Necessary Tools

Assorted pencils, pens, brushes, craft knives... always handy and perfect to draw in 20 min. when nothing else strikes my fancy. Drawn with a pen (a big leap for me, no pencil drawing) and painted in watercolor on heavyweight sketch paper, 6" x 9". Watercolor is ideal for quick color studies, but of course, incredible artists like Winslow Homer and many others knew that way before I did!

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Something different for a 20 min. sketch - sepia and white charcoal pencils on toned paper, approx. 6" x 9". Daisy and Rocket are the perfect models as they can hold a pose like this for hours! I drew Daisy (top) in about 6 min. - so then I drew Rocket and added some more detail to their surroundings to finish out the 20 min., the first time I didn't feel rushed. These spoiled Bichons just have the life!

Travel Journal paintings

 Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, VT, 2005

Canterbury Shaker Village, Canterbury, NH, 2005

Though these are not paintings I've completed in 20 min., they are a good representation of the paintings in my small (6" x 9") travel journal/sketchbook. Begun wholeheartedly in 2005 after a wonderful week-long workshop with Lew Lehrman, this sketchbook contains pencil drawings, pen & ink, and watercolors of various places we've traveled throughout the past 5 years. I favor food illustration and architecture scenes in general - and especially love historic and interesting buildings and actively seek them out for sketching.

Process for creating these: 1. make a quick pencil or pen sketch on location, capturing light and shadows as swiftly as possible
2. make color notes or take reference photos
3. paint with watercolor at a later time (usually the same day back at our camper, but it could be up to months later with the use of the reference photos).

To keep the blog current, I'll share more of these when I don't have a new 20 min. sketch, though I hope that's not too often!

Wheel of Fortune

3rd 20 min. sketch - Prismacolor ArtStix and colored pencil, approx. 6" x 9". I drew this on 1/4 as well as the previous, but I will fit them in whenever I can. If I have to do 3 sketches one day in order to make up for a few I've missed... I'm okay with that.

My thoughts for the new year and new endeavors focused on this "Wheel of Fortune" idea: "Our oneness is uplifting, it adds purpose to our activities; to be isolated would make us grieve, for the natural way is one of unity... Season after season, cycle after cycle, we are renewed... ours is the promise of a brighter tomorrow and the gift of a new dream worth dreaming." -Poppy Palin, Stories of the Wild Spirit

Shaker simplicity

Another 6" x 9" 20 min. sketch - this time drawn in pencil and then inked. My inspiration: a photo I took back in 2003 when we went to Pleasant Hill Shaker Village, KY. Fortunately for me, I have no shortage of photos from that wonderful place to use for sketching. I was surprised at how little I can actually draw with pen & ink in just 20 min. I just need more practice!

Cookies and Eggnog

My first attempt at a timed 20 min. sketch; FOOD, of course. This is 6" x 9", colored pencil on heavy weight sketch paper. Watercolor has been my favorite medium for the past 5 years or so but I thought I could get more detail down quicker with the pencils. My first impression - it's a lot harder than I thought it would be to quit after just 20 minutes (oh, if only that was true with exercise).