Sketchbook: Girl Throwing Rocks in Water

We've met our friends at the pond and gone fishing with them. Our kids love thier kids and much fun is had by all. Their daughter is only two and justs loving poking about at the water's edge.

Shortly after this sketch, I was engrossed with drawing something else and the three littlest ones were inventing a game where they were naming various things as fishing lures and then tossing them in the water. They had alphabet pretzels, blades of grass, little flowers - all replete with brand new names.

One item that they loved tossing in, they called "smokers" - boy, they sure loved those. I should have looked up sooner. "Smokers" are a new lure made of cigarette butts. There were about 9 or 10 of them merrily bobbing on the water, waiting for the fish to come biting. I paid better attention after that one.

Sketchbook: Brothers Fishing

I really enjoyed capturing these two as they bent over the fishing line, clearly the older boy advising the younger one on some casting technique. I really wanted to capture that movement and connection.

Sketchbook: DeWitt's Pond

My family has recently gone crazy for fishing. It started with my middle daughter, so determined to learn how to fish, she saved birthday money a few years ago to buy herself a "Dora the Explorer" fishing rod. This had hours and hours of use fishing in our backyard wading pool.

This year at Christmas, my husband and daughter received fishing gear and we have been taking all the kids along on these little excursions (much to their collective delight). I don't have a fishing license, nor do I have any urge to stand still that long, so my role has evolved into child wrangler/snack provider/ sketchbook operator. It has suited me just fine.

This is our local fishing hole, more like a man made squarish shape carved out of the prairie, the kids think it is the most magical place ever. I've been picking out beautiful little vistas to capture on paper.

Sketchbook: Waiting Room Chair

I inevitably run out of people to draw in a visit. Or people are on to me and sitting in all sorts of awkward poses trying to look natural and secretly wondering if I'm drawing them (you can always totally tell). This prompts me to pick something inanimate. In an office, it usually means something industrial and ugly. This chair is one such subject.

Sketchbook: Woman Reading, Unfinished

I wish this woman had not been called for her appointment so quickly - I was just starting to hone in on her details. She was deeply engrossed in her magazine so she was hardly moving. I thought the half finished picture would give you an idea of the mid point of progress in a sketch like this.

Sketchbook: Woman Working on Computer

I had another appointment at the dentist so again had my captive subjects. I am starting to really enjoy waiting rooms. People are so unaware of what is going on around them that they provide very easy targets. This lady had interesting hair to draw, it was cut in layers and that posed a unique challenge. I was using a nice thick 05 Micron this day, I love that heavy line.

Sketchbook: Fence and trees

I really like the simplicity captured here. Sometimes you just note what you need to note and then you move on. What attracted me to this subject was the lines to the trees (which did not yet sport leaves) I kind of wanted to see if I could convey the different textural differences just by making different types of pen strokes. I think I did that.