SKETCHBOOK: "Cicadas and Spudnuts"

About two hours ago, I just got home after driving 9 hours from my home town, El Dorado, Arkansas.  I spent the week with my mom, "Miz Dee" and visited with my brother Kris and his wife Debra.  I had no real plans other than to spend a lot of time sketching.  Mission accomplished!

The sketches above are my first attempts at drawing some bugs from actual specimens.  It was very enjoyable and I will do more.  The larger Cicada was already just a shell when I found it on my Mom's deck.  The little brown ones had already been discarded by molting cicadas and were clinging to the tool shed in the backyard.  Fortunately, Mom had an old magnifying glass I could use...tri-focals are NOT good for sketching bugs!!!

Below is the "Tool Room" where my brother Kris is co-owner, and works with his buddies David and Phillip.  My Mom and I just hung around and drew for a couple of hours...it was hilarious.  Reminds me of Floyd's Barber Shop in Mayberry (the old Andy Griffith Show)...the guys and customers say all kinds of ridiculous and funny things.  I told Kris he needs to just put up a microphone and record the goofy things said.  Would be a hit radio show!

Below is my sketch from our time there.  I had wanted to catch the sunlight that shines in through the front door on all the rows of tools and supplies.

Staying with the theme of "sunlight", I was attracted to the early morning sun shining into my Mom's front living room.

Next up...a few shells from Mom's collection at home.

One of the mornings, Mom and I went sketching at the downtown "Square" in El Dorado.  They are currently working on some improvements, and I drew this little CAT while the work crews were getting ready for the day.

We had some time to waste while waiting for my brother and his wife to meet up with us for lunch.  Below is a sketch of "The Black Cat" where we ate.  The tree on the left was actually this flat on the top...I'm not sure why, since there were no power lines to keep the tree away from.

Most of our sketching out doors was done in the mornings...it was pretty hot this week.  One of the places we go to often is "Rusty Acres" salvage yard.  I've drawn stuff from there before and posted it.  The piles of junk just go on and on and on!  This sketch was of a rusted out old dirt-mover and an abandoned truck bed.  We only lasted a couple of hours before the heat got to us, so I only have one sketch.

Below, Miz Dee is showing a curious customer some of her sketches.

On my last day at my Mom's house, we just decided to stay home and draw and looked at some of her collection of art books.  Mom found this old set of guache paints that had not been used for 30 years.  I gave them a try, and they still were "good".  I have not painted much with guache...not sure I like them.  I was trying to see if I could build my colors with layers, like I do when I paint with oils.  It will take a lot more time messing with the paints before I feel like using them over water colors.  But I had fun anyway.

I had taped off the brown-toned paper with masking tape first.  The little shed was done in the late evening as the sun was going down behind the shed.  Mom was a very cooperative model, and let me paint her while she took a nap in her festive muumuu.

And last but not least...a SPUDNUT!  Can't make a trip home without eating some of those!

That's it for this post.  Thanks, Mom, Kris & Debra for a fun time!!