wagonized

Sensitive

Oh, the precious sensitive wipes.  They were sitting in front of me last night on the coffee table, and I was curious to see if I could draw while the baby was on my lap.  

Pigma Micron 05 and colored pencil in sketchbook.

The beast

We got our hands on the battery charger of the Canon Rebel.  This is the nth drawing of the beast, and it goes out to Andrea Joseph, of course :-)  

Pigma Micron 08 in Moleskine.  

First pencil sketch

This is my first attempt at sketching little Nora -- approximate at best!  

2B "fat" graphite in Moleskine.

I'm in love

I'm in love with her little footprint that was done within minutes of her birth, with her little nose, with her little hands, with her smell, with the noise she makes when she breathes and with the way her hands curl at the end of her long sleeves.  

My sketchbook is not seeing much action these days and this blog will be running on two cylinders for a while.  

Nora Cécile Van Stone

Nora was born Tuesday afternoon, and weighed 3.3 kilos. 

This is a little sketch that our 7 year-old niece did of her "with blue eyes because all babies have blue eyes" according to her.  

I don't know when I will be able to report to the blog, let alone set time aside to draw.  It might be a little while before everything falls into place.  See you all soon!  

Poivre

No matter how many times I've drawn pepper shakers in restaurants, I always find them interesting to look at.  Here are some old ones: here and here.  

Pigma Micron 05 in sketchbook.

Ode to my little Canon

I've been carrying this little Canon "Elph" in my purse since I bought it five years ago.  Yesterday, as I was putting together a little movie on iMovie using videos taken with my little Elph, it struck me how much I have used it through the years.  I don't need a better one.  Maybe a new battery, if that.  

Here's an older drawing of it.

Pilot pen in Moleskine.

rough close-up

I took a rough, distorted picture of Tom with my iPhone one day.  I originally wanted to draw it with a pencil, but the pen won.  Reminds me of the rough drawings I was doing a couple of years ago like this one. 

Joan's bag

I periodically stare at Michelangelo's drawings in my  Michelangelo drawings book and turn green (!) over his masterful treatment of fabrics and folds.     

Here's another shot at some folds tonight.    

Pigma Micron 05 in sketchbook -- with a dash of Photoshop for the green background.  

And while I'm at it, here's some Ben Folds -- whom I love.  

Don't get up to get coffee yet

I was in a mood  to doodle some folds on Tom's pants tonight.

Pigma Micron 05 in sketchbook. 

Pablo

I don't know how many years Pablo has lived at my dad's house.  But I know this drawing is long overdue!   

2B graphite in sketchbook.

Meet Antoine

Antoine is one of the new residents of our house.  He was a gift from one of my students, Antoine!

Merci, Antoine.  

2B pencil on sketch paper.

Ahmad

I have kept this cover of the New York Times Magazine for two and a half years in my school bag, and stumbled upon it tonight, folded in an envelope.  It's a black and white photo of Ahmad Chalabi.  I had held on to it thinking I would get around to drawing it one day.  

I opened the old Moleskine (the one I started in November '07!) and drew/distorted him with a Pigma Micron 08.  

Still packed

The TV is on, but as usual, I am not watching.  There's still a mess of bags and gifts in the living room.  

Can't wait to put a baby in all those clothes we got.  Even the installation of the car seat is an exciting prospect.  

Can you sense the anticipation?!

Ah, thank you, friends.  

Ninety-nine blues

One of the best looking Saabs ever made :-)

After a photo by Saab connoisseur (and multiple Saab owner!) Jeff from Grenoble.  

Pigma Micron and watercolor in watercolor  Moleskine -- the one that is full of colorful ladies.  

SUV

We got a new SUV this weekend.  Fortunately, once folded, it fits in the trunk of my Civic.  

Broken in three minutes

My friends Megan, Todd and I decided to start our respective new Moleskines with a blind contour drawing of one another.  This is my version of Todd, who was sitting in front of me.  I was laughing so hard as I was drawing, I had tears in my eyes.  

I am sure Danny Gregory would say it much better, but drawing in blind contour -- looking only at the subject, not at the paper, and not lifting the pen off the paper -- is a great way to let go of control, and let the right side of the brain flex its muscle a bit.  My results are pathetically crass, but isn't it the point :-)

Java blues doodles

I have had a bit of a fascination with Rick Danko over the past few years, so when I was doodling Tom's coffee cup yesterday, I had this tune -- which, I gather can only be a metaphor for other illegal substances -- spinning in my head.  

Pigma Micron and watercolor.  

You're all baby

Yet another waiting room doodle at the doctor's office.  I added the background with Photoshop.  

The doctor told me "You're ALL baby!".  

This is my 9th month guys, so if I disappear from the blog for a while, you'll know it will be because our baby girl arrived.  

On the beach

I have drawn dogs in the past, but not too often have I tackled them directly in pen, as I do with cars or people's faces.  I wanted to know what this one would look like with my Pigma Micron.  Canson sketchbook.  

Anniversary

My brother in law's wedding anniversary is around the corner and he asked me to do a portrait of him and his wife.  He originally requested a portrait of them with their pets all around (that's at least 8 -- cats and dogs put together), but I managed to talk him out of it.  Pfeeeeeew. 

2B "fat" Cretacolor graphite on Canson paper.  

Kevin/Tevin

I covered a class this morning where I met a Kevin and a Tevin.  Tevin was pretty keen on the idea of having his Nikes drawn.  It worked perfectly for me, because I loved how his pants fell on his sneakers. 

These are this morning's doodles.  

Pigma Micron 08 in sketchbook.  

Tom

I've been itching to draw my husband Tom.  

2B "fat" Cretacolor graphite in sketchbook.   

Here's another portrait I did of him months ago.  

The bag lady

I am a bag lady.  I get to work in the morning with a minimum of three bags -- and that's when I don't take my laptop along.  So, from left to right: my WNYC tote (the one that screams "I've made my contribution to public radio"),  my purse and my big bag of snacks.  

What lack of inspiration looks like

I have not been inspired to draw for the past three days or so.   I have been looking around me for possible drawings -- a shoe here, a building there, a couple of commissions waiting to be done... but have not felt capable of producing something I will like.  Which furthers my conviction that feeling inspired is feeling able.  The best moments of inspiration for me are when I don't think of whether I will like the results, in fact, they happen when I don't think of the results at all.  

All I could muster today was a little tribute to my Pigma Micron 05.  Drawn with my Pigma Micron 08!