As typical, I cannot go to Florida without adding a palm tree to my sketchbook. This one was at the club we are working on, Boca Woods Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida. It is always great to see color since all of the trees in New England are already bare. Pilot Namiki fountain pen with Noodler’s Black ink and Pelikan watercolors in a Stillman and Birn Beta sketchbook.
A quick trip to the beach before multiple meetings later in the day. Nestled between Fort Lauderdale and Miami is Hollywood, a classic Florida beachtown that’s enchanted visitors since the 1920’s. Hollywood Beach features a one-of-a-kind oceanfront promenade called the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk that stretches nearly two and a half miles along the Atlantic. Named one of America’s Best Beach Boardwalks by Travel + Leisure magazine, this brick-paved thoroughfare is a haven for joggers, bicyclists, roller-bladers and all who’d prefer to take in the action from the comfort of one of the countless eateries and cafés along the way. Prismacolor Art pens with Pelikan watercolors in a Stillman and Birn Beta sketchbook.
Cooks Brook Beach is located in beautiful Eastham, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. The beach is located on the bay side of the cape. This is a view of the dunes at the edge of the beach just before sunset on a cloudy fall day. This was my first sketch in a Stillman and Birn Beta sketchbook. The paper is 2x as heavy as the Alpha sketchbook. It takes the watercolor beautifully. I bought this because Jerry’s Artarama was out of the Alpha sketchbooks. I think this will be my sketchbook in the future.
A quick sketch based on a graphic used on Face Book. The flags were added to show the unity with the country and people of France. The terrible terrorist attacks on one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Faber-Castell Pitt art pen with Pelikan watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Veterans Day is an official United States public holiday, observed annually on November 11, that honors military veterans, that is, persons who served in the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with other holidays, including Armistice Day and Rememberance Day, celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I; major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. The United States previously observed Armistice Day. The U.S. holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954. This sketch is from a photograph from my friend Robin who works for the United States Coast Guard. Faber-Castel Pitt fine liner with Pelikan watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
This structure is located across the street from our office. It was constructed in the 1920’s as a mill building along the Seekonk River. The style is a typical industrial building from that era with a 2-story saw tooth weave shed. The angled saw tooth shed contained a series of roof windows on the saw tooth to maximize natural light into the interior of the working floors. The structure is brick and heavy timber construction. Faber-Castell Pitt art pens with watercolor and colored pencils.
Today we visited the Truro Public Library for an Art opening sponsored by our favorite art gallery – The Addison Gallery in Orleans, Massachusetts. The opening was for “In Hopper’s Town” – Celebrating the work of contemporary artists inspired by Edward Hopper and Truro, the town he chose to build his home and to paint for decades. It was a fantastic event with wonderful artists and their works. Amazing talent. This is sketch of the library entrance as dusk was falling. I like the richness of the foreground building with the layers of colors. The scan washed out some of the depth overall, but I should have darkened the entire building more. Faber-Castell Pitt Art pens with Daniel Smith and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
This is a study of 4 skies in my sketchbook using different blues as a base. All 4 were done wet on wet and each one is about 3″ x 5″. The first one is Cerulean Blue with Burnt Sienna highlights – Holbein Watercolors. The upper left is French Ultramarine with Cadmium Orange highlights that are more streaked- Utrecht Watercolors. Bottom left is just Phthalo Blue Holbeiin Watercolor. The final study in the lower left is also Phthalo Blue with color removed with paper towel while still wet. This is a technique that I use often for skies. The paints do not mix or flow as well on the Alpha paper as they would on true watercolor paper.
A watercolor sketch of one of the pump stations on Assawompset Pond in Lakeville, Massachusetts. There was still a little color on the horizon from the sunrise an hour earlier. I did not notice until I scanned this image that my structure on the left is leaning a little, oops. Assawompset Pond is a reservoir/pond within the towns of Lakeville and Middleboro in southeastern Massachusetts. At almost four square miles, it is the largest natural lake in Massachusetts. It is known in Wampanoag (local Indian tribe) as Place of the White Stones and is host for the largest Alewife (Herring) run in the eastern seaboard. In the early spring the Nemasket River runs black with fish heading for the spawning grounds. The origins of the King Philip’s War started with the discovery of John Sassamon’s body that was slipped under the ice on the pond and found the following spring. The outcome of the trial sparked the beginning of hostilities. Faber-Castell Pitt art pens with Holbein and Daniel Smith watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
“A breeze, a forgotten summer, a smile, all can fit into a storefront window.” – Dejan Stojenovic A wonderful window set within a brick wall and encased in beautiful fall foliage. The small metal pipe bench held a terra cotta pot with bright petunias that are holding onto the last of the summer warmth. Faber-Castell Art pens with Holbein and Mission watercolors in an Alpha Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
A SKETCHBOOK ODYSSEY 