Third Thursday Sketching

"Raven Welcomes" (detail) 8" x 6", pen & ink and marker in a Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook

Tonight, was Centralia's fun downtown Art Event - Third Thursday - sponsored by Jan Nontell's Rectangle Gallery. The event keeps growing each month and tonight the gallery was hopping! Besides flamingo painters, we had six urban sketchers turn out for Centralia/Olympia's emerging Urban Sketching chapter. The live music was a great and everyone had a good time.

I had my eye on one of Kit Metlen’s fabulous red cedar sculptures as my drawing subject tonight and settled down to do my sketching inside the gallery.

Originally, I'd planned to do a highly-technical perspective drawing of the large sculpture…but that all changed when I realized that I'd left my graphite pencils and rulers at home! So silly of me. I switched plans and did a freehand pen & ink and marker drawing instead.

The markers lended themselves to the brightly-painted figure and I had a good time with it. I met artist, Kit Metlen, and had a nice chat with him as I drew.

I’m tickled to be part of such a vibrant art community down here in southern Washington. When I moved down...I had no idea how much fun I was getting into.

This weekend starts Art Trails 2016, the local studios tour. If you’re in the area stop by the Rectangle Gallery and then head out to tour some of the local artist’s studios. It’s worth the trip.

P.S. Dawn’s Delectables stayed open late and I picked up a VERY yummy piece of chocolate cake on the way home.  

Sketch of the Day - Santa Lucia Coffee Company

“At Santa Lucia.” Ink and Pitt Brush Pens in a Stillman & Birn
3.5 x 5.5 Zeta softcover sketchbook. Copyright Sara Light-Waller, 2016.

Today’s sketch comes from the lovely Santa Lucia Coffee Co. in Centralia, WA. The café closed before I was done, so I took it home for finishing touches. This is my first color piece in a while. It's nice to be back to color. The other thing that's nice about this piece is that it's the FIRST completed in the studio of my new house! The room feels great to work in and that makes me very, very happy. Studios are like good gloves, either they fit or they don't. And if they don't...you'll always feel uncomfortable in them, never able to truly relax into your art. (At least that's my opinion. I realize that it might not be shared by all.) Contrarily, I can draw just about anywhere. But my studio is HOME and needs to feel really good. This one does, which is great because I intend on using it for a very long time to come.

Another view of Sarah's Garden

"View from the Patio, Sarah's Garden"
Pen and Ink, 3.5 x 5.5 in.

This small drawing was made last evening in the same location as the previous sketch but facing away, into the wooded fields beyond the house. It was a lovely view, especially with the late afternoon sunlight playing across the leaves and grasses.

It feels good to have a pen in my hand once again. Next up...a watercolor brush and some paints!

Sketching in Sarah's Garden

"Sarah's Garden," pen & ink and colored pencil
in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook

The other day I did some plein air drawing for the first time in quite a while. How immensely satisfying to sit in the warm Spring sunshine and lose myself to the sounds of nature and the feeling of pencil and pen on paper. Pure bliss!

Sara drawing in Sarah's garden.
(Thanks to Linda Brown for snapping the photo)

How Time Flies When You're Not Looking! (Or, How did it get to be April?)

“Grandmother Pohutukawa Tree in Auckland,”
6" x 9" pen and ink in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook.
Copyright Sara Light-Waller, 2016.

“Two at Te Henga (Bethells Beach) in Auckland,”
6" x 9" pen and ink in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook.
Copyright Sara Light-Waller, 2016.

Since I last posted anything here I’ve sold my house, been to New Zealand for three weeks, bought a new house, and am about to move two hours to the south. Wow!

While in New Zealand I did a few sketches of local flora and took many, many photographs to be used as reference for future drawings and paintings. The two drawings above are the first of New Zealand pictures — a small but decent start on what I hope will, one day, be a large body of work. :-) 

Drawing of the Day

"Snohomish Woods," 6" x 9" pen and ink in a
Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook
Copyright Sara Light-Waller, 2015

First Drawing Created in My New Studio!

Moving is always such a big deal...and finding everything when you unpack can be a nightmare. I've been in my new place for about 3 weeks and have FINALLY been able to start drawing in my new studio. I've missed it. Today I did a "warm-up" drawing, one of the views from around the farm I'm renting.

It's nice to be back!

“Farm View, Fall” Pen and ink and Inktense pencils
in a Stillman and Birn 6”x8” Zeta sketchbook.

Drawing of the Day

"Portland Japanese Gardens" (4.5" x 6.5")
Pen and ink in Stillman and Birn Epsilon sketchbook.

Drawing of the Day

“Window at The Repp”
pen & ink in Stillman and Birn Epsilon sketchbook

A Third Scene from Portland's Japanese Garden

The Flat Garden @ The Japanese Garden
pen & ink in a Stillman and Birn Epsilon sketchbook

The Flat Garden creates an ideal subject for pen & ink. The great expanse of white sand makes a perfect contrast to the other features — wooden railing, diverse greenery, and characteristic stones. The challenge is to add enough contrast to the greenery to make it look diverse.

While doing these sketches I recall the memory of the garden in a very Zen fashion. Peace returns.

Watch the Aurora

I'm slowly gathering reference materials and inspirational ideas for "A Patchwork Tale" - my fairy tale/children's book-in-progress. The book will be illustrated with a combination of pen & ink drawings and watercolor paintings. Tonight, I did a small test drawing of an aurora in pen and ink. In color, an aurora would be easier to manage, the greens, reds, and pinks in the sky would give it away immediately. But how to handle those graceful ribbons in black and white? I'm still working on it. But this was my first attempt.

"Watch the Aurora" pen & ink in a
Stillman and Birn epsilon journal

Sketch of the Day - Old Tree at Everett Rotary Park

"Old Tree at Everett Rotary Park"
pen & ink in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal.
Copyright Sara Light-Waller, 2015.

I spent a little time in the sun today sketching. It was a lovely break.

[As a note of interest I was using three different Noodler's fountain pens today each filled with Noodler's Heart of Darkness black ink. Two of the three pens were Noodler's Konrad Flex fountain pens - one in Ebonite with a Goulet #6 non-flex nib and the other with a "regular" Konrad flexible nib. The third was a "Charlie" pen an eyedropper pen with a non-flexible nib.]

Sketch of the day – Carnival at Harvey Field

"Carnival at Harvey Field" pen & ink and marker in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal

Sketch in progress

It’s Kla Ha Ya Days this weekend in Snohomish and with the festivities comes a carnival at Harvey Field. I’d been looking at the rides for some days and decided to head in this morning and draw the Ferris wheel before the rides were open. I sat in an empty field and drew for a few hours as people around the fair got ready for the day. It was super nice. :-)

The carnival