Scavenger Hunt from Life #50 Dec. 17–25. 2022

[Joan T]

Sylwia, the snowflake ornament is made of glass. I like your tangerines...a nice healthy snack.

Joe 1, thank you.

Jo, thanks. I guess the white gel pen makes the ends of the snowflake look like yarn. Yes, I have a lot of unique ornaments and most of them have a story. lol I see you are giving Ai some challenge in the food sketching. I haven't had a waffle in eons...and never with cream cheese and peanut butter.

Joe, thank you. The angel is one of two ornaments I bought at the San Diego Zoo years ago when my CA nephews were little and we went there at night. One of my nephews has blonde hair like the other angel and one has dark hair like this angel. I always think of that night with them when I see the ornaments on the tree.

Ned, nice beach sketch. Looks like a great place for walking!

Ai, thanks. I don't know how you resist a cake like that while you sketch. It looks decadent!

I thought I posted this yesterday, but again I forgot to hit the "post reply."

I found something festive to sketch while I was out.

4 - wooden fence - watercolors & grey marker
5 - plastic thingy that they put the tree through to bag it
6 - overlapping trees

Today I decided to head over to my church and see what they had inside to sketch. I remembered that they usually have a nice Advent wreath, so I looked for it as a subject.

7 - important Advent wreath - watercolors and ink

 

[jmfletch]

Sylwia - Love all the shades of orange giving them dimension. Well done.

Ai - cake looks delicious! Why don’t you weigh 200 lbs with all these luscious goofs you paint?

Jo - Like the shading on the plate. Cream cheese and peanut butter is an interesting combo. I like cream cheese and jelly as well as peanut butter and banana will have to try.

Joan - Love all the shades of green in the tree lot. Advent wreath brings back lots of memories. A beautiful wreath well painted. Thank you.

#1 tiny - Our smallest ornament; it’s a little over an inch (2.7cm). Micron 005 in pocket sketchbook.

Keep sketching
Joe

 

[NedL]

Joan - meant to write yesterday: the hanging snowflake of course makes me think of peppermint. I like the colors. The little angel figure is cute. My daughter called them "ortaments" when she was little.

Sylwia - Thanks and thanks again for hosting. Love the bright orange tangerines.

Ai - Hi! That coffee caramel cake looks amazing! OK now I'm hungry

Jo - ha! cream cheese and peanut butter would not be my favorite ( not a big fan of cream cheese ), but I like your sketch of it! Especially the color of the plate. It got cold and overcast here again today and looks like it will rain. I remind myself that baseball is only a couple months off -- not too long!

Joan again - those are both excellent. That was us last night getting our tree at the last minute. Is it my imagination or are you using more darker and saturated colors now? They look great.

Back in a little while with today's sketch.. still need to take a snapshot of it...

 

[NedL]

On my way home from a walk, I stopped and drew this from my car, it was too cold to sit outside for very long. Pocket sketchbook, rollerball pen + ink wash.

#2 oak trees

#2 trees

 

[AiArts]

Thank you all for your kind words of my cake sketch ... I usually plan to sketch my foodie/sweet models for 20-30 min. before letting my family have it... I only took part for a few bites ... hence...not to gain weight from it...

Ned: Fantastic oak trees ... glad you get to sketch them during your busy work schedule.

Joan: So festive X'mas tree farm scene ... When I was an exchanged student in Vermont (1987), my friend's dad took me along to go cut a life Xmas pine tree in his mountain farm somewhere in Vermont ... He did haul it to my host family home and gave us one tree. It was my beautiful memory. Your sketch surely brought me that warm memory.

Joe: Super cute tiny thing sketch...

Jo: Yummy waffle with all the good creme ... I keep my weight in-check by just enjoy your sketches but not munching on the real stuffs.

 

[AiArts]

#2 tiny --- pardon my extra plum palm...

 

[Sylwia J-D]

Thank you all for nice comment on my sketch.

Thanks and thanks again for hosting.

You're welcome. I hope you'll join another hunts as well. I like the shape of those oak tree. Very nice sketch.

AI, the cake looks delicious. Fabulous mini porcelain tablet and teapot. I like the ornament onto it.

Joan – another superb scene with Christmas trees. Very attractive Advent wreath. I like the toned colours.

Adorable ornament. Joe

Jo. I like the red plate, it looks very delicate.

#2 something you like – I like my Coffee mug. Maybe it'll find some place in Jo's collection.
watercolour in s 18 × 14 cm sketchbook

 

[jmfletch]

Ned - FYI, If you watch our resident plein air artists you will notice you did not draw from your car…you were in your portable or mobile studio.
Love the oak trees. Also like the artistic license to leave out the signs and focus on the trees. Excellent.

Ai - Nicely done. Looking at your ’tiny’ and the scale you used makes me curious why we all tend to draw tiny things life size?

Sylwia - Well done on the mug. You tend to paint backgrounds that make your subjects pop out and draw the eye.

Keep sketching
Joe

 

[Jo Castillo]

Lots of sketching. Fun.

Joan, thanks. Your Christmas tree lot is amazing. Fun to have ornaments to remember old times. Pretty Advent wreath. So different.

Joe, love the doggie in a thimble. Cute. Fun find.

NedL, I never ate much cream cheese. My taste in old age has changed. Yes baseball is coming up. Starts in mid February here. Usually the coldest time. They have changed a lot the games on weekends to nights - make more money and TV. We probably won't go as often. Gene's not driving .... Your tree sketch from your mobile studio is lovely. Graceful and descriptive lines.

Ai, yep we have to do most of our food watching here!! Awww, juch a cute tea pot and platter. Tiny for sure.

Sylwia, the mug is perfect. Looks like you use milk in your coffee or were you having hot chocolate? I wonder how many mugs I have collected??

Off to the grocery store....ugh!! Have a good day and get your preparations done and hope to find time to sketch.

 

[AiArts]

Hello ...I'm feeling upbeat merry holiday night again... spent about 1 hr 30 min to do this 8×10 inch in directwatetcolor, then ended the sketch with ink on top of wc. ..Jo..did you remember one object there ? ...Not in the sketch were Joan's and Jeanne's this year Xmas card to us ...Thank you !!!

#3 overlapped objects ... My medley Christmas card to you all ... including to all admin. team of CS...XOXO

 

[jmfletch]

Ai - Merry Christmas! Beautiful!


Just saw this quote in Watercolor Magazine and had to share….
“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. —MICHELANGELO ”

Keep sketching
Joe

 

[Joan T]

Joe, thanks so much. Cute tiny ornament. Is in in a thimble? Interesting quote...

Ned, the snowflake is made from what looks like glass candies with peppermint stripes. Cute story about your daughter mispronouncing ornaments. Things like that we remember forever.

Ai, I love the tiny teapot and plate. Great sketch of the tree and the surrounding Christmas items! That is so fun!!! Nice photo of you holding the sketch. I like that you have a small tree. Several of my friends opted to get a table top tree this year because the big ones take so much energy to put up. Luckily my tree is very easy to assemble, but I put fewer ornaments on it this year.

Sylwia, thanks. Your mug is really nice! Jo always seems to find room for one more.

Jo, thanks. Most of my ornaments were either given to me by friends, souvineers of places we've been, or ornaments from when we were kids. I got custody of all the old ornaments when my mom stopped decorating a tree. Those are really special and there are only a few of those left.

My sketch from today needs a few finishing touches before I can post it. Maybe I'll get to it later.

 

[NedL]

Joe -- Oh no! I did comment on that adorable tiny ornament but I typed over it by mistake. That seems to happen more when I'm on this site for some reason. I made some kind of joke about it sitting in a thimble, but maybe that's what it really is. Very cute. Thanks for the nice words.

Ai -- chai for ants!!?? My wife has a whole collection if tiny things like that. Well done on the sketch, as usual I like the colors you use.

Sylwia -- That blue is so deep and the way you painted the light and dark parts of it gives so much depth. I like the pattern around the top too ( kind of hope it's the "impression" of the pattern... I think you caught something of the essence of what you were painting )

Jo -- Same here. After we all donated to help buy the lights back in 2012, I can't go to as many games because so many are at night. Usually only day games on Sundays.

Ai -- Wow that is wonderful. Merry Christmas to you all everyone here at the hunts.
p.s I think I remember seeing that blue M&M when we were at the WC site...

Today's sketch in a few minutes.

 

[NedL]

I've been mostly sketching beach ( sometimes just rocks ) and trees/woodland.. I will probably be like a broken record.

I was just happy to get out before it got dark today, and this caught my eye. The tree is alive and must be getting something from the few roots still in the ground.

Quick sketch and I wish I'd tried to draw some of the boughs in the middle with the pen... I thought I could make some texture with the ink but didn't know what to do. Pocket sketchbook, rollerball pen and ink wash.

#2b another tree

(the cows came after I'd already started drawing.. or I would have added them too! )

 

[AiArts]

Ned: Thanks... I envy your majestic Pacific setting... Nice tree well captured..

Joan, Sulwia, Joe : Thank you....

Our teaching semester just ended... Tone and I will have 2 weeks of flexible works but no teaching .... so today Tone and I went to downtown Bangkok for lunch ... and stopped by this Chinese old warehouse converted in to chic cafe/dining place.

#4 What I like ... hanging out in a place with nice trees and sketching... "Hong Sieng Kong Cafe" by ChaoPhraYa River, Bangkok... directwatercolor + ink + brushpen ... about 40 minutes

 

[jmfletch]

Joan & Ned - Yes it is a thimble.

Ned - Love your washes. You said you used gel pen to draw so am curious how you do such beautiful washes?

Ai - Like how you created the canopy with multiple shades of green. The roots (I think they are rootsj growing over the stonewall looks so cool.

Hope to get something drawn today as we have a light schedule.

Keep sketching
Joe

 

[Jo Castillo]

Ned, I like your downed tree. Amazing it is still growing. Like the cows, too! Your texture is pretty good, you might add a few more darks toward the ground. How? Joan can tell you. Ha.

Ai, the restaurant is amazing. Your drawing is great. Hope you have a nice time off from teaching.

 

[Jo Castillo]

I sketched in the dining room with a Micron 02 in the ArtStreet sketchbook, half page.
Number 2 seasonal fruit - grapefruit from the valley in Texas. The valley is down by Brownsville, very far south. About 6 hours from here by car.
Number 3 pair of - salt and pepper grinders, squeeze the handles together

We make biscochitos (anise cookies) today and the boys come so we will be 5 until Monday. Joanna comes Saturday and Sunday so 6 for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Lots of New Mexico food and card games. Whoot!! Hope you are all doing well and have good times.

 

[jmfletch]

jo - Nice sketch. Props on adding the text at angle and in perspectiv. Sounds like a wonderful family Holiday. Enjoy!

#2 Red - Santa is actually a container filled with candy. Ink and color pencil in pocket sketchbook. When I moved it closer to tree I realized I screwed up the top part of the scroll.

 

[Joan T]

Ned, it is amazing that the tree keeps growing. Nice sketch of it. You could use a brush pen with some black water-soluble ink to do darks under the tree and let them bleed out. Even permanent ink will bleed a little if you hit it with water immediately. What are you using for the ink washes? Don't worry if you are doing a lot of beach scenes...I don't mind at all.

Ai, I love the texture of the wall of that cafe. I'm glad they kept the character of the original building. Here they tend to knock things down and replace them with something that looks like everything else.

Jo, great sketch of the bag of fruit. You sketched it nicely so you can sense that there is something inside. Cool salt & pepper grinders! Are biscochitos similar to biscotti or regular cookies? I have another round of cookies cooling on my kitchen table. Linser cookies this time.

Joe, mmm....a Santa filled with chocolate. I like the sound of that! I see a few of Sharon's bears lurking around...better be careful, bears like chocolate too.

Added a few lines and some color to yesterday's sketch at home.

8 - red (sled, bows, striped hat) - watercolors and ink
9 - trees
10 - gigantic inflatable car & tree