Virtual Paintout 21: What's For Lunch??

For the first month of this new year the Virtual Paintout gang went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Gorgeous state! Lots of historic sites and statues, rich with meaning. 

I passed by (virtually, using Google Street View) this lovely open area on Lemon Hill Drive and noticed the covered picnic area in a beautiful park-like setting. Then my imagination took over, and I thought "what if?"...

Lemon Hill Drive location:

What if folks were enjoying a peaceful picnic on a beautiful afternoon...

What if suddenly they noticed the ground vibrating, and heard loud growling sounds...

What if "something" was coming...

What if the screaming started, and everyone took off at a dead run...

And what if an uninvited Mother and child showed up at the picnic?? (can click images to enlarge)

"Uninvited Picnic Guests"

6 x 9 sketchbook

Ink, watercolors, colored 

pencils and watercolor pencil

Happy sketching,

Retta

Doggie Toys to the Rescue!

Our lesson this week for Sketchbook Skool was about using a Grid as an aid to good composition. I hadn't tried that before, and enjoyed it so much!

I didn't have the suggested veggies n fruits, SO... Joey lent me some of her DOGGIE TOYS as "pretenders"!

It was so much fun. Loved the grid idea, and hummed the song "The Great Pretender" for hours. Then found it on youtube and listened to The Platters sing it while I sketched. Can't beat that for a great time. (can click image to enlarge)

"The Great Pretenders"

9 x 12 sketchbook; ink, watercolor,

colored pencil, watercolor pencils

Our teacher this week was Jane LaFazio. Such a creative lady! She not only paints and sketches, but turns those sketches into art quilts, does mixed media art and offers free Tiny Tutorials. If you enjoy artistic variety, visit her blog HERE. 

Happy sketching,

Retta

Herding Cats!

Another week's homework done for Sketchbook Skool. Not being my usual medium, I find painting with watercolors a bit like herding cats! But it was fun.  

The assignment from teacher Prashant Miranda: Painting Watercolor Skies.

I kept running to my porch, trying to catch a colorful and "good" sky. Alas, mostly overcast, cold and/or stormy here in Southern Oregon.

Here is "My Neighbors Sky". Note, I am now an official member of S.T.C. (Sketchbook Typo Club). (can click images to enlarge)

"My Neighbors Sky"

9 x 12 sketchbook

watercolor and ink

The actual sketch is not really too 

detailed, as you can see here:

Happy sketching,

Retta

Retired Red Lady!

The red lady in this case is a wonderful old caboose! 

From Sketchbook Skool homework: Draw in Public.

Well, I tried. Went to the Railroad Park here in Medford, Oregon. It was foggy and cold. THEN it decided to rain. Snapped a reference photo, and headed back home to finish.

This is my reference photo; you'll see I 

softened the bright green of the grass,

since I wanted the grand old 

Red Lady to be the focus.

But by at least starting on site, I still felt the cold, fog, and quiet of that old retired caboose even after I got home. 

As I drew, I thought of all the stories it could tell, the miles it had seen. So I didn't do my customary bright colors, but "foggy" and somewhat quiet colors around the old red Lady.  

I started with loose light umber colored pencil sketching. No pencil and eraser... oh so hard for me! But it was fun to experiment! (can click image to enlarge)

"Retired Caboose"

9 x 12 sketchbook; ink, watercolor, 
watercolor pencil, colored pencil 
and white gouache

Happy Sketching,

Retta

Dogs an' Ducks!

Just a shortie today. Homework from Week 2 of Sketchbook Skool. 

Assignment from teacher Koosje Koene:
Draw a simple object in colored pencil.

What was that squeak squeak sound I heard, as I looked around the house for a likely subject??

Oh! Joey was playing with her favorite toy: Squeakie Duck.

Thanks for sharing your duck with me for a while, little Miss Joey!

"Your welcome, Momma!"

Happy Sketching,

Retta

A Peek at my Week

Week 1 of Sketchbook Skool is at an end. Our 2nd homework assignment from teacher Danny Gregory was to "Document Your Week." Oh, and use no pencil first. Aarrgh...

Since my photo turned out less than sharp and the writing is too small, I'll tell you what it's about.

I drew stuff that caught my eye:

• A dino model.
• My 15 yr old Charlie plant I was watering. 
• Christmas decor still to be packed. 
• My studio hours sign (now just to get OTHERS to take me seriously!). 
• A fav ceramic fridge magnet. 
• A stuffed black & white tuxedo cat that guards my studio.
• Sugar-free Amaretto DaVinci syrup right before adding to my chipped coffee mug. 
• Two new rubber stamps that I tried out for the first time around the edges. 
• A fav quote taped up in my studio. 
• A mechanical pencil with Je Suis Charlie next to it. 
• And that brown & white furball is Joey, my 4 year old Mini Schnauzer. She likes to take afternoon naps in my studio.

(can click to enlarge)

In 9 x 12 Visual Journal Sketchbook, Pitt pens, watercolor, watercolor pencils and waterbrush, and colored pencil. 

The hardest part, for me? No pencil first!

Happy sketching!

Retta

A Shiny New Year... with Cows & Squirrels!

It's a brand new year, and I've started a brand new semester at Sketchbook Skool. This course is called Beginnings.

While waiting for classes to begin, somehow a bunch of us got started drawing and painting cows. Yep, cows.

We rounded up all the strays and put them into an album we called the Cow Corral. Here is my contribution, just for the fun of it (can click images to enlarge):

And now my first homework from Week 1 of Beginnings. 

First assignment from teacher Danny Gregory: Draw & Feel. 

I've had this little squirrel for about 20 years, and it still makes me smile. 

Done in my 9 x 12 sketchbook; Inks, gouache, white paint pen and colored pencil.

Well, off to start homework assignment two for this week!

Happy sketching,

Retta