Marching on

Welcome to my sandbox. Some of my sketchbook work lately has been too boring to post (working out stuff for classes), but sometimes I still play there, too.
The top image here started out as a caricature of Rush Limbaugh. I actually did a different one for a project that really looked like Rush. But when I started playing around with planes and color here, I abandoned the quest for likeness.

The next two images are things I did at Arts Collinwood, where I had a nice little sketchbook workshop (at least I had fun). We did exercises, including one I call the Illustrated Interview. I got to interview this young man - he's 14 but looks 20 -- and had a lovely time doing it. No, he's not terrifically freckled, that was just my attempt to use pointillism to attain skin tone. Fail. Otherwise, it looks like him. I edited the page so I wouldn't identify him, which his mother might object to, but he was delightful.

The dual vernal equinox bunnies don't warrant much commentary, but hey, happy spring.

Boy and bear

On a summer evening, when the grownups are tired and completing their grownup tasks, the world gives itself over to those who know how to use the waning light.

Sketching Saturday

Unexpected treats awaited me all day today, beginning with the Cleveland Sketchcrawl, which this month had us exploring the wonders of Trinity Cathedral, an Episcopal church in the city. You see here a bit of detail of one small hallway in the vast expanse of a gorgeous building. The angel is one of a series of carved pew decorations (stylized for the sketchbook page, don't you know).

Then this evening I visited a local coffee house where my friend Bill was playing bass in his friends' band, Unknown Reason. There I also met Lloyd, an amazing artist who showed up with pad of large sketching paper (the kind I use only when I'm absolutely forced to draw big). Lloyd said it was OK if I drew him drawing, so I did. Bill's band was great - classic rock done well - and eventually my friend (and onetime secretary) Sue showed up with members of her big Irish family. All in all it was a great scene.

The last image here is a Karen's-tired version of a couple of band members, with about a 1.4 on the likeness scale. But Lloyd was inspiring me -- I saw him doing big gesture drawings of the guys while they played. After the music stopped, he handed out sketches to anyone who wanted one. For those who know Bill, by the way, the answer is no - none of the people on this page is Bill. :-)