Lilies, Colored Pencil

I have finished a couple more pieces of my Colored Pencil project these past few days. I will post one of them today and the 2nd in my next update. Above are lilies with some other pink garden flower. This is from a reference photograph I made a couple of years ago and fell in love with because of the colors. I simplified the background a great deal so as to keep the final drawing not too busy.

I am rather pleased with how this one came out. Not photo realistic, but that is OK with me, that wasn't what I was going for with this one. Drawn on Stonehenge paper, size is 6 x 6 inches for the finished drawing.

The above image is a photograph not a scan, I did a scan but wasn't happy with the resulting quality of the image, I think the colors are more accurate with the photo

I have two more in-process scans of the Day Lilies so you can see a bit how I work. Above is an in-process scan of my working on the dark green background for the lilies. First I lay down a light covering of a red wax based pencil, then I go over the red with a green wax based pencil (Derwent Studio). The brighter green to the right side is the final layer of a Dark Green Polychromos color. All final layers are Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for this work. The red background will give me a darker green than I would get if I just used green pencils.

Prior to starting with any of the colored pencils I do an ink outline drawing of the final image, this gives me guidelines for where the colors go. Sort of like an adult coloring book, but the drawings are my work based on personal reference photographs.

The above scan shows the drawing with the final layer of dark green Polychromos background and all other sections with their under layer of Derwent's wax pencils. I choose light colors for the flowers/leaves so that I can leave light areas when I do the final layers. Color pencil like watercolor doesn't really allow light colors to show up if they are applied over dark, so light areas have to be left light from the beginning.

I have been so busy with the colored pencil drawings that I am not getting much done watercolor wise. The above painting of some fall leaves was actually started a couple years ago and just finished this week. I was experimenting with a substance that covers the paper and protects it from the paint leaving white areas. Once the substance dries (it is a rubber like liquid) the background is painted, when the paint dries the resist is removed leaving the white paper ready for painting. Hmm well that is the theory, I found that there seemed to be a bit of a residue on the paper so some areas didn't like taking my paint.

Anyway while I am not unhappy with this painting, I am not very happy with the process, so I don't think I will be incorporating that technique into much of my watercolor art.

On a trip into Boston last week I walk through the Fenway past the World War II Memorial seen in the above photograph. I know there are also markers for the Korea War and other later wars in this area. Since Memorial day was Monday this week I thought it would be an appropriate image. I made the photograph more because the the blooming Azaleas but that is just an aside.

I also visited the Fenway Rose Garden, it is too early for much to be in boom but I did find this yellow/pink rose on one of the bushes. Have to go back a bit later in June when most of the bushes should be blooming.  My Father loved roses, and since a rose is usually the flower for June (my birth month) I am also very fond of them.

That is it for today. Per usual comments are welcome.

Matisse in the Studio

Late last week I took a trip into Boston to met a friend at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. First time I had been back to the museum for several months. A combination of things has kept me away, mostly weather related. Then I get out of the habit and just end up not making the trip. Not good, as there are several exhibits at the museum that I want to spend more time with. On this trip the main focus was the Matisse in the Studio Exhibit which is in the large gallery space. Though we also spent time in the Botticelli exhibit.

Henri Matisse was a French Artist who along with several other Artists was involved with the beginnings of modern art in Paris around 1900.  Unlike Picasso who worked at developing his artistic skills as a young man Matisse didn't discover art until after he had started a career in law as a court administrator. While he was recuperating from an illness his mother gave him some art supplies and he fell in love with art. He then returned to school in Paris to study art. If you wish to read more about Matisse click on the link embedded in his name above and read a full biography.

The exhibit pairs his paintings (selected as representing his entire career) with objects from his studio that he had collected or had been given and then used in his paintings. Matisse liked to paint from life.

In the painting above it is the screen and table that were items in his studio. Both are in the exhibit.

Both the tree above and the lithograph below are from a later time in his career/life, when he along with Picasso was interested in simplifying drawings and design. Course the men were lifelong friends by then and probably discussed their goals with their art.

I find that I enjoy looking at these simplified images. And I have to say that it isn't as easy to do as Matisse makes it look. 

Matisse was also known for his use of color, which can be seen in the painting I posted at the head of this post. 

I am not going to say much about the Botticelli exhibit though it includes paintings from his instructor. While I enjoyed viewing the works I can't say that I really admire them. I can only take so many virgin's with child before I have had enough, and Botticelli lived at a time when religious art was the main stay of his career. They do have one of his Venus paintings, and another that shows Athena with a centaur, both classical themes that again I find a bit, wearing. That said both paintings are beautifully executed and if you like art of that period (Renaissance) are worth a visit to the MFA to see.

One totally non relevant comment, in the Matisse exhibit I saw a man going around to each painting and photographing it. He didn't bother to look at the paintings, well only enough to make the photograph, and then quickly moved on to the next one. What was he doing? Did he not have time to spend in the exhibit and wanted to document that he had been there? Did he honestly think he could study the paintings in his photographs as if he were in front of the actual works? By the way you can't, photographs lie, and gallery lighting isn't good enough for a really good photo. It seemed very strange to me. While I made a few photos (for the blog) I don't usually even try to photograph paintings. I am more likely to photograph sculpture or other works and then more as a memory jogger rather than as something I would study at leisure. As far as I am concerned he was just wasting his time and perhaps looking for bragging rights. Oh well it takes all kinds.

That is it for today. Next blog post will probably be pretty flower pictures.

Back to Watercolor with Pen and Ink

Today's blog update is actually revisiting work I did in May (or earlier) but never got posted to the blog. What can I say, my bad. With the return of warmer weather I am spending a lot of time out and about with my camera. Photographing flowers, butterflies, Odes and anything else I see that will hold still long enough. Leaving me not a lot of time or energy for my art or the blog. That said I am trying to get back to doing daily sketches. These are just very quick drawings usually with pen but sometimes as in my last update graphite. The sketches will probably be the art I will be posting for most of the summer now that I have these pen and ink works posted.

The above is about postcard sized. On cold press watercolor paper I first laid down a wash. No real pre-planning with these, I just pick a couple of colors and then work it from there, no rules except I like to keep the colors fairly light so that the ink work will show up. Once the paper is dry I look at the resulting wash and try to think what would look good on it. For the above piece I decided that abstract/geometric would probably be best, so hauling out my compass I drew various sized circles in pencil then got to work inking.

I used my technical pens for this, mostly the 0, and the 00 tips  So here it is, not sure if I like it or not, it was certainly more work than I expected when I started it.

These next two are ATC's or Artists Trading Cards, so the size is 3.5 x 2.5 inches. For these I used hot press watercolor paper and kept the watercolor washes very simple just a couple of colors.

The above is based on some of my photos of Jack in the Pulpits. I love those flowers and have tried to use them in my art in the past, with mixed results. This card I like, course the pink might seem a bit strange but I am not going for total realism here so for me it works.

With the background colors I selected for this card, I though water so drew a couple of fish, again revisiting previous art work, though these aren't really copies of what I have done before, just similar. I textured the background to make the fish stand out. I thought about adding some texture to the fish bodies, but decided that if I did that then the fish would just blend into the background instead of standing out. I decided to do minimal ink work on the fish bodies. I am not sure about the water plants, I thought I wanted something to add a bit more interest, but after I had done it, I was kind of sorry.

This past week I spent a day in Boston, mostly so I could make photographs, but I also made a side trips to the Boston MFA and to the Public Library. While there I made this quick sketch of a fellow patron. His thumb is a bit out of wack, proportion wise, to the rest of him, but I am not totally displeased with how this came out. Done in my small sketch book with a Copic .2 Multiliner pen.  

It is surprisingly difficult to get a good photo of a waterlily. Mostly because they are usually in the middle (or at least not near the edge) of ponds, and I don't have a boat. The one in the above photo was actually next to a rock near to shore, so I was able to photograph over the rock for the above photo. I cranked up the ISO so that the shadows would show up. Finally a water lily photo I am pleased with.

This is a photo of Copley Square taken from the steps of the Boston Public Library. I can't recall the name of the church in the square but it is rather well known. What I find interesting in this photo is the John Hancock building with it's reflective glass windows. On the side facing the viewer you can see reflected clouds, making it a bit hard to actually make out the building. Fun effect and very Boston. Though when I first moved to Boston back in the 1970's the building was covered with plywood because the windows kept pooping out of their frames, took a bit of engineering and a law suit to resolve the problems. But resolve them they did, I haven't heard of any glass falling for years.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome.

More Ink over Watercolor, some Graphite Sketches

ACK, where has the time gone, I kept meaning to post an update to the blog, then I ended up too tired, or busy and it didn't get done. Sorry about that. Above is another of my watercolor washes with ink overlay. For this one I actually sat down and did some up-front design work instead of just winging it as I had been doing. Not sure it is much of an improvement, but at least I gave it a go.

Size is still small, about post card sized, on cold press watercolor paper, I used a dip pen with India Ink for the ink work.

The drawing is loosely based on some of of my photographs of lily of the valley. It is that time of year here in MA. and the lily of the valley is in full bloom at the sites I visit where it grows. It isn't native to the US, but as I love the smell of the flowers I can't say that I can work up any desire to see it gone.

Above is a drawing I made of a Madonna painting in Boston's MFA on one of my visits. It isn't wonderful, but then I don't like to spend too long doing these. I am not trying to totally reproduce what I see, just to create an impression. I think there is enough done for you to get the general idea. I use a mechanical pencil for these as it doesn't need sharpening and slides into the rings of the small sketchbook so it is accessible. But I am finding the lead I am currently using a bit too soft, I will have to remember to purchase something a bit harder the next time I buy refills for the pencil.

Sketches from the bus trip into Boston. Top is basically just the outline of a sleeping baby's head. I didn't have time for more as she was given back to her Mother who was seated elsewhere on the bus. Other sketches, man with cap, hand holding onto rail, and another woman passenger.  Not wonderful, I really need to get back to daily sketching, but where I will find the time I am not sure.

That comment may have you wondering just what am I doing that is keeping me so busy. Well... it is spring so plants are blooming, butterflies, and odes are flying and I have been busy visiting various State Parks and MASS Audubon sites to photograph what I can find. So far that includes a couple of new to me Elfin Butterflies, and new damselflies, along with some new wild flowers. Oh, and least I forget there are also trips into Boston to visit the MFA and make photographs of the city. But all that looking requires a fair amount of walking/hiking which leaves me too tired in the evening to want to work on art. I may have to try and do something in the morning prior to heading out on my explorations. Have to think about this. Please note that I have been posting some photos to my facebook page, link at the bottom of the blog page if you are curious.

Above is one of the butterflies I photographed this spring. Most early spring butterflies aren't all that interested in nectar, they are more into tree sap, but as more flowers appear they also seem to switch to using them as a food source.  Anyway a lot of my spring butterfly photos show them on the ground looking for minerals that they need for their diet, not on flowers. But every now and then I luck out and find one on a flower. Above is a Spring Azure Butterfly on some Dandelion flowers. I just liked this photo, hope you do also.

I made the above photo in Boston. The statue stands in front of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank Building, and is actually about life sized. Another photo that I just like.

That is it for today, hopefully I will manage another update shortly. I really have some art work already finished, it is more a question of finding the time/energy to do the actual work of putting text with images. In the meantime comments are always welcome.

Happy 2016, and Some Ink Work

On one hand I can't believe I let the entire month of December go by without one blog update, on the other hand it makes total sense. Thanksgiving was late in 2015, leaving just 4 weeks till Christmas. For me Thanksgiving was a wake up call, buy presents, get them wrapped and mailed, make travel reservations, figure out what I wanted to take, pack, then travel. It didn't leave me a lot of time for art or the blog. Then I spent 2 weeks in Chicago, a great place to visit but it wasn't feasible to try and make any blog updates while I was there. Though I did draw while in Chicago, that is mostly where the images in today's post were made. Then I had to travel home, and try to settle back into my life, taking care of plants, returning books to library, laundry, groceries, bills, etc. I am thankful to say that is all mostly done. So today I am belatedly turning my attention to the blog.

The above is sort of a doodle, but not entirely, I think I have it in the back of my brain to attempt to design some fabric. The above is a first attempt. I used 3 different sized technical pens then watercolor pencils to add a bit of color. The watercolor was activated with a damp brush. I am not happy with the colors, and while I think the patterns have possibilities it doesn't quite work. So expect to see some more of this type of work. Whether it will actually become a fabric design I don't know at this point, we will just have to see.

You may or may not be aware that there is currently a revival with coloring books, these are mostly aimed at adults who don't feel they can draw but love color, and are happy to spend the time and effort coloring others drawings. I thought it might be fun to design some works that could be downloaded and used by others as templates to color. The subjects are based on photographs I have made, and I have tried to create simplified outlines that can be filled in. I have yet to decide where to upload large images for download, probably in my Esty shop, so stay tuned.

Above are three mallard ducklings. the drawing and ink work are done, image scanned and it is time for me to do some coloring with this one. My drawing was done on Stonehenge paper and I inked them with my technical pens, size is 7 x 7 inches.

The flowers in the above drawing are purple headed sneezeweed and the reference photograph was one I used in my Flowers 2016 calendar. The background leaf pattern is just me being creative and doesn't really reflect the reference. Another drawing ready to be colored. I will be using colored pencils for these though I suppose I could use watercolor pencils or even watercolor. Something to think about.

I have one more drawing that needs to be inked then I need to work on a couple more of these. They have been both a challenge and fun to do.

The above photograph I made in Chicago, a bush with red berries in front of a window that was reflecting a tree and sky. I thought it was sort of fun so am posting it here.

I took the train to Chicago, and since I arrived at South Station with some time to spare I took my camera for a walk and made some Boston Photos prior to departing, so this is a December photograph of the Fort Point Channel with a view of the sheep statue and some Boston buildings as a backdrop, looking northeast. Wool was an important trade commodity for Colonial Boston. Wool produced here in the Colonies was shipped back to England to be woven into cloth. Early Colonists were prohibited from shipping 100% wool cloth between colonies or exporting it out of its place of manufacture. Of course the prohibition of shipping between colonies couldn't really be enforced. So spinning and weaving became important home industries for early american Woman and Children.

That is it for today, I want to take a moment to wish everyone reading a Happy Healthy 2016, may some of your dreams and/or wishes come true this next year, may you and yours enjoy good health, and be creative. Per usual comments are welcome. Oh, there are a few Chicago photographs on my Facebook page if you are interested in looking, link at the bottom of the blog.

More Inktober and a sketch

So far so good with my drawings for #inktober. Without quite intending it I seem to have a series going. It seems to be a series in 2 different ways, first; all of the main drawings are of plant materials of some sort, nuts, fruit, and leaves. Second I have continued drawing my little helper as the actual executor of these drawings.

All those hours of life drawing from models is coming in handy. I won't say that my figure looks really lifelike, but I think I am getting most of the proportions correct, and the poses mostly realistic. I am not quite sure I can come up with 31 different poses though, so that will be just another of my challenges for this month.

I don't know why I keep using vertical text where the letters are kept vertical, doing it that way throws the spacing between letters off and really isn't very attractive. But once I start inking there really isn't any going back so Apple above is vertical/vertical. Still if frames the apple so in a way it works.

Above are the leaves and some of the seeds of the Lindon tree. They have pretty yellow/green flowers in spring and this odd shaped leaf that both the flowers and the seeds grow from. I am sure there is a more technically correct term for this, but I am not in the mood to go chasing it.

The other change I made for this drawing was to make the plant material a different ink color. In the WetCanvas pen and ink forum another participant in Inktober was doing his drawings with brown ink, and I rather liked the look of it. Since I have 3 different bottles of brown ink I thought it might be fun to add a different color to the mix. Since I am continuing to draw my helper in black ink, it makes for a interesting contrast, which I rather like. So starting with this drawing the central drawing is done with different shades of brown ink. The one above was Daler Rowney FW Acrylic ink, Sepia.

I was in Boston on the 6th, visiting the MFA and then walking along the Fenway and picking up more nuts, mostly acorns but also some sort of a Hickory nut. The Hickory isn't the shag bark that I am familiar with but there are several other species of Hickory that can grow in the northeast and the nut I am finding is from one of those. One day I will actually pin it down. In the meantime I picked up this oak leaf and thought to use it as my subject for the the 6th.

The ink for the oak leaf was another Daler Rowney FW acrylic, Antelope brown.

The above is a graphite sketch I made of a fellow bus passenger while on route to Boston. I have played with it in Photoshop to darken the graphite which was otherwise a bit light, no other changes though. 

We had beautiful blue sky's on Tuesday, the day I went into Boston. This is a photo of the Fens, a bit more water in them since last weeks rain storms. Trees are just starting to hint and the fall change. We had the warmest Sept. on record last month and I think it has delayed the fall colors.

Above is the fountain in Copley Square. The last time I was in the Square in Sept. they were working on the fountain and it was dry. I wasn't happy because I was trying to get a good photograph in Copley for the 2016 Boston calendar I was working on. Course I was there at the wrong time of day also, This week I was there in the afternoon, which is the best time to photograph the square and the church, esp. on a sunny day. I expect they will be draining it again soon so I made this photo while I had the chance.

That is it for today, I do have a drawing for the 7th but am saving it for my next update. Per usual comments are welcome.

Some Pen and Ink and other Updates

Oops, been way too long since I managed a blog update. Mostly because a problem with my Apt. required that I pretty much pack it up and store stuff while the problem was being dealt with. Heat has also been an issue as I just don't feel very creative when I am hot. That said things are mostly settled, thank heavens, and I am slowly starting to put the Apt. and my life back together. Still for the moment my art supplies have been reduced to a couple of sketchbooks and my technical pens and pencils so the type of work I can do is limited, graphite or pen and ink.

All of today's images are pen and ink aren't really much more than doodles, but still a way for me to keep my hand in, and some of them are kind of fun. Above a stylized moon with some funky stars and I think galaxies, hey if I say that is what I intended you will just have to take my word for it. Drawn with pen in one of my small sketchbooks.

Another pen work, this time an imaginary still life, Not sure what that image in the background is, but I had fun drawing it.

I have been photographing Hydrangea's, the flowers can be white, blue, pink and sometimes a purple color depending on the soil conditions they are growing in. This little sketch isn't from life, but from my imagination even if based (more or less) on real flowers. Drawn with a .03 Copic Multiliner in one of my sketchbooks.

The upheaval in my Apt. caused me to toss the curtains in my living room. It was time, they were old and some of them had sun rot and were splitting. Trying to keep the cost of the replacement curtains down I purchased some inexpensive flat sheets from Walmart, They are a cotton/poly blend and knit not woven. The fabric is not very nice and I would hate to have to use them on my bed, but for curtains they will work, however the plain cream color just was too bland for me to want to go with it.

Hey I am an artist and something of a fiber artist though I haven't been doing much with fiber these past few years. Still I had/have supplies (just had to dig them out of storage) so the above photo shows an in-progress image of what I am doing to the sheets to liven them up. I am stenciling leaves to the cream background using Shiva Oil Paint sticks and some leaf templates I had picked up at a quilt show years ago and never really used. I am using several colors of green paint, along with several gold/yellow/red iridescent paint colors

Needless to say this is turning out to be a larger project than I initially planned. It is taking longer to stencil the leaves than I expected and is a lot more work. I have four windows that I have to re-curtain, and at my current rate it will probably be sometime next year before I am done. I will try to remember to post an image of a finished set so you can have an idea of how the project came out.

Last week I finally managed a trip into Boston, the main purpose was to make some photographs in Copley Square for the 2016 Calendar that I am working on but I also added in a quick visit to the MFA, with a side trip to Dick Blicks for more paint sticks. I am working on 3 calendars for 2016, flowers, butterflies and a seasonal year of Boston images. More about these in further posts.

From my visit to the MFA, above are three photographs of artwork from a new exhibit called Pastoral to Pop, 20th Century Britain on Paper. As you can see the exhibit is very eclectic from abstracted to realistic, buildings to figure. I take every chance I can get to view works on paper, for many years a neglected part of world of art but one which I find compelling. Some of these works I found very compelling, others not so much. Since it will be up until next Feb. I expect to visit it a few more times and to be able to really examine some of the works more closely.

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo's but the gallery has low light and I can't use flash so.., also the works were sometimes hung over each other putting them above my line of sight, making a head on photo shot a bit tricky (hence the cut off top of the figure drawing)

Last image today is a photograph of a sunflower that I made last week. It is growing in a neighbors front yard. Actually a lot of my neighbors grow sunflowers, which I appreciate since I love to photograph them. Yellow, brown, green and blue wonderful colors that go well together.

That is it for today, hopefully it won't be so long before my next update. Hope everyone had a good summer and is looking forward to a splendid fall. Per usual comments are welcome and appreciated even if I don't always respond.

A Barn and some other landscapes

I have been trying to push myself to do more drawing. I worked hard to get my drawing skills up to a fairly high level and I really don't want to let them get too rusty. So the above pen and ink drawing done from one of the July reference photos in the Pen and Ink forum on WetCanvas. An old barn, drawn in one of my small notebooks, so it isn't very large, approx. 4 x 6 inches and it was drawn with my technical pens.

I see some mistakes, but am otherwise not displeased with this small drawing.

The above is actually a plein air landscape, drawn with pen and ink in one of my smaller notebooks while I was visiting my local park. Not wonderful, but not too bad either. Trees are supposed to be birch trees. I need to work on how to depict leaves on a tree without drawing each and every one what I did in this drawing isn't entirely satisfactory.

In the same park where I drew the landscape I also spent some time trying to draw the ducks and geese that live there from life. Very sketchy drawings as live animals tend to not hold still. The advantage of drawing ducks and geese is that I have done a fair amount of drawing them from references so have some basic understanding of how they should look, which helps, but I have some pages with some pretty weird looking sketches, where I wasn't very on the mark with the drawings.

Another park, this time a State Park in Abington, MA, and another landscape. Foreground is actually a huge rock which I was sitting on to make the drawing of the woods beyond. Should have spent a bit more time on this to get the values a bit more accurate, but it was getting late so I really didn't have the time.

People make fires at this spot even though the park is supposed to be closed after sunset, probably local teenagers who come to drink beer, no one would be able to see or hear them. The rock is off of a main trail along the edge of the lake so would be fairly easy to find even in the dark.

Two photographs today, the above was made in Boston during a recent visit and is the fountain in the Christian Science Plaza, in the summer the kids love to play in the fountain, which is allowed I have a feeling that by allowing them to play in the fountain they hope to keep them out of the reflecting pool behind. Beyond in the background is the dome of the Main CS church.

The above is a head shot of a bumble bee gathering nectar and pollen from a Milkweed flower. Even if you don't like bees I hope you like this photo, It isn't easy getting a good photo of a bee they move so much so quickly. I really like this one, and hope you do also.

That is it for today, per usual comments are appreciated. One last note I have been collecting so many butterfly photos that I though it was time I set up a separate page for them. I have just started working on it so don't have all the butterflies I have photographed posted yet but if you have a moment do take the time to check it out.

Back to MFA Boston, various sketches

More of my pen exercises, this time I was exploring white against black. Still need to do more of this, I wasn't really happy with the shapes around the circle, they were supposed to be mushroomed shaped and ended up looking more like nail heads in some instances. Ah well, I have to keep in mind the thickness of the line takes away from the white that will be left once the background is filled in. Esp. as I tend to use one of the larger tips for this part of the drawing, mainly because it is easier to fill in the black when I use a larger tip.

Not thrilled with the above, too much is sort of haphazard, I wasn't paying enough attention to my initial line placements.

I was back into Boston on Tuesday. It was a sunny day with temps above 32 degrees F, so it wasn't freezing and some actual snow melting was taking place. I drew the above sketch on the Bus on my way up to Ashmont. It is sketchy because I rather liked it that way and decided that I might ruin it if I continued to work it. I did several other sketches on the bus but this is my favorite. Graphite (mechanical pencil) in my smaller sketchbook.

I started this visit to Boston by walking through the Common, the Gardens and then over to and up Charles Street, making photographs along the way. Some of those photos are on my Facebook page. Anyway I ended up at a Red Line station and took it back to Park where I picked up the Green Line to the MFA. I wanted to see the visiting Klimt painting of Adam and Eve that is on exhibit in the European Modern gallery. It is a lovely painting, but photographs are not allowed so I can only reference you to the MFA web site.

That said I think the Guards need to pay more attention as while I was sitting and drawing the above I noticed a man making many photos of the Klimt, with flash. I almost yelled at him, but I wasn't sure at that point that photos weren't allowed. I was making a photo of an MFA painting next to the Klimt when a guard came up and told me photos weren't allowed, ah well.

The drawing above is of a plaster relief of two wrestlers made by Henri Gaudier Brzeska in 1914 a year prior to his death at the Front in 1915. Apparently he was fascinated by wrestlers and loved to watch their matches.

I am trying to make one drawing per visit of an item on Exhibit, sculptures are a bit easier than paintings to draw, and this relief is almost a sculpture. Spending the time to make a drawing gets me more involved with the exhibits, and allows me to rest my knees and feet.

The above photo was made in the American Wing looking out toward a park area that is next to the museum. I forgot to get the name of the artist who created this figure, but really the photo is more about the exterior with the inclusion of the Prudential tower in the distance.

We are having a week of above freezing temperatures and there is lots of melting going on. Don't get me wrong there are still piles of snow but you can see from the reflections in this rather large puddle that there is also lots of melting.

That is it for today per usual comments are welcome.