Scavenger Hunt from Life #84: Sep 15 - Sep 23

[eyepaint]

I'll post my work first and then return with comments. Pencil on printer paper.

1. upside down
2. right-side up
3. inside out - sock that's partly right side out and partly inside out
4. light - glass bottle
5. dark - dark/amber coloured glass bottle with white label

Cheers,

 

[eyepaint]

Ai - cool arched items on that hinged item (room divider?) Yahoo mouse upside down and right side up.
Jo - yay cool walk - I turned on the heat a bit today - it was 13C/55F outdoors. What a lovely coloured wine bottle topper. That's so cool! A tasselled hat and then a poncho!
NedL - your Oreo comment reminds me of a video I saw yesterday of a man offering a child $10,000 USD cash or two Oreos and the boy chose the cookies

Oooh groovy helmet and I see it's a "skateboarding" helmet so that's great. Yay I spotted oxidized copper Ok now I've gone down a rabbit hole regarding oxidized copper. The roofs on provincial legislative buildings here are green domes - because they are oxidized copper. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legis...lumbia_legislature_building_roof_close_up.jpg and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legis...mbia#/media/File:BC_Legislature_Buildings.jpg According to this CBC article, in past times they used horse urine on the copper to make it go green faster! ""It only stays bright and shiny for a couple of months and goes brown very, very quickly," he said. "It stays brown for about 30 years before it becomes green and then it stays green until the end of its life, which could be 80 years, maybe, or 100 years, maybe."" https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.3227517
Joan - interesting about the insect. We have such strange situations with critters, hey? Oooh at your market display - are the prices on chalkboards?

 

[Joan T]

Ai, thanks so much!!

11 - quiet sunny day at The Grange - watercolors

 

[Joan T]

EP, Your post snuck in while I was posting. Nice way to use the bottles and cover a few items on the list! The signs were all chalk on chalkboards. Ooh...good thinking with the sock.

 

[NedL]

Ha ha, oh NO ! I wasn't going to post this but Joan's beautiful watercolor of the grange is a similar enough idea to what I was trying to draw yesterday morning that now I will. I was going to try to use ink wash to finish and emphasize the tree, and have the "sketchy" house recede in the background. But I was interrupted just when I started the ink because yesterday's mechanic was done with the brake work and called to say he was test driving it and was coming to pick me up! ( That mechanic has been beyond wonderful, he's not my problem! ) I have to go back to the dealer mechanic tomorrow morning because they botched the repair I had to do with them last week. I was hoping to be back up near Seattle last week but can't leave until it's taken care of.

We live next door to a grange, and were involved with it for quite a few years ( my wife was the "master"/president and I was the "secretary" ) but that's another long story.

I'll be back with some comments later.

#2 Quiet Sunny morning at Luther Burbank's house in Santa Rosa, CA. The huge tree is a Copper Beech, and it is spectacular. I was actually hoping to draw a historic walnut tree on the other side of the house but couldn't find a good place to sit.

 

[Pine Cone]

Back to comment soon...

It'll be a miracle if this thin-line sketch shows up...

3 — "quiet" and quite bizarre - ?...sand dune...?
..... challenge - bonus adjective item
..... sketched freehand in the ProCreate app on iPadPro with an Apple Pencil.

Speed sketch from my mobile studio. This scene was weird and I had to pull over and look. I'll have to check it out again when I have more time. Little tiny sand dunes (?), hundreds of them, looked like they had to be made by nature, maybe when the nearby lake lapped higher. Most look like mini-tepees, with nearly all having a stick growing from the top. And one (not shown), was way taller, and had a flap waving in the breeze that looked something like fabric, but maybe it was a leaf like those found on a bunch of strange plants(?) flapping further away...

So maybe these tiny things, most only 3"-5" tall or less, maybe they're made by humans? Or maybe nature was having fun that day!?!

 

[Joan T]

Ned, sorry you are still having car troubles. That copper beach tree is awesome! Nice sketch! I haven't seen one in a while but love sketching them because they have such wonderful trunks.

Pine Cone, receding water can make some beautiful patterns in the sand. Nice that you were able to capture these. I like the addition of your adjective bizarre.

 

[Jo Castillo]

Thanks all of you, I'm inspired when I come here.

Joan, I love your market scene. Makes me want veggies and flowers. Maybe fruit, too.

eyepaint, wow on all the ellipses. Nice canteen. The sock is very clever. Nice shading on all. Love the kiddo, I might choose the cookies, too!

Joan, the Grange is so well done. The old stucco and lovely tree. I never thought about what "grange" means so looked it up. We go to La Grange, Texas, for music all the time.

Ned, that does seem a spectacular tree and interesting building. We have interesting "long stories" here. I'm smiling. Glad the brakes are fixed! Important.

PineCone, water erosion is so interesting with it's patterns. Fun idea to sketch.

At my "organized" desk. It was so funny that Larry brought the organizer for me right after I sketched the mess on my desk and table. The organizer is pretty full but at least I have a few feet of desktop now to work on paperwork or sketching!
Number 7 good - good to have my workspace organized. The water bottle is for painting and I forget it is there and get more water anyway. Don't use bottled water in general. Now to get to my drafting table and painting corner!

 

[Robin Gillis]

1 small

2 big
3 huge
4 light
5 out

 

[Pine Cone]

Sorry I haven't commented yet. I hope to soon.

But I went back to the interesting sand-dune-mini-tepee place and took a better look around. To me, it looks like it might have been underwater not too long ago, and that maybe when the water receded, the mini-tepees might have been made by sand catching in a cone shape around small plants, leaving a dead stem sticking out on some. And the larger draped stuff, although also involving some sand catching, could be larger plant life that died and began the decay process underwater, or maybe it grew underwater, and what is seen now is just the result of the water leaving and the ecology changing as a result.

Anyway, however it happened, it's very very cool, and interesting. I love this fantastic Universe we live in!!!

I took a couple of pics. They don't do the scene justice, but still interesting.

 

[AiArts]

Awesome sketches: Joan, Jo, PineCone, and Robin.

PineCone: Wow... the photos really depict coolness on our humble earth.

 

[eyepaint]

Joan - good job on the building - I looked up "grange" and it's a barn? And thank you
Ned - sorry to hear you have car troubles. I looked up a copper beech tree - from the photos it looks stunning! "Copper beech (Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea) is a large deciduous shade tree native to Europe." - do you agree?
Jo - thank you. I started a re-do (do over? rev 02?) of some of those items and I hope to finish and photograph them tomorrow. Yahoo for an organized desk! Yay room for making art!
Robin - love that there are stuffed animals propping up your sketchbook
PineCone - wow that is some funky/interesting items ... coolio!

 

[Jo Castillo]

Robin, looks like your animals are checking out your great sketches. Love the teapots. I need to get me one just for sketching.

PineCone, the photos look like another world. Thanks for sharing those.

Hey, eyepaint. Look for ward to the do overs. I rarely do over or go back to finish unfinished things. Applause.

 

[AiArts]

#10 huge...mountains in our cabin town, SuanPhueng of Thailand... view from a restaurant

 

[Jo Castillo]

Ai, wow, I love the technique you used for the mountains. Just lovely.

I walked and sketched by the lakes. Of course I would be more careful this time to have my equipment. Sketchbook (Ohuhu) mix media, watercolors, pen, waterbrush. All good. Sketched with the pen and then started the watercolor and ran out of water in the brush. Ha. First time I did that. So finished the color work at the house.

Number 8, quiet - the path toward our house
Number 9, bright - looking toward the westerly lake from the same bench

 

[NedL]

Ai -- Cool "right side up/upside down" and "inside/outside"! I like the way the chess pieces look. Those mountains are wonderful.

Jo -- The colorful blue bottle looks great, you got the bright white highlight so it really looks like shiny glass. That desk is a lot more organized than mine! Good sketch of if. Really like how colorful those last two sketches are. The path makes me want to walk there.

Joan -- the produce and flowers are great, love the colors and the texture on the tomato boxes.

EP -- nice pencil sketches. When I was in high school, I had a job as a custodian at a church, and there was a big controversy about their copper roof and it cost them a lot to treat it and make it green! Yes that's the Copper Beech tree from Europe! Luther Burbank brought plants from all over the world.

Pine Cone -- those are odd looking. Some of the seasonal creeks around here look like that when they dry up in the summer.

Robin -- yay more pen sketches in different colors! I like the telephone pole w/ the light.

Well... yesterday morning the mechanic at the dealer was working on the steering and said it would be around 3 hours. I walked back to that Copper Beech tree ( almost an hour walk to get there ), ate lunch, then started to draw it again and had only put 2 lines on the paper when they called me to say it was ready ( it's not. light came back on the next time I drove it ). Today I was having a trailer hitch put on and I walked there again, but this time there was someone lying on the grass right between the bench and the tree, so I went to the other side of the house and tried to draw the big walnut tree. Burbank called this "paradox walnut" because it grows so fast for a hardwood tree. I got surrounded by people on a tour before I finished the ink wash, but I got a lot further with it:

#3 big walnut tree.

((

I have to go back to the dealer mechanic again on Monday ( 4th time ) so maybe I'll be at Luther Burbank's house yet again

 

[Pine Cone]

JoC — Thanks so much! Your sketches by the lake are enchanting with their beautiful reflections... look at those amazing pines by the bridge!!! I love the way you draw The pics are lovely as well, and I can't imagine how those trees grew so tall. I wonder how old they are?

Wow Your dressed up wine bottle (empty! LOL) lit up my day!!! That little hat, those fantastic colors!!! Happy dances Plus, looking at it some more, I'm amazed and mystified at how you achieved the beauty of the blue bottle itself, with its subtle and amazing streaks, using brush pens How???..........

And wow, look at your desk now! Yay Larry, and wonderful new sketch And the last two sketches by the lakes are wonderful and free and inviting and colorful - beautiful colors as well!


Ned — Good grief, what a saga with your car - sending good thoughts your way - hang in there

Thanks, and thanks especially for your meaningful encouragement. Made me feel better to read your words and think back on the experience (with the tall grass). Calm. I like what you said about that...

To me, the first sketch with the tree and house is full of interest, and very cool, just as it is! Like EP, I looked up "Copper Beech" - oh my, what a beauty!!! I don't know if I've ever seen one in real life. I'll have to keep my eyes open And the walnut tree is amazing also. Some of the branches seem paradoxical too - you really captured the whole feel of the tree in your sketch, wow!

Will you be sketching from Seattle? Or telling us stories of the grange? I hope


ams — Thanks so much!


Ai — Thanks so much! I love the graceful contours of your mouse, and your sketch of the chess set makes chess look fun! And oh, your mystical painting of the mountain view is sublime


Joan — Thanks so much for your comments, and for your encouragement to sketch houses. I've seen some fun houses around here. Even in the poorer neighborhoods, quite a few people have found really fun and cheerful ways of making the most of their house or yard, and it seems meaningful to me, and makes me happy!

Your farmstead painting is yummy - everything about it is wonderful... I asked years ago but can't remember your answer...

...... How do you choose between watercolor alone or watercolor with ink?

...... When you use ink, do you draw first with ink, or does the ink come after the watercolor?

This farmstead painting and your Suzala painting show your exceptional skill with watercolor alone, and yet the same goes when you use ink with watercolor in this lovely "quiet sunny" painting of The Grange... Inspiring!!!


EP — Thanks! Fun sketches, and I agree with Jo about your excellent ellipses and shading on all! LOL about the Oreo boy Love oxidized copper but little did I know that horses can help with that Thanks for the info and links!!!


Robin — Wonderful to see your spirited sketches again! I love them all, and the "out" sketch is especially intriguing - lovely colorful work on all

 

[eyepaint]

Jo - thank you - please see below. Lovely coloured tree work
Ai - love the effect on the top of the huge mountain range
Ned - cool twisty branch walnut tree
All - sorry for the info overload earlier - I went down a rabbit hole in my excitement and post long things

Here are my "do-overs", graphite, printer paper.
right side up
dark
light
inside out

new:
6. wet - teabag - yes when wet it becomes a pyramidal type of shape, and it starts out in standard rectangle format
7. dry - teabag

Cheers,

 

[Joan T]

For those of you asking about "The Grange" where I sketched the other day, here is a little information.
http://www.visithistoriclongisland.com/IslipGrange.html

Jo, I like the way your organized desk looks. Thank you, Larry! Any time you can organize and find a little more space is good. Your colorful outdoor sketches make me smile. I'm glad the temperature has been a little more cooperative and you've been able to do things outdoors.

Robin, I'm glad you found some time for sketching. I always love the sketches of you teapots!

EP, thanks so much. Thanks for sharing your do-overs. Lookin' good!

Ai, thanks. Lovely sketch of the mountains up near your cabin. It looks very peaceful.

Ned, sorry the car is still giving you trouble. I love that giant walnut tree. You captured the shape of it well. It is hard to sketch when surrounded by people from a tour bus. (One of the perils of urban sketching. lol)

Pine Cone, in answer to your questions.
(...... How do you choose between watercolor alone or watercolor with ink?
...... When you use ink, do you draw first with ink, or does the ink come after the watercolor?)
Sometimes I know I want more of a painterly look, so I sketch out the scene and use just watercolors. But sometimes there needs to be more definition so I add some ink. A lot of the time I sketch in ink first (quite often directly in ink) and add the watercolors last. A long time ago someone suggested to me that I should try sketching both ways...with ink first and with watercolor first...and see the difference. There is a difference in how they come out...maybe a difference in energy. I know there is a big difference if I sketch in ink without pencil lines, but if there are a lot of proportions to work out I have to use pencil first. Sometimes the roof lines just make me crazy. And direct watercolor is another thing all together. lol

12 - good lunch spot - watercolors and ink (This restaurant has picnic tables on the hilly front lawn. This was one of the flatter areas with a table. I wouldn't want to be a waitress carrying trays out there. But it is nice to be outside eating.

 

[AiArts]

#10 any color --purple flower vine, at a roadside cafe near our cabin town.