More Zoo Sketches

I went to the Seneca Park Zoo yesterday to do some sketches of the animals. It was pretty overcast, and eventually rained later, but it was still nice to get outside and take advantage of the fall weather. I need to do more art outdoors. I want to try and do some watercolor landscapes outside once the leaves start changing colors more.




I've been bringing my camera along in addition to my sketchbook when going to the zoo to draw. This little meerkat was so entertaining with his posing that I had to include some of the photos of him in this post.

Marjane Satrapi

On Monday I went went to watch a panel discussion that was part of Syracuse University's cultural diplomacy symposium. One of the discussion panel guests was Marjane Satrapi. The discussion was almost three hours long, so I did a little bit of sketching in my Moleskine book while I was watching. This is a sketch of Marjane Satrapi - all of the panel guests were sitting in chairs in a round table format at the front of the auditorium.

When the panel discussion was over, Jeff and I met her outside of the building. We had a copy of Persepolis with us, and she very graciously signed it. It was a great experience to get to meet her and to hear what she had to say.

Florence and The Machine - In Progress

I recently started working on this Florence and The Machine illustration to use as part of a demonstration for a college digital painting class that I'm a guest instructor for. The first image shows the initial drawing and ink wash on watercolor paper, measuring 10" x 17". The second image shows the beginning stages of the digital painting that I'm doing in Photoshop. Right now the flat colors are all painted in and I've started doing some minimal detailing on the face and hair.

Sometimes I Wear Glasses

Moleskine sketchbook, ballpoint pen, and white acrylic paint.

Inspirations: Printing Blocks

I love old printing blocks. The shapes, the worn edges, the ink stains - they catch my attention every single time.

Weekend Zoo Sketches

Sketches from September 5th at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. It was hot, so a lot of the animals were sleeping or hiding, but there were still plenty of good drawing opportunities.

Rocks on the beach

Here is a contour drawing of the rocks and cliffs at the Menemsha Hills beach, done in my Moleskine sketchbook. There's something so relaxing about doing contour drawings.

Menemsha Hills watercolor

Here is a watercolor painting of the beach at Menemsha Hills, done in my watercolor sketchbook (approximately 4 1/2" by 6").

Back Porch watercolor

A watercolor sketch of the back porch of my neighbors house on the island. It was an experiment in painting shadows, done in my watercolor sketchbook (approximately 4 1/2" by 6").