last night i dreamt that i filled up not one, but two whole sketchbooks with drawings in just a day.
man - if it were only so. i have been so busy at the studio, my 4 other jobs, and our garden, that i have not had time to sit down and sketch. - need to get back at it!!

if any of you ladies are interested - there is a wonderful festival here in my little ol' town on August 10th - its called the edible food fest in Orange - and i will have a booth at which i will be selling my wares.. check out the link for the happenings. there is also a show at the local art center at the same time - also celebrating the local harvest - in which i will have 2 pieces to show for.

i know its a stretch from Richmond - about 1.5 hours,  but its gorgeous out here!
and if you come, swing my my booth and say HI!

Pat Frank - Day 39

7/29/30 - Sketched from a photo in Lessons in Classical Drawing by Juliette Aristides. It's actually a hanging towel (although it's a bit hard to tell in the photo.) Folds have always been a huge challenge for me (kind of like noses and eyes and feet and...well, the list goes on and on!) So I decided I'd give this a try...next I need to sketch an actual cloth!! Well...I'm taking baby steps!! I'm thinking it's not too bad...although it really does look better in real life!

Hope you're all having a great summer!!
Pat

Pat Frank - Days 31-38

Busy week...and I have a few new sketches to share...some not bad...others, kind of scary! The sketches that are disappointing would be supremely better had I measured! aacck! So...here we go...

7/21/13 - A sunflower from a photo on "Paint My Photo.com"...

7/22/13 - Sketch of a pastel by one of my all-time favorite artists, Mary Cassatt...

7/23/13 - This is a sketch of (believe it or not) Cameron Diaz (taken from a magazine ad). I didn't measure...I eyeballed it while watching TV. Baaaad idea! her nose is just wrong wrong wrong!! No more...from now on, I measure...and measure...and measure some more!!

7/24/23 - From a photo on  "Paint My Photo.com"...I measured...and his eyes really ARE this big...and this wide-set! I love those cheeks!

7/25/13 - I spent this past weekend with my husband in NYC! And, get this...there was a fabulous bust in our hotel room...

So I sketched it...

7/26/13 - No sketch today! My first missed day since I started the Summer Sketchbook Challenge. BUT, I have a really good excuse! I spent the day with John Singer Sargent!! Seriously...I did!! There was a "once in a lifetime" exhibit of JSS watercolors at Brooklyn Museum...with a combined total of 90+ of his watercolors from both Boston and Brooklyn museums! Many of these works have not been on display for decades! So...needless to say, I was in awe!!!  

Here are a couple of Singer Sargent watercolors from the exhibit...they were breathtaking...and these photos definitely did NOT do them justice!! But, I just had to take a few photos!

And, of course, I found this stunning Mary Cassatt painting! You guessed it...I needed a photo...

7/27/13 - This is a "monkey" (in case you couldn't recognize it!) It was in one of the pictures in our hotel room...kind of weird...but fun!!

7/28/13 - And...here's a sketch that reminds me of someone in the 1960's who probably attended a Catholic High School, like I did! In reality...she's a figment of my imagination! But, I did a proper block in...and I measured!! So...a little better, I think!

And that's it for me!! Sorry for the long post and so many photos...but I just had to share some of the amazing museum pieces with you! Back soon!
Pat

Hi all! This is my niece, Sarah, who graciously poses for me. This portrait was done from life with Panpastel and it was so much fun. The Panpastel forces me to stay loose and I can pretend to be painting because I am such a wannabe painter. I have more but haven't taken photos so I'll save the rest for another day. I'm enjoying all the posts so much!

Amy Donahue - Pages from Vacation in MD

Got a few sketchbook pages from our travels last week to share with you. 

 

(Mark's hands on the wheel while driving to MD)

(A little boat house/shed on the lake)

(The vacated former restaurant/inn next door to the condos we were renting)

(This is Anna Joy, my cousin's almost-two-year-old, wanted to help out with filling a few pages of the sketchbook. I could use the help! :) Drew her portrait from a photo on one of the pages when we got home.)

Molly Greenwald

H again!
I sketched this of my dad (sleeping models are great ;) during a long, 10-hour car trip with the family. It's been a while since I've drawn a person from life, so it was a nice exercise. I had to measure a lot, but I tried to keep it as loose as I could and I was happy with the likeness!   

Philla Barkhorn - Day 12

More straight lines. Got that foot in...just barely, whew! I love this model, she is wonderful to draw.

Pat Frank - Day 30!

Wow...I can't believe I've sketched each and every day for the past month! Soooo cool! This Sketchbook Challenge has been such a gift! I'm learning so much about myself...like, for example, I hate measuring! (Hey...this is art...there's not supposed to be MATH in ART!!) Yet, I know I must!! The other thing that's becoming clearer and clearer to me is that I love, love, LOVE drawing children!!

So...here's my sketch from yesterday...it's from a photo on "Paint My Photo" website...not half bad, me thinks...and, yes, it would have been far more accurate had I actually measured! Baby steps, baby steps!

And that's it for me...have a great one!
Pat

Philla Barkhorn - Day 11

OK, I'm cheating again, this is from a while ago. But here's the question, why can I actually draw some days and be completely unable to the next twenty times? I don't get it.

Pat Frank - Days 23 - 29

...my last several sketches...I'm still plugging along...

Day 23 (something's off...grrr! I guess I really will have to start measuring! aacck!)

Day 24 - a little nic-nac from my studio...

Day 25 - block-in from Drawing Magazine (Scott Waddell's article)

Day 26 - from a photo of Degas' "Dancer"... couldn't quite get the feet right! Noses and feet! arrggh!

Day 27 - from a photo on "Draw My Photo" online site...

Day 28 - sketch of still life in today's watercolor class...

Day 29 - pan pastel "sketch" of model in today's drawing class...my photo is a bit blurry...sorry!

And that's it for me...see you soon.

Pat

Tamara Norman - LATE!!

Hello all!!! I love all of your sketches so far!  So inspiring!  I'm catching up SO late!! Maternity leave is NOT as care-free as once assumed, at least in the first few weeks.  I am going to try my best to catch up and fill up my sketchbook gosh-darnit!  When I started, I realized how desperately in need of practice I am! These are a mix of dates, the last two from last night.

Pat Frank - Days 18-22

Hello all! I'm still drawing something every day...today is Day 22 of the "Sketchbook Challenge" and I am learning so much...and having such fun!!

Day 18 - from a photo of granddaughter Sophie...she was looking up at my daughter, so her nose looks kind of wonky. Or more likely, I just "made" her nose look "wonky!" Anyway...this captures Soph's personality!

Day 19 - from a photo of a pansy ("Draw my Photo" website)...but it turned out looking more like an hibiscus...go figure!

Day 20 - also from online photo site...I'm calling it "Me and My Shadow"...

Day 21 - one more from the photo website...I love sketching/drawing babies and children! Love, love, LOVE it! This photo was cropped so you could just see the baby's gorgeous blue eyes and cute button nose! I had a lot of fun with this one!

Day 22 - and finally...the "bust" named "Amy." Why do these things always look like they have creepy, lifeless eyes?! This was my first time drawing her...I used Pan Pastels (for massing in) and Conte pencils. I can't wait to draw "Amy" again! Her eyes may be creepy, but she sits really still...and never ever needs a bathroom break!!

Okie dokey...that should catch me up...for now. I'll be back soon with more drawings. Have a great weekend!
Pat

Philla Barkhorn - Day 10

Work in progress - Day 2 of sketching Alex. This doesn't really look like her and I am once again struggling with value. One day I hope to put it all together. Going back again and again is the only way to get better. I can now see how people get discouraged, I had a lot of beginners luck which kept me going for a long time. Now that I've begun to understand how far I have to go it is truly daunting. On the other hand, I am incredibly grateful to have to opportunity to draw at all. So thank you Alex, and thank you Monica for teaching me!

Philla Barkhorn - Day 9

Trying out a blending stump. I don't think I've ever used one before. These are hydrangeas, but I didn't spend enough time for that to be evident. My goal this summer is to do some plein air painting, I hope by posting that I'll actually finally try it.

Philla Barkhorn - Day 8

Quick Sketch from the other day.

sketching by the bay over the fourth of july weekend.

Amy Donahue - Backs of heads progress, house portrait & doodles.

 A few more portraits-of-the-backs-of-heads... :)

 A little ground work for an upcoming house portrait commission.

Doodling while reading, thinking, etc.

All your pages have been so gorgeous. Thanks so much for sharing & keep 'em coming!

I'm back!

Hi girls, We had house guests last week and I am behind on my drawings!  I'm determined to catch up. The first one is my little statue model. I used panpastel, pastel pencil, and colored pencil. It was a fun experiment. The second one is a copy from a Drawing Magazine step by step article from Scott Waddell. It is unfinished but I ran out of time. The third one is my much loved gardenias. I'll probably be drawing them until they finish blooming.

Philla Barkhorn - Day 7

This was Caitlin, my all time favorite model, last week. I tried to stay in the block in mode and really struggled with it. There was such an interesting shape beneath her knees all the way down to her toes, I think I got the shape, but I couldn't get her left foot at all. I would have loved more time, but we are on to the next model.

Pat Frank - Days 14 - 17

Hello all! I've been busy drawing anything and everything that strikes my fancy these days...but I definitely seem drawn to learning the portrait!! Here's what I've been up to...

Day 14 - "Baby" head (using Andrew Loomis reference)

Day 15 - "Mia" (using a photo reference of Mia! She's much cuter than this sketch depicts!)

Day 16 - I decided to try a piece of fruit...(from a photo). When I showed it to my sweet husband, he said "That's really good...what is it? A peach?" Nope...it's a tangerine! arrggh!! OK...so I'm not really happy with my shading. I may have to try using some softer pencils in addition to my HB pencil!)

Day 17 - This one's from life. It's a clay pitcher we have sitting on our mantel. Unfortunately, I had too many diffuse light sources...but aside from that, I sort of like how it turned out.

And that's it for me...until my next post, that is. I may be sketching some noses tonight...noses baffle me!!
Pat