Where does time go. . .

More trees - Click image for larger view

I cannot believe that almost a month has gone by since I last posted. I just don't know where time goes. So I have posted more on my Flickr page, done several that I haven't posted..shot a lot of photos finished a commissioned drawing, started a major personal 3D project (I am creating a 3D model of the interior of the pilot house of the ship I was on while in the Navy way back in the 60's) I have been sketching a lot of trees and natural environments in addition to the buildings and street scenes I normally sketch. I have been doing some color experiments as well. So here is a smattering of the things I have been up to, I hope you enjoy them.

Pine Grove Cemetery  - Click image for larger view

From the roadside  - Click image for larger view

My initial render of the helm station from the Navy ship USS Richard L Page

Small Milestone Today

Just another tree  - Click image to view larger

This sketch from this morning (March 30, 2015) marks the 500th sketch I have posted on Flickr since I started posting there just two years ago. Rest assured I have sketched many more but I'm not sharing them - mostly they are crap. . .  we all sketch crap from time to time and I would rather not share those lesser sketches (in hopes you may think I am actually better at this). This sketch started out in pencil as a contour drawing working on the negative shapes, then progressed with a Pitt XS pen to bring in the values. The sun kept appearing and disappearing making the shadows come and go. I sketched this from the drivers seat in my car, like so many others, as it is still bitter cold - a raw 28º F this morning. So enough babbling - if you like,you can check out my Flickr page here

The Grange and the Equinox

To View Panorama - click image

Today is the Spring Equinox - I have been shooting these 360 panoramas on every equinox and solstice (mostly) since 2004.  I got this shot at sunrise in Hope Valley where I do most of my sketching these days. Renovations are coming soon to the Grange (pictured here) and I have been doing some sketches for them. It is nice that the renovations will not change the charm of this beautiful New England town.

A Florida getaway

We had an opportunity to get away to Florida for a few days and escape all the cold and snow...and sketching the large white piles. I filled up more than a dozen pages and had a great time in the sunshine doing it. We were fortunate that we were able to stay with friends, thanks Rayna and Al for the invite, you guys rock.  It was also amazing that so many of our friends were in Florida at the same time.  We had a great time catching up with our friends Tom and Debbie who were vacationing from South Carolina. Carol and I were celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary and we were so happy to be able to share that special day with such good friends.

Nothing But Snow

Lots of snow sketches

Over the past few weeks it has been snowing on a regular basis, and not just a little bit, but a lot. . .  January was a relatively dry month with very little precipitation but since the last week in January we have been experiencing tons of snow, I think I heard the other day that we have received over 80 inches so far this year..and none of it has melted. The result of the snow (and the low temperatures) I have been sketching large snow piles from the driver's seat of my car.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

May all you packages arrive in time

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to everyone who stumbles across this blog. My sincere wishes for a happy and prosperous 2015.

Still at it. . .

A selection of recent sketches 

I have been experimenting with color as the season is changing. Soon these colors will be gone and I will be working with blues and grays as winter sets in. All of these sketches have been done within a one mile radius from where I work. I am fortunate to work is such a visually rich area. Although I do long for buildings that are taller than two stories. . . It has been almost two years that I began my daily sketching and am beginning to see some improvement (although slight) in my ability to represent what it is that I feel about the scene that I am portraying. I also discovered or rediscovered a lot about myself and am working on the aspects of self that drive me to do this. There is a need to create something physical as most of my world is that of pixels rather than paint and even though I can make great images in my digital world, there seems to be something more 'real' or more tangible when I put pigment on paper, and I like the fact that this is not a commercial exercise but one of the heart and mind and when the sketch is done I can close the book.

2 seconds of fame

RI Local Magazine  - Click Image for Larger view

A local magazine, actually 'RI Local' did this short article about me. I am flattered and honored to have them call out my scribbles. The journalist that interviewed me did a good job of representing our conversation and the reproduction of my sketches is fine. (they look better reduced in size and printed on glossy stock) Thanks RI Local and Holly Abney - I still have no idea how they found out about my sketching. . .

Some recent things

Utility Pole - Click Image for larger view

I am still sketching every morning but it is getting harder to fit it in my day as darkness is encroaching on my sketching time. This morning I sketched the pole (sketch above) from the front seat of my car, in the rain. As I arrived in Hope Valley I was visually struck by all the poles and wire running down along Main Street and felt that they obscured my view. I looked harder and realized that each pole had it own personality. Like so many things in life they just needed a second glance.

Old Barn in Hope Valley - Click Image for larger view 

In my childhood I was a big fan of the books of Eric Sloane. He fill my imagination with visions of a simple life and barns and old tools with his wonderful ink sketches. I think at one point I owned every one of his books and I would lay in my room and read them over and over. It has been fifty years since then and I am just now beginning to appreciate just how much of an influence he has had on my art and my thinking. Thank you Mr. Sloane.

Old Stone Bank, Providence - Click Image for larger view

My artist frind Kathy and I have been getting out and sketching early in the morning, and one day we met down on South Main Street in Providence and tackled the buildings there. We meet at 6:00 am which I know somehow seems uncivilized to some, but it works for me and I am grateful that Kathy has the willingness to join me from time to time. I always learn so much when we sketch together.

Polo Field, Middletown - Click Image for larger view

This last image I did while we were at a polo match (Newport won) in Middletown. The view is of the field and the spectators on the far side, their tents and all the flags of the different countries that come to play on this field. Now for full disclosure, there were horses and riders going up and down the field. I am a coward - and left them out - I can only imagine the mess I would have made on my paper if I attempted to sketch them.

Bell School through the lens

Bell School, 7:00 am - Click image for larger view

This morning I visited Bell School once again and this time instead of brushes and ink I used pixels and light. The sky was just too fantastic for me to even begin to describe in my sketchbook. So I got my camera out, and waited a few minutes for the sun to creep over the hill behind me and light those treetops.

A Recent sketch - Click image for larger view

I think it is the solid design and the beautiful construction of this building the pulls at my attention. I come back often. I think of all the young minds that have gone through this building from 1826 until 1935 when a new school was built.  In 1826 Beethoven was composing his music and Thomas Jefferson & John Adams both died…so long ago.