We scheduled our eye exams together today, took a trip down to our old neighborhood in Hollywood and had lunch afterwards. It was one of those restaurants with the butcher paper “tablecloths”. Our nine-year old came with us and told me to “draw mommy” on the table before the food arrived. Luckily I had the trusty 6b clutch pencil and smudge tool. I had a little trouble focusing because my eyes were still dilated, and messed up a little on her right eye, but it’s a pretty good likeness I think…
I drew him looking a couple years younger than he really is for some reason. It might be the angle, or maybe I foreshortened him too much, hmmm. He’s writing a presidential speech for school. I like his scholarly posture.
I took my old car to the car wash yesterday. There’s a lot of waiting around there and I always feel guilty that I could be spending my time more productively, although the environs don’t inspire much in the way of art. So I thought, why not sketch the people waiting? I had to be fast and furtive here, so I fell back on the trusty 6b pencil and smudge tool. It still is the fastest way for me to get the information down on paper, as much as I do miss the color.
They stayed out there long enough to do a quick color study. If they had picked up and left it would have made it much more difficult. Lately I’ve been addicted to color for some reason.
Typically, to my memory, the hottest time of the year in Southern California is early September. It got so hot last month that the heat, coupled with the overuse of electricity (air conditioning) actually melted the wires on the pole in the backyard. The guys from the Department of Water and Power came right out, thankfully, and I sketched them as they worked. They were quite friendly and were amused by my sketching one of them up on the pole, and their equipment on our lawn.
I had Saturday to prime and pencil, Sunday to paint. Here’s how they turned out, life-sized. My daughter Lily and my neighbor and his son helped on the ring-toss and shuffle board. It wouldn’t have gotten done without them! Many thanks. It really helped making the little sketch beforehand.
Joan took this “painting in progress” pic. The actual Harvest Festival is tomorrow. Hopefully the paint will hold up. If not, just more touch up I guess… It was a fun way to spend a weekend.
This weekend I’ve taken on the responsibility of painting some simple but fun games to be used at our kid’s annual Harvest Festival. These are some crazy paint job ideas I sketched today. Clockwise from upper left: sponge-throwing game — in which a person puts his / her head through the hole in the board and people pay to throw wet sponges at them; shuffleboard game; ring toss game. I may have gone overboard on this, since I have only tomorrow to paint it all (I spent today priming and penciling). We’ll see how it turns out by the end of the day Sunday. Some of this might be vastly simpler. Ha.
I say “Summer ’07” because there may be a chance we go back there this November, and, of course, there will be sketching!
Clockwise from the top: The ever-present folding chair (I think we have eight or so) scattered around the campsite, Stacy the snake, brother-in-law Chris reading a Harry Potter book on a hammock overlooking the stream below the campsite.
Anthony Zierhut 