Category: Various

An old black and white photograph of this scene, set in Ireland, inspired me to pick up my paintbrush.

Every year since our children were small we have been blessed to spend the last week of each summer at Sandy Island, a YMCA Family Camp which occupies an entire small island in the middle of Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H. The same people return the same week each year, and there are lots of wonderful activities in a beautiful natural setting. We love it, and this week has been great. Here is my painting of the dining hall, where meals are served family style.

The animal most tourists want to see in national parks is the grizzly bear, and we were lucky enough to see them twice in our July trip. The first time was in Grand Teton, where a herd of elk were grazing in a meadow a half mile from our lodge. One evening, two grizzlies came out of the woods and began chasing the elk. The chase went back and forth across the meadow for nearly an hour before the grizzlies, winded, gave up. 

The second glimpse was in Yellowstone and is captured in this brief video (click here) of a mother and two cubs in the woods, causing a line of cars to stop. If you watch it carefully, you will see the motionless mother, the cub on the left, and at the last second, another cub moving in from the right. At that point, I stopped filming because a tourist (in search of the perfect photo) moved down the embankment toward the bears, and the mother got nervous and began moving toward the tourists. Luckily, at that moment, the park rangers, lights flashing, pulled up to save the tourists from themselves, no doubt for the umpteenth time.  

This is my last sketch from this trip, I hope you have enjoyed them.

This little guy, found throughout Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, is misleadingly named a “ground squirrel,” when he’s actually not a squirrel at all, but rather a smaller relation of a prairie dog. He has to keep on his toes (literally), as he’s the number one prey of the rough-legged hawks who soar above the sagebrush where he builds his (or her) extensive burrows.

We have returned from our 10 day trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone, but I am still painting from my photos and memories, and look forward to sharing them with you over the coming couple of weeks. This sketch was done sitting on the rocks overlooking “Artist’s Point” at Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon. Click here for a quick video that Bruce took of the actual scene. You can see I’ve taken some artistic license.

We have two grandchildren, Maggie, age 1, who is trying hard to master the art of walking, and Lila, age 13, who visited us last week (by herself for the first time) from Chapel Hill. It was magical to paint together — Lila painted this lovely abstract — and reading together — the same book!

Esplanade is a tree-lined boulevard in New Orleans that leads to City Park. Here are two sketches I did in different seasons. I am sad to leave New Orleans today, and granddaughter Maggie who just turned 14 months old.

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We are in New Orleans visiting our son Andrew, daughter-in-law Eva and year-old granddaughter Maggie. They moved from Brooklyn to New Orleans in April. Here’s a quick sketch at a nearby cafe. And Maggie’s solution to beating the 90 degree heat is to sit in her kiddie pool, drinking smoothies.

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People say to me, “Isn’t watercolor the hardest medium? Acrylics and oil are so much more forgiving.“ My response was always that for me watercolor was like being an only child. It’s all I’ve ever known, and so I it feels normal to me. But as I’m learning to paint with acrylics, I’m starting to see what people mean. It’s crazy how with acrylics you can change things over and over. This little painting went through many stages.

For the last 39 years, on the first Sunday in May I have gone on the Walk for Hunger. The money raised from sponsors like you benefits food pantries and soup kitchens across Massachusetts, and the 1 in 10 residents here who sometimes go hungry. Here is a sketch I did of the Walk. If you would like to sponsor me, click here, and thank you!

Isn’t this one of life’s great truths?

Winston Churchill, who was a serious amateur painter, may have been referring to watercolors. Prince Charles is also a watercolorist, and has published two books on the subject. In England, “watercolour” is a very popular pastime.

On our trip to Paris in 2011, we stayed on Ile Saint Louis, an island in the middle of the Seine. I sat in the park at the end of the island and made this sketch using a pencil and watercolors. Sketching creates more long-term memories than snapping a photo, and I can still remember that day and the bench I sat on.

Seven years ago, we went to Paris. Recently I unearthed some photos I took while there. To soothe my wanderlust, since we’re not going back anytime soon, I decided to do a sketch from my photo.

Our son Andrew, his wife Eva and baby Maggie are moving in two weeks from New York to New Orleans, so this is my last chance to visit them in this vibrant city. While Eva is in New Orleans interviewing for teaching jobs, I came to help out. Here’s a sketch of a wonderful local coffee shop, and a photo of Maggie at 11 months.

This post honors Dick Bail, who has lived an astonishing life by following this principle.

Sketching at meetings is a good way to stay “present.” It’s counter-intuitive, but instead of daydreaming about the past or future, it’s a way to notice what is right in front of you, while also listening. All you need is a scrap of paper and a pencil.

Last weekend I was at a restorative justice training, and I did these sketches of some of my fellow participants.

Three years ago, when I was in rehab recovering from double knee replacement, there wasn’t a lot to do. So doodling with the colored pens someone bought me was an appealing option.

Like many people, I take stock of my life as the years changes. These are the touchstones of my life, and if I prioritize them I feel in balance. Health (exercise, healthy food, sleep)  has moved up over the decades as I’ve learned not to take health for granted. How are your priorities similar and different?

Wishing you a happy, healthy life in 2019!

 

Our local library is keeping up with the times by offering online audio books, movies and e-books (through Hoopla and Overdrive), jigsaw puzzles and musical instruments to borrow, and more. It’s fun to sit in the airy reading room, and read or sketch.

One of the biggest blessings of Bruce’s and my lives are teaching in prison. He teaches a weekly book group, and I teach a weekly art class, both in men’s prisons; we have led our classes for 14 and 17 years respectively. What began as a short-term good deed became something we really enjoy and look forward to. It’s amazing how people are the same, outside and inside the walls, all of us a combination of good and bad. Here is a drawing of my art class which one of my co-teachers, Jacki Rohan, drew.

At last the foliage is at peak here in New England. Our neighborhood is blessed with some sugar maples, and yesterday I parked my car in front of them at the beginning of our street and spent half an hour making a sketch. This is one reason we love living in New England!

It would be even funnier if it weren’t true ….