great men walked.  We laughed about how walking is what lead to the greatness.  As I have been walking I have been noticing the world around me more.  It’s like personal meditation with a change of scenery.  Tonight’s EDM challenge was to draw somewhere new.  The family decided to walk to China Moon, one of our favorite haunts just under two miles away.  While there, I sketched up this little guy, a fellow walker.  We wore Girl2 out completely, and we’re pretty spent too.  With all the walking I have been doing (along with smaller portions and cutting back on sweets) I have lost over 40 pounds.  I guess walking the path does lead to enLIGHTENment.  (boo!)

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EDM 72: Draw somewhere new

March Virtual Sketch Date

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Once a month a bunch of artists gather at a site called Virtual Sketch Date.  We are given a reference photo and we all render it in our own fashion.  It is open to all skill levels and, as far as I can tell, any art form.  The only requirements are that you have it posted within the week it is asigned, and that at least your initial entry should be clear that you began with the reference photo.  Then, of course, you’re free to do whatever excites you.

wcsketchkitinuse

Incidentally, I did this one in my new mini sketch kit!  I’ve been carrying it around all day and showing it off.  My friends at work were very nice in not running me off.  They were very tolerant and even a little supportive.   I had intended to stop on the ride home and sketch a bit, but the sky looked like it was going to open up any second.  We were also having 60 m.p.h. gusts in a wind storm.  That wreaks havoc when you are trying to lean into a turn on a motorcycle and the wind puts you upright!  Oh, well.  Maybe tomorrow.

Tonight’s EDM challenge is a real struggle, draw something that represents your favorite sport.  Let’s see… favorite sport.  Hmm, whatever could that be?

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EDM 71: Draw something that represents your favorite sport

You're My Obsession…

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Last night, I took a sketchbook that was 5.5″ x 7″ and my new watercolor kit to the bookstore coffee shop to test drive it.  I found that holding the sketchbook and kit in one hand strained my hand and I couldn’t do it very long comfortably.  Most people probably would have just “sucked it up” and strengthened their hands.  I, however, decided to modify the kit.  I found an old CD case and mounted all of the necessary equipment into it and ouah la, a mini portable studio.  I have spent much of this evening customizing this.  My wife says I need therapy.  She says that as though she were the sane one.

I have outlined more of the details on a page titled “Mini Sketch Kit”

Tonight’s EDM challenge was to draw what I am afraid of.  I know a lot of people can put spiders, snakes, crowds, etc. into this category and just draw a picture and be done with it.  Once again this boils down to an abstract for me.  The things I’m afraid of aren’t things.  Like most people, I’m afraid of losing my family, my job, my home…  The thing that I fear the most, however, is the loss of my faculties.  A traffic accident, a work injury, or just growing old, the loss of my ability to listen to music, see and read, walk, run, dance, and romance are the things that terrify me.  So tonight I chose a subject that most represents that to me, a rocking chair.

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EDM 70: Draw what you’re afraid of

New Places & New Toys

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The brother-and-sister-in-law introduced the family to a new dining establishment, Sean Cummings’ Irish Restaraunt & Pub.  With a full menu of Irish stew, bangers and blood pudding, the wife and I decided to split an order of fish & chips.  The light and crisp beer-battered whitefish was outstanding!  The best part of the meal for me, however, was the introduction to a new beverage, Hornsby Amber Draft.  This ale tastes like champagne.  I will definitely be tracking this down at the liquer store.  After the second, I remembered that the EDM challenge for the evening was to draw a beverage.  How convenient.  I find that I can sit in a crowded airport, museum or shopping center and sketch with people looking over my shoulder with no problems what so ever.  The same can’t be said about drawing amongst my family.  They have never done anything but encourage me, but I still feel self conscious around them.

Afterward, I took my new watercolor kit to the bookstore coffee shop to experiment and play with a new case I wanted to develop.  It worked like a charm.  I spent more time talking to a fellow “sketcher” than actually sketching though.  He invited me to a life drawing group in Oklahoma City.  I believe that will go.  There is also a watercolor society, and colored pencil society that I have been interested in.  It all sounds so reasonable until the wife pointed out how many coffees I would have to give up to be able to afford all of the membership dues.

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EDM 69: Draw a beverage