A quick line drawing sketch of a house I drove by on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island. I was drawn to the beautiful arched entry and stonework on this pretty modest house. Faber-Castell Sanguine Art Pens in a 9″ x 12″ Alpha Series Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Pen and Ink
Mashpee Sunset
After a gray day with drizzle most of the day, the sun came out for a spectacular sunset. The location is Mashpee Commons in Mashpee, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. Mashpee is a planned retail and office complex with a wonderful Cape Cod Aesthetic. This view is towards the central building with the colorful sunset and parting clouds beyond. Prismacolor Art Pens with Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Tihonet Pond
This sketch is of the spillway from Tihonet Pond in Tihonet Village which is part of Wareham, Massachusetts. Adjacent to this spillway is a collection of buildings that are part of A.D. Makepeace Company, the world’s largest cranberry grower. The company, over time, became pretty much self-contained. They used to actually make the boxes and barrels used for storing and shipping the cranberries. They also had their own fleet of vehicles, complete with a service station and garages. The building that is now the market was once used as a machinist shop.
Maple and Pine
This is a sketch vignette is from our yard. A vibrant Maple Tree in yellows, oranges and reds contrast with pine needles in the foreground. Prismacolor Art Pens with Holbein watercolors in an Alpha Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Sea Girt Pavilion
This s a quick sketch of the Sea Girt Bathing Pavilion across the street from the lighthouse. The pavilion is closed for the season. This area is on the famous Jersey Shore with a wide sandy beach running for miles and miles. Prismacolor Art Pens with Pelikan watercolors in a 9″ x 12″ Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Sea Girt Lighthouse
Another trip to New Jersey for business. Sea Girt Lighthouse in Sea Girt, New Jersey, flashed its first light December 10, 1896. The beacon, which could be seen 15 miles at sea, guided countless mariners in their journeys and contributed to the state’s economic growth and helped make sailing through local waters safer. The lighthouse was built to illuminate a blind spot midway in the 38½-mile stretch between Navesink Lighthouse (Twin Lights) to the north and Barnegat Lighthouse to the south. It also served as a landmark for nearby Sea Girt Inlet and Wreck Pond. The red brick structure with a tower rising 44 feet was the last live-in lighthouse built on the Atlantic Coast. A live-in lighthouse has the tower integrated into the living quarters. Sea Girt was equipped with a fourth order Fresnel lens, which was 30 inches high. The multi-sided beehive-shape lens had a bulls-eye prism like a big magnifying glass in the middle of each side. Lamy Fountain Pen with Noodler’s black ink and Pelikan watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Trip to the Zoo
Today I had a couple of hours of time between meetings in New Jersey. I headed to the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, New Jersey. It is a pretty nice zoo, although growing up in Southern California I compare everything to the San Diego Zoo which is on of the best in the world. It was mid-day so many of the animals were hiding pretty well. I took some photos of the Peacock, Red Tailed Hawk and Bald Eagles. I am pretty happy with these sketches except the beak on one of the eagles make it look more like a parrot. Whenever you think of a peacock, you always think of the beautiful tail feathers, although the coloration of the head and body of the birds is amazing. Lamy fountain pen with Noodler’s Black ink with Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Grand Opening
Tonight we attended the Grand Opening of Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, New Jersey. The club just completed a multi-year, $15,000,000.00 dollar renovation to the clubhouse that was designed by my firm. The project turned out beautiful with great architecture and wonderful interiors. There were about 450 members and guests at the opening with plenty of great food and drinks. We totally reimaged the club based on its culture inside and out. This is a view of the Main Entry Portico in the early evening prior to the event. Lamy fountain pen with Noodler’s ink and Pelikan watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Fiddler on the Roof
My nephew Cam is in a wonderful performance of Fiddler on the Roof this weekend. The musical was produced by The Little Theater of Fall River and was performed in the theater at Bristol Community College. Cam is in multiple scenes as a Russian and dancer. He is so talented and did a wonderful job. Fiddler on the Roof is a musical based on book by Joseph Stein. The setting is Anatevka, a small village in Russia in 1905, on the eave of the Russian Revolutionary Period. The story is based on Tevye the Dairyman and his 5 daughters as he attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon the family’s lives. He must cope both with the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters, who wish to marry for love – each one’s choice of a husband moves further away from the customs of his faith – and with the edict of the Tsar that evicts the Jews from their village. This is an image from the cover of the playbill and is done in Prismacolor black pen with Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
Turkeys
Every morning on my way into work, a couple of blocks from our house, I come across these guys. There are 2 flocks of wild turkeys that cross the road every morning. A group of wild turkeys is called a flock and a group of domestic turkeys is called a rafter. Some mornings I go slow past them and other mornings and some evenings I have to stop and wait for them to continue. Unlike the domestic turkeys that are used for food, wild turkeys are beautiful with all of the subtle colors. The black feathers have an iridescent quality to them and the tail feathers have brown highlights on the ends. There are also white feathers with black spots and blue and red skin on their necks and heads. Prismacolor black pens with Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
A SKETCHBOOK ODYSSEY 