Pens, Pens, Pens

 I have a love of Lamy pens and I have a few. Each of these is filled with a different color waterproof ink...black, grey, and brown. Each comes in handy in different situations.

Years ago I visited an internet friend who lived in Italy. I knew her from online, but this was the first and only time I met her in person. After a day of art activities together I had to head back to Florence to catch my train back to Venice. We planned that day to explore a bit of Florence. One of the places we stopped was the Fabriano store where Robin taught me a bit about Lamy pens. I bought the red one that day. We stopped for lunch and there at the table Robin gave me a lesson on filling and installing a converter in the pen and how to care for it. I remember that time often when I look at my Lamy pen.

Sadly Robin passed away a few years later and I never got the chance to spend time with her again. I am so glad I did travel to meet her and spend a bit of time with her. I thank her for her inspiration.

Here we are in Robin's living room during that visit.

Leslie K

During the winter most of the boats here are in dry-dock and covered, but I found a few boats along Brown's River that were still uncovered. Leslie K was uncovered but out of the water in Sayville. 

Panera with Procreate

 We had a stretch of very cold weather recently. It was too cold to sit in my "mobile studio" without keeping the engine running, so I looked for an indoor location for sketching. I hadn't been to Panera in a while so I stopped for a coffee and a sketch. They have a front area that has tables and booths that have a pretty good view of the counter.

Landscaping Truck

 The other day I spied a few landscaping trucks in the parking lot of one of our local strip malls. I like sketching things that have a lot of clutter and all the hoses, brooms, and shovels made me smile. Next I'd like to sketch one that has the back hatch open and the workers nearby.

The Grange on Toned Paper

I tend to do a lot of sketches at The Grange because it is so close to home and is a great spot with this driveway. I grabbed my Strathmore toned tan sketchbook when I was heading out because I know that while gouache works so well on the toned paper. I've sketched this driveway twice this winter and the view each way makes me happy. 

Here is the painting and my supplies balanced on my lap while sitting in my mobile studio.

Gorilla Diorama

The American Museum of Natural History has wonderful dioramas. I learned from previous trips there to bring along my book light because the rooms with the dioramas are very dim. It makes a lot of difference. The gorilla diorama included about 5 gorillas, but I focused on just one. I used my watercolors and some Caran d'Ache crayons that I had at home that worked well for the fur on the gorilla. I think this section of the museum was the noisiest. The kids definitely weren't using their indoor voices. lol

Apatosaurus

 The NYC Urban Sketchers met at the American Museum of Natural History last weekend. It was a cold, snowy day which I'm sure added to the number of people seeking a fun diversion for the day. I think we sketched there 2 years ago. Here is the version I did back then. I usually head right up to the dinosaurs before it gets super crowded. I tucked myself into a corner where I had a view of the entire apatosaurus. His tail was too long and didn't fit on the double-page spread. While I was painting a little boy came over and looked at my palette and then my painting and said, "You didn't paint that. It doesn't have the same colors." I guess he was looking at the brighter colors in my palette which just didn't go with the dinosaur. 

Several other sketchers ended up painting nearby and it was fun to see their versions when we all met up for show-and-tell later.