Catching Up

The Old Bank Cafe, Pawtuxet Village - click image for larger view

Once again I have been neglecting the blog -- I promise to be better. . . but as it happens Springtime is filled with so many things to do. (Insert several lame excuses here) I have still been out sketching almost every morning before work and doing a lot of different experimenting with style and color - sometime more successful than others. Since I last posted here I sold my boat, my grandkids graduated from their respective classes (first grade and 8th grade- Ben now moves on to high school) Ben is determined to get his pilot's license before he gets his drivers license, and is well on his way. When we were at the airport for a lesson the other day I sketched the thing in the pic below:

Strange looking thing - click image for larger view

I am not sure just how this thing works but it got my attention as 'now that's something that I have never sketched before' In any event I am still having fun with my sketching and have been playing a lot with time lapse, and I got a new GoPro so have been having fun with that too.

Sketching and photography - maximizing time

Morning Sun, Providence from Edward Huff on Vimeo.

So for the past few days, as I am sketching I am also capturing the scene in a time lapse. I have been shooting these off and on for sever years but have remiss in shooting lately. As the weather is getting better and I am actually able to sketch outside the shell of my car I have plenty of time to catch these images..I feel like such an amateur as I have forgotten so many of the small things that make up a good time lapse..but it is coming back and I expect that they will get better. Oh, and here is my sketch...

A page from the book - Click image for larger view

The houses were sketched yesterday while waiting for a friend. 

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. . .