photo by Irene Gallo

Like most artists, I am rarely to be found without my sketchbook. I try to sketch a little from life every day, especially people. Recently, thanks to some pushing from Scott Bakal, I discovered the joys and challenges of sketching with pen. Right now I'm using a .5 black micron, but will upgrade to a portable fountain pen and/or brush pen soon. Sketching with pen has been a revelation for me, who can noodle and erase for (stupid amounts of time) and still not be happy. Pen sketching builds confidence, accuracy, keener observation and simplification. All skills I really need to improve on because, frankly, I paint way too slow for my liking.

So below is a little compilation from my sketchbook over the last month or so. We've travelled to Kansas, Florida and New York and found plenty of inspiration.

We watched this guy hunting fish in the shallows for a good
half hour. The way he moved and struck earned him the
nick-name, "ninja bird".

Scott and I took a week long "do nothing" trip to Lido Beach in Sarasota, FL. I love beach sketching. Every shape of person is around you with very little on, not standing still and acting natural. To me, it is one of the best places for life drawing practice outside of a studio. Not to mention all the neat wild-life! Egrets, Pelicans, Seagulls and plenty of birds I couldn't name.

Had a few minutes to kill waiting for the
train in South station when we got back.
This is one of my favorite pages.

Subway sketching is one of the things I miss most about living in NYC. So many extraordinary people in one place.I can't get enough when I visit.

Scott recently got a fancy new camera and often brings it along on our walks around the neighborhood. This means frequent stops when he sees something interesting and adjusts the settings. I decided to use this as an opportunity to see how much I could capture with VERY little time and ended up having to really push my simplicity.Good art is as much about what you can leave out as put in, so this was a great exercise.

Here are a couple rogue sketches from Spectrum Live that I forgot to add. Superstar AD Mark Chiarello from DC and a quick model sketch from The Art Department's rooftop life-drawing session.