A Flexible Schedule

Sometimes, much as we might like to be, we are not in control of our own schedules. Take my schedule for instance. Yesterday I found myself here...

sketch of airplane interior

That wasn't really a bad thing, but according to my schedule I was supposed to be on that plane on Wednesday, not Thursday. Which would have meant I was home on Thursday. If I was home on Thursday I would have posted this then.

shark & barracuda sketch

However, since I was not in control of my schedule, it fell victim to mechanical issues which required the cancellation of said Wednesday flight. With no other flights available, my family and I were forced to stay an extra day in a sunny, warm vacation place. Truth be told, I wasn't complaining. And the kids not only weren't complaining, but took it a step further, and were doing a very energetic happy dance.

palm tree sketch

So the Wednesday flight became a Thursday flight and the Thursday blog post became a Friday one. A worthy trade for a few additional hours of sun and a safe flight.

ottoman sketch - random I know but found in our vacation accommodations

I hope you enjoy my vacation sketches as much as I enjoyed the vacation.

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All sketches were created with graphite in a Moleskine cahier sketchbook.

7 Tips for Having a Less Busy Holiday Season

Quick 2 minute sketch of holiday decoration

Sketched while out to lunch for hubby's birthday

Sepia Pitt brush pen in Moleskine cahier sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

In my last blog post, I shared how I burned myself while preparing dinner. It was the second burn in as many weeks. And although I could claim the two burns as an impossible-to-correct short coming and use them as an excuse to never cook again... oh wait, now there's a thought!
...But to be honest, the culprit here is distraction and not my lack of cooking skills.

So I promised that in addition to telling you of my kitchen woes, I would share some tips for how to be less busy. I have decided it makes sense to focus on tips for being less busy during the holiday season.

And here they are...

1. Decide to be less busy
This is the first, and I believe most important, step. You need to decide that you are done with the "run around like a chicken with your head cut off" busy-ness. And I don't mean a knee-jerk "Of course I want to be less busy" type decision. I mean a real, clear decision backed by the commitment to make the hard choices necessary to give this decision life.

2. Decide what is most important for your holiday season.
Is it most important for you to spend time with friends? Is the holiday nothing without the family traditions you grew up with? Does the true meaning of the season come to you when you are elbow deep in volunteering opportunities? Or is your main goal to win the neighborhood decorating contest? Whatever the answer, determine the two or three things that make the holiday special to you. Then make sure to get those things on your calendar.

3. Make a list of what needs to be done and what is optional - Be honest!
Okay, so it is probably unlikely that you can go the entire holiday season without grocery shopping - unless you can bribe pay someone to do it for you. And the kids will probably disown you be a little upset if they don't get any presents. But do you really need to string popcorn garland for each of the thirteen evergreen trees in your yard. Will the birds really appreciate it so much more than the feeder full of store bought birdseed? I think not.

4. For the optional list, decide in advance what activities you are not going to participate in.
If you are committed to being less busy, then it only makes sense that you are not going be able to take part in every opportunity that the holidays send your way. Make it easier to turn down the events that don't make the cut by making the decision in advance and determining how to graciously decline. Not only will your schedule be more open, but you will be less stressed if you don't have to come up with a reason to say "no" on the spot.

5. Relax your standards.
I tell my kids that it is unreasonable to expect to be the best at everything they do. The same goes for us adults.It is okay to plan to do some, or even many, of the optional items. But if you want to leave time to squeeze in a few hours of sleep or peaceful reflection over the next few weeks, you might want to lower your standards. Try only putting up the decorations that have the most visual impact or the ones that have the most sentimental value. Instead of cooking 27 different varieties of cookies, focus on the two or three you really love. Instead of running around to every store within a 50 mile radius trying to get the best price on that gift, be content with getting a good price at the second store you visit.

6. Ask for help.
This one is especially for the women out there. Yes, I know that no one can do things exactly the way you like them done. And yes I know it would take longer to train them how to do it your way than to just do it yourself. But the kids might love to get out the decorations or bake the cookies or put the stamps on the holiday cards. Yes, it might not be the way you would do it, in which case I would suggest you refer to tip #5 above.

7. Remind yourself to relax, take a few deep breaths and enjoy the holiday.
I think I often feel busier than I am because I tell myself that I am busy. The list of 'things to do' runs around in my head along with the phrase "busy, Busy, BUSY!" said in the voice of the magician from Frosty the Snowman. But when I slow down my mind and take time to enjoy what I am doing, I often find that I still have plenty of time to get everything done. The way I feel is wrapped up in whatever story I am telling myself. So why not make it a story that makes me happy?

And now one bonus tip to help you with next year's holiday season...
This year when the celebrations are over and its time to take the holiday decorations down, instead of putting them all together in one box, pack them away in smaller containers. Label each bag or box with the room where the decorations came from. All of the items from the kitchen go in one box. The stuff from the living room is in another bag. You will be amazed at how much time this saves next year when it is time to decorate again.

I hope you find these tips helpful and are able to enjoy a less busy, more relaxing holiday season.

Learning to Sketch Portraits - Part II

Today I listened to the Artists Helping Artists interview with Carol and David Marine. In one portion of the interview Carol was speaking about branching out into painting silly faces and how important it is for her to keep experimenting and trying new things in order to keep fresh and enthused about her art.

It was inspiring to hear her thoughts. They felt like support being sent in my direction to encourage this section of my latest journey. If you haven't listened to the interview yet, I highly recommend it!

So in Part I of this post I spoke about my desire to sketch more of my life moments and, how in the past, I have been stopped by my discomfort in sketching people.

My solution for this discomfort was to jump from the frying pan into the fire. A simultaneously exciting and frightening jump!

After trying my hand at sketching from other artists' sketches - both more linear sketches and value based sketches - I decided the next logical step was to try a sketch from a photo. You could say I was being thorough, or you could say I was avoiding the scary prospect of sketching from life. I think both statements are true!

My intention was to create a linear sketch because I am wanting a quicker sketching style. I also tried not to be concerned with likeness - as the saying goes that was easier said than done.

I chose to work from a rather small image thinking that a smaller image would have less detail. Detail often entices me to get fiddly, which I was trying to avoid. In hindsight I think working from a larger reference would have been easier.

Below is my sketch from a photo of my hubby. Handsome guy isn't he?

practice sketch 6

graphite on newsprint

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

Reviewing the sketch above I can see I was more hesitant in this sketch than the sketches I posted in Part I. I'm not sure if I was intimidated by the challenge of capturing his likeness, if I was hampered by the size of my reference or if I was reacting to having to edit the detail I saw in the reference. (In the sketches I copied, obviously the artist who did the initial sketch had already been through the editing process and the subjects of the sketches were strangers to me.)

I can also see the style sliding toward more precise line work instead of using expressive lines. I am very interested as I continue this experiment to see where my natural style falls on the continuum from detailed and precise to loose and expressive. I secretly hope I can move along the spectrum towards the expressive, loose end. Time will tell if that is actually possible.

All of the sketches posted in Part I and the sketch above were completed in one afternoon. Feeling encouraged by my results I decided to finally take the brave step to sketch from life.

Several days later I was visiting my kids at school. I always carry a pocket Moleskine and pencil in my purse. Making use of these tools I made several quick sketches of my girls during the times when they were reading or working quietly at their desk. I limited my sketching to the times they were doing desk work because I didn't want to draw the teacher's attention and get sent to the Principal's office. That wouldn't have set a very good example!

The main challenge I experienced during this "sketching from life" session was that my models were not at all still! Honestly they moved every two seconds and rarely returned to the same position. They even knew I was sketching them (I had asked their permission first) and they still weren't still. Below are the results of sketching these moving targets.

practice sketch 7

graphite in Moleskine cahier pocket sketchbook

© 2011 Stacy L. Rowan

practice sketch 8

graphite in Moleskine cahier pocket sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

practice sketch 9

graphite in Moleskine cahier pocket sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan





Practice sketch 9 is my favorite because the lack of facial features made for stress-free sketching! I was pleased that in all three sketches I stuck with line and did not resort to value. I was also happy that I remembered to leave some breaks in the line work. I did not have as many "suggested" areas as in the copied sketches but, because of the constant movement, I wasn't able to get to finicky.

The middle sketch was the most challenging because of the angle and because of the size of the sketch with respect to the page. Apparently I wasn't quite up for the challenge because the sketch makes my daughter look much older than she actually is!

For those of you who know my kids, sketches 7 and 9 are of the same child and sketch 8 is the other one. I'll leave it up to you to determine who is who.

In summary, I learned a lot from these two sketching session. In some ways sketching from life was easier than sketching from a photo. The built in time constraint made it almost impossible to get hung up on details and forced me to make quick decisions and live with the lines I put down.

I need a lot more practice to build fluency of line and expressiveness. I think that will come as I get more comfortable. Practice will hopefully also make it easier to capture a likeness.

I am excited for my next practice session. I already have a few magazine photos set aside and several personal photos in mind. I am also trying to identify times or activities which require my family members to sit still so I can make use of those times as live sketching sessions. Wish me luck as I think I live in a house of Energizer bunnies!

The Fine Art of Savoring Life

"Autumn by the Creek" sketch

Inktense pencils in Moleskin watercolor sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

When I was younger I didn't think much about savoring life. I had lots of free time to spend however I wanted. If a day ended up feeling kind of "blah" or unmemorable, it was no big deal. There was always tomorrow.

Now that I'm older I think a lot more about whether I savored any part of my day. Part of that may be contributed to getting older, and hopefully wiser, but I think a bigger factor is the busy schedule that comes from living with a husband who is never still and two fun-loving pre-teens.

Many of our days are jam-packed with activities, commitments, obligations. The free times are fewer and farther apart, making it all more important to me to savor both the free times and the fuller parts of my life.

Here is a list of some of the ways I savor my days...
- talk with my husband about travel, going after our dreams, successes we are striving for, how our kids crack us up, anything and everything;
- take "Family Fun" outings to amusements parks, the beach, mini-golf, the woods, creeks and streams, the ice cream store, historic homes, any place interesting, beautiful or fun;
- relax on the screened porch;
- spend time with family and friends;
- eat really good food;
- spend time in nature;
- hug the ones I love;
- laugh, dance, act silly;
- create art.

What are some of the ways you savor life?

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About the sketch: I created this quick sketch on Monday. School was closed in observance of Columbus Day, and my hubby took a vacation day from work so we could all have a three day weekend. We went for a short hike and ended up on the bank of a creek. While the kids splashed around in the very cold water and skipped stones with hubby, I perched on a fallen tree and made an attempt to capture the sunlight, the color of the changing leaves and the way they reflected in the stream. A good time was had by all and I savored both the moment and now the memory of it.

The grey area at the top of the sketch is a shadow created during the scanning. Adjusting the colors of the scan was a challenge. The white of the paper was reflecting too much light causing me to lose the yellows in the sketch. This one looks better in real life than on the screen.

Stacy and the Giant Peach

sketch of "giant" peach

Inktense pencils in Moleskine watercolor sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

Yesterday I stopped at a farm stand in our area that I hadn't been to before. I knew it was there and had driven by it on numerous occasions, but it was just one of those places I was going to stop "someday".

Since I wasn't able to make it to our normal farmers' market last weekend and was nearly out of fresh produce, I decided to give this "new to me" place a try. And am I glad I did!

I was pleasantly surprised by their selection. Everything looked so fresh and delicious. But what stood out most were the containers of peaches.

They are some of the largest peaches I have ever seen!

Honestly the largest ones are at least 3.5 inches in diameter. I kid you not. That is a BIG peach.

I wanted to sketch the peach next to some other object that, by comparison, would give you an indication of the peach's size, but I couldn't think of anything that didn't seem totally random. So instead I sketched the giant peach by itself. Which doesn't make for as good a story, but it's all I got.

Not only are these the biggest peaches I've ever seen, they are also the best tasting peaches I've ever eaten.

This good news has me looking up peach containing recipes for something I can serve to my guests at the Open Studio. I found some contenders which I'll be trying out over the next couple of days. Nothing too fancy (because fancy can mean difficult). Just good, delicious peachy-ness.

Man I really hope this "new to me" farm stand still has peaches next week. (Keeping my fingers crossed.)

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About the sketch: This sketch was done in my Moleskine watercolor sketchbook using a small set of Inktense pencils. I really like how vibrant the colors are, especially after wetting them with a waterbrush. I added dry pencil on top to give the sketch some texture. I think I like these pencils better than watercolor pencils, but they do take a little bit more care when wetting them, because once they dry there is no moving that color!

About the Open Studio: You can find out more about my upcoming Open Studio here.

Sketching on Vacation

Clock tower of Carbon County Courthouse

graphite in Moleskine pocket sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

Last weekend I went away with my family for some end-of-summer family fun. We spent three days enjoying nature and touring the small town of Jim Thorpe, PA.

Jim Thorpe is an interesting town for a number of reasons. At one point it was the number two tourist destination behind Niagara Falls. It is located in the coal region of eastern Pennsylvania along the southwestern edge of the Pocono Mountains. The Lehigh River runs through town and the combination of coal, canal boats and railroads made the town prosperous in the 1800s. At one point 19 of the countries 26 millionaires owned property in Jim Thorpe!

For us the town provided the perfect setting for a long weekend get-away. It's combination of natural and historical attractions gave us plenty to see and do.

During the first two days we went hiking and white water rafting. Day three was spent in town touring the Asa Packer mansion and the old jail. These tours gave the family members over the age of twenty (I won't mention any names) a chance to recover from the more strenuous outdoor activities of the previous two days.

In between the two tours my family allowed me a few minutes for sketching. There were many worth subjects, however, in the end I chose to sketch the clock tower on the county courthouse. Mainly because there was a comfy bench strategically located across the street.

You can see the resulting sketch above.
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Related Links
Jim Thorpe, PA
Asa Packer Mansion
Old Jail Museum

Can't Beat Beets

sketch - bunch of beets

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

Beets get a bad wrap as a vegetable. I think it is because most people have only tried the red canned version, which I will admit don't appeal to me at all.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that beets come in a variety of colors from deep purple to the traditional red to a cheery golden color.

I found this bunch at my local farmers' market (of course). Before cooking them I plopped them on my studio table and had some fun with my watercolor pencils. The above sketch is the result.

If you want to try some tasty beets, grab a fresh bunch and give the recipe below a try. You will end up with a side dish that is colorful and a little sweet.

Roasted Beets with Feta
beets, greens trimmed off with 1 inch of stems attached
olive oil
feta

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Rub each beet with a little olive oil and wrap individually in aluminum foil.
3. Bake beets in preheated oven until you can pierce them easily with a sharp knife. Approximately 45-60 minutes depending on size.
4. Remove beets from oven and allow them to cool enough to handle them. Unwrap beets and use a paper towel to rub off skin. The hotter they are, the easier this is. (Warning: This is the most difficult step in the recipe and you may end up with red stained fingers.)
5. Slice beets and place them on a plate.
6. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.

13 Things I Love Best About Summer

Quick ink sketches of day lilies

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

Here are some of the things I love best about summer...
- the slower pace
- vacations at the beach
- riding in the convertible at night with the top down
- starting my morning on the screen porch with a bowl of cereal or a cup of coffee
- ice cream
- seeing my kids enjoy their free time
- locally grown, fresh and delicious produce (especially tomatoes, blueberries and peaches!)
- blue skies and bright sunshine
- hydrangeas, day lilies, marigolds and all the other flowers
- not having to do the dishes (because we passed that chore on to the above mentioned kids after noticing how much free time they had - insert evil laugh here)
- not having to wear shoes, socks or a coat
- small summer purses (how come I carry so much more in my purse the rest of the year?)
- frequent trips to the library

I am doing my best to savor every minute of summer. I'd love to hear what you love about it too. Let's turn the comments section into a big list of summer love!

Concert Sketching

I have been busy working in the studio but am not ready to share my progress there just yet, so I thought I would post a couple of quick sketches I did this evening.

My husband and I attended our kids' band concert. I often listen to music in the studio so I decided to try a few sketches while we enjoyed their performance. I haven't been sketching much at all this year, and after my daily habit the first half of last year, I am finding I really miss it.

sketch of band conductor

graphite in Moleskine pocket cahier sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

I chose the conductor for my first sketch which, of course, was a challenge since she was constantly moving. You think I would have realized that before I started, don't you?

For the second sketch I decided to take it easy on myself. I chose an audience member thinking a spectator would be more still than any of the band members. And I did feel more confident with the second sketch.

sketch of audience member

graphite in Moleskine cahier pocket sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

It was nice to be sketching again. I would love to find a system for fitting in more sketching without taking time away from my studio work. Anyone out there have any suggestions?

Origami Crane

Sketch of origami paper crane - Day 141

sepia ink in Moleskine pocket cahier sketchbook

©2010 Stacy L. Rowan

This sketch is from my sketching project last year, although this is the first I am sharing it. I sketched it on Day 141, by which time I had fallen out of the habit of regularly posting my daily sketches. Now seemed like as good a time as any for posting it.

Every day this week, many times throughout the day, my thoughts have turned to Japan and the tragedy that has occurred and is still occurring there. If I had 1,000 origami cranes my wish would be for the situation with the nuclear reactors to be brought under control, for the rescue and clean up efforts to be able to procede without disruption from aftershocks, and for the people of Japan to be able to find some peace and start recovering from this crisis and the sadness and fear they must be feeling.

Maybe I would need more that 1,000 cranes for those wishes.

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(Edited to add this)
If you don't have 1,000 origami cranes to wish on either, but would still like to help Japan (and you love art) click here. Thank you.

Winter Tulips

tulip sketch

watercolors in Moleskine sketchbook

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

We've had a lot of snow and ice and cold weather this winter. If you've been reading this blog for a while then you know that I am not a fan of any of these things.

With the forecast of more winter weather bearing down on us, I was feeling rather restless for Spring. During my weekly grocery store vist, I happened upon a special on tulips. Purchasing them was an easy decision.

They made a good subject for a warm-up sketch the next day in my studio.

If winter doesn't let up soon I may need to take advantage of more specials like this.

Sketching on a Snow Day

So last Friday was supposed to be my first monthly sketching excursion, which totally explains why my kids had their first snow day of the school year. Rather than be deterred, I decided to do my sketching at home.

Every time I walk out my front door I pass my hydrangea bush and admire the dried blossoms. But I hadn't managed to find the time to commit the image to paper. I used my canceled sketching date as an opportunity to rectify that situation.

hydrangea in the snow

watercolor and sepia ink

©2011 Stacy L. Rowan

The addition of the snow caps to the blossoms was just too much to resist. The window by my desk looks out over the hydrangea bush, so I parked myself in my nice, warm office with my sketchbook. Using my sepia brush pen, little Cotman travel palette and a water brush I created the above sketch. I was pleased with the result even if I didn't leave the house.

Autumn Gold

The other day dawned beautiful, sunny and warm. Since October was almost at an end, I knew there might not be many more days fitting that description before the gray, leafless days of fall rolled in. I was scheduled to spend the afternoon in the studio, but decided instead to take my watercolor sketch book and small travel palette out to find something pretty to sketch.

The leaves on the trees at a near-by park were at their peak of autumn color, seeming to almost glow in the sunlight. Here is my interpretation.

Autumn Gold

watercolor sketch in Moleskine sketchbook

©2010 Stacy Rowan

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A quick reminder -- Comments close on the Virtual Open Studio posts tonight. Names of prize winner will be drawn tomorrow morning. If you want a chance to win a pack of note cards or an ornament, don't wait, leave your comment on a VOS post now.

Days 123 and 124

Two food related sketches to share with you today and a bit of news.

First a sketch of the basil plant we bought at the farmers' market at the beginning of the season. I love using fresh basil, especially in the summer when I can pair it with fresh, local tomatoes. YUM!

sketch of basil plant

sepia ink in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

Then a sketch of some salty pretzels - the perfect late night snack. Even better when paired with some ice cream.

sketch of pretzels

sepia ink in cahier pocket sketch book

 copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

And now onto the news...
After much deliberation, I decided to end my sketch-a-day project at the six month mark instead of continuing it for a full year. So I completed my last project sketch on June 30th. I guess that makes it a Project 181 instead of a Project 365.

I will continue to share the project sketches until I have posted them all. I appreciate all of the support I've received here and plan to summarize my thoughts on what this project taught me after you have seen all of the sketches.

Days 121 and 122

These scissors were sketched very late at night and I think it shows. By my definition, my day for the sketch-a-day project does not end at midnight. It ends when I go to bed. I believe this was an after midnight entry.

scissors sketch

sepia ink in cahier sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

A better sketch here. I was working with the set of gray pens again.

radish sketch

gray ink in cahier sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

This is a French breakfast radish - my favorite kind of radish. I buy them at the local farmers' market. This little guy looked a lot fresher when I first bought him, but right after I laid him out for the sketch my husband called me outside to look at some landscaping blocks he had purchased. Many hours and a lot of hard work later I finally got back to my sketch. By that time the leaves had wilted, but I sketched him anyway.

Days 119 and 120

Some more spring buds and blooms from my yard. I am really enjoying sketching flowers. My only disappointment is that I don't have more in my yard to choose from.

azalea sketch

sepia ink in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy Rowan

iris bud sketch

sepia ink in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy Rowan

Days 117 and 118

We seem to get a lot of wind where I live. This was one of those very windy days. I did my sketch while sitting in the car watching these poor trees getting blown around. Needless to say I was happy I wasn't outside like they were!

sketch of wind blown trees

sepia ink in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

Most days I do a little journaling with my sketch. My notes from Day 118 say I was feeling kind of grumpy. They also say that I was wishing grumpy moods would wash away like dirt, because I really don't like feeling grumpy. I guess that's why I chose to draw a liquid soap dispenser. All I can say is it made sense to me at the time.

soap dispenser sketch

sepia ink in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

Days 115 and 116

My neighbor is in the process of starting up a cake business. Occasionally she needs taste testers to try out new cakes. I think it is important to be a good neighbor, so I've offered to be her taste tester whenever she needs one. What can I say? That's just the kind of person I am.

On this day she brought over a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. It was delicious!!

fork sketch

graphite in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

Mondays are dance days. My daughters take two dance classes Monday evenings - tap and ballet. On this particular Monday they had to leave ballet early to go have lacrosse pictures taken.

My one daughter suggested that I sketch a pair of ballet shoes in the net of a lacrosse stick. That seemed a little complex for one of my daily sketches so I simplified it to a single ballet shoe.

ballet shoe sketch

sepia ink in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

Days 113 and 114

It seems that when I don't have an obvious sketching subject which relates to our days activities I resort to sketching decorative items.

I actually tried an activity related sketch this day. My husband, kids and I went to see the show Tap Kids at our local theater. It is an old theater and very beautiful inside.

I tried sketching the balcony, but the show started before I could finish. It was a fabulous show and we were too busy at intermission talking about our favorite parts for me to finish the sketch. So when we got home I grabbed this bunny and made it my official sketch of the day.

sketch of stuffed rabbit

sepia ink in cahier sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

Okay, so I know the next sketch is a pretty pathetic, but it was actually a timely subject that I wanted to capture. The sketch is of Silly Bandz - rubber bands made in the form of different shapes.

Silly Bandz sketch

pencil in cahier pocket sketch book

 copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan

For a number of weeks (months?) these rubber bands were all the rage. Kids of all ages wore them on their wrists and traded them like crazy. How I wish this idea had been mine, because I bet someone made a lot of money from this craze - five bucks at a time.

Days 111 and 112

Day 111 brought some unexpected free time when one of the kids' activities was canceled. I put it to good use by creating a more detailed sketch than normal. I was really happy with how this one turned out.

belt buckle sketch

graphite in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright Stacy L. Rowan

The next day I spent some time cleaning off and rearranging my watercolor palette before starting a new painting. When refilling my palette, I decided to sketch some of my paint tubes.

paint tube sketches

sepia pen in cahier pocket sketch book

copyright 2010 Stacy L. Rowan