mARTa's Art

I am feeling down today. Normal for what has come to pass. I got dressed to go run but sacked out on the couch instead. Then vowed to get to the gym, but can't seem to get there either. I took a long nap even though I slept well last night. I picked up some knitting I had put down months ago and listened to an audio book while I knit. Then I went to sit on the patio withmy  moleskine wc sketchbook in hand, when I saw the neglected flower pots. The only survivor was the aloe vera plant. It reminded me it's time to begin the healing.

These are the last of my drawings from the past month from my figure class. I am planning on going in to take the final tomorrow before going to the graveside for my cousins services.  I pick up my final project and portfolio.  I'm going to miss the class and all the great people I was fortunate to sketch side by side with.

A little change in this study. I've included a 2nd mirror behind me. I still need to play around more with the set up and lighting.

I have to do a final project for my Figure Drawing class. We have several options but I think I'm going to go with the easiest which is a self portrait. There needs to be a few things included which tell something about me, who I am. Obviously it's not going to be my clothes. It has to be in media with which we worked on in class such as conte, ink or grahpite.
These are done with diluted Noodler's ink in my Niji waterbrush.

First of eight is complete.  This was hard work!  I had to pick a figure drawing done by one of the masters.  I choose Michelangelo.  Then after obtaining  a good photocopy I was to trace the drawing's tonal values.  Next I had to copy the drawing using the materials the artist used and take observational notes about what I was obseving and learning by doing this.  Lastly I was to do my own drawing using what I learned from the master and in the media used by the master artist.  M poor Rudy agreed to posing nude for me but I told him I wanted to do some sketching first.  So, he could keep his underpants on while i sketched.  But I liked this seated pose so well (at least in conte) that I decided to use it for my study.  Whee...he narrowly escaped this time!

I think last weekend was just full of bad karma. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself...got over that. But things were going awry. Like on Friday night my iphone kept going in and out of service. By Saturday I was on the phone between apple and att. Finally on Sunday Apple concluded it was a problem with the phone. All ended well on Monday when at&t replaced my sim chip and Apple gave me a brand new shinny iphone! Now we are all happy!
I spent a good part of the weekend exploring my new imac and finding it easier than I thought to switch from my pc brain to mac os. Do you think it's that right/left brain thing?
I also picked up the knitting needles which always put me in a meditative mode and began a pair of pretty lilac and pink socks! As I knit I caught up on all Grey's Anatomy episodes and sipped hot tea.
Monday was awfully busy at work but good to be among my little friends again. But I felt so tired by the end of the night......alas....woke up yesterday feeling blah again and found that laying on the couch with a fuzzy blanket was a good place to be.
Today I was supposed to meet up with Deborah at the Bower Museum for some sketching but I woke up feeling achy so I had to bail. I was so disappointed because I was looking forward to meeting her and making a new friend.
Rudy is home today and wanted to go browse at Borders at the Riverside Plaza. He loves to just go browse the shelves as do I. He convinced me it would be just for a little while since I'm not feeling well. We left for a bite to eat at one of the sandwich shops and I saw the giant tree in front of the movie theater was all set up. I thought it would make a fun sketch sometime. We left but as we approached my car he noticed one tire had gone flat. He told me to go back inside the book store and wait while he changed it. Instead I found a bench to sit on even though it was chilly and very windy and quickly did this sketch.
It's turned out to be a nice day even though I didn't get to Orange County.   Maybe it is a good thing I didn't take off for the OC because I probably wouldn't have made it with a bad tire.  Apparently the nail caused enough damage that it can't be fixed but needs replacing. 

And a lazy Sunday on the Pediatric Ward at Kaiser Fontana Med. Center...Fontana, California.

An automatic blood pressure machine. Lazy Saturday evening at work.

Sent from me and my cool iPhone

Yesterday I woke up in a strange mood. I had the whole weekend off but hadn't made any plans. I thought of going to the farmer's market, maybe to even sketch there, but didn't want to go alone. I needed some serious work in the kitchen, tidying up and rearranging...but didn't feel like doing that either. A walk perhaps or the gym perhaps? Those 6 lbs I lost in Europe are going to find themselves back on me if I don't watch it! I was spinning my wheels.

I noticed Dianne online and gave her a call. She invited me to come along with her and her family to the opening reception of the Visions Art Quilt Exhibit in San Diego where one of her beautiful quilts was juried in. So, I went. I had a great time.! Another of our friends joined us there also. It was a fun evening and I was glad I'd gone along. She's a wonderful artist but more so, a very good friend.

While waiting for her to pick me up I drew these two random sketches in my neglected Moleskine watercolour book and added color to them this evening.....after spending the day cleaning and rearranging the kitchen....oh, and baking 2 loafs of pumpkin bread...the house smells yummy!!!! But no exercising today :(

Sent from me and my cool iPhone

Today we got up early, had a good breakfast and set out for sightseeing. We were still tired as with the time change it has been difficult for all of us to get back in sync with our internal body clocks. After breakfast onto Victoria Station to buy 3 day travel cards and take the LONDON TUBE to The Tower of London where we were facinated by so much history. I especially liked the suits of armour and took some good photos.

Then a ride on the Thames from The Tower Bridge to Westminster where we spotted Big Ben, The Houses of Parliment and went into Westminster Abby. We then walked to Trafalger Square passing no. 10 Downing Street and sat ourselves down for a nice lunch at the National Gallery's cafe. We were done...so sleepy that we will leave the tour of the National Gallery for another day.......back to the B&B and we all took long naps....Adam is still asleep...we left him a not:)

gotta run......ciao...untill next time I check in!

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Yeah! I found internet access........yippy! ok, but I have to be quick.....We arrived safely though a bit late with no time to rest. We were hungry and so tired. We wandered a short way and found the Traveler's Tavern where Adam and Amy ordered 4 pints and some fish and chips. I normally don't like beer but it was good......London..we are here.

before we leave on Tuesday morning for our European Adventure! My Amy, like her mother, is well organized and has it all together. Adam, like his father has left many things to the last minute so I know tomorrow, beside making sure I have everything....I have to make sure they have everything! I will post again Tuesday morning before we leave, then I'm hoping to post frequently (no pictures) to keep family and friends abreast of where we are and what we are up to!!!
This sketch I added to my travel journal while at quilt camp. I'm hoping I get lots of opportunities to sketch on this trip. If not, I'll hopefully have lots of reference photos!!! Oh, by the way, the new me has a cute short haircut and a bit more blond.....ciao!

The weather turned cold, too cold for the beach. So we drove a few miles north to spend a few hours at Disneyland: The happiest place on earth! It wasn't as crowded as usual and we enjoyed just walking and getting on the fast rides. I had lots of time to sketch but I have a long way to go for my buildings to look accurate. What the heck, I had fun!

Sent from me and my cool iPhone

Sent from me and my cool iPhone

I got a call early this morning from Rudy (my cute fireman) telling me he can't come home because he was put on 'mandatory' because of the fires in the Big Bear,Ca area. We were supposed to leave for a week at the beach today. After my last week, I was so looking forward to it. We try and go often; parking our little trailer on the bluffs at San Clemente and settling in for a few days to relax and enjoy the ocean. But hopefully not all is lost and we can get up and go tomorrow! So for today I just want to share a sketch I did last year around this time. I have my favorite bench to sit on where I watch the sunset into the dark blue ocean as I sip my wine and sketch....yes, I can do both at the same time.


San Clemente State Beach. watercolor and ink in Winsor & Newton travel sketchbook

My friend Dianne came over this evening porting two beautiful Bird of Paradise blossoms for us to paint as we put our feet in the pool and sipped some wine. This was a perfect way to end the day with a continued good start to the week. Like all friends we easily slipped into conversation and it was nice to 'get it all out' and cleanse myself of the previous week. As our mouths moved our hands sketched and although I don't care for floral I enjoyed this one.
While we chatted away and painted my Dottie (our black lab mutt) availed herself to Dianne's glass of wine and gulped in one swoop! We laughed as Dianne retreated to the kitchen for more. Soon all three of us were feeling quite mellow and content. Dottie is fast asleep, Dianne is back home and I am feeling that the week is off to a great start!


watercolour and ink