gouache
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Cosmo’s cosmos
A pet portrait painted in jelly gouache on a drink board for a friend’s wedding.
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Outdoor musicians
I was inspired by a friend’s musician-filled sketchbook, and I wanted to practice with this neat mini-palette I picked up recently. Luckily, this very groovy five-piece band was playing right by the square downtown. 🙂 While I was painting, a little girl sitting nearby was fascinated by my portable paints. I gave her mom an…
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Street corner from the coffee shop
It’s amazing how time flies when sketching. This ink-and-watercolor sketch took up the full two hours that I spent with the city’s urban sketching group. Much of the time was spent color-mixing, a skill I’m practicing more thoughtfully lately. Mixing a full array of colors in advance allowed me to avoid color gradients, keeping the…
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View from the watch tower
We spent a night in a nearby city and I found a few opportunities to sketch outside. First, a beautiful vista from the top of a fire watch tower. It was very windy up there, so I rushed to scribble out a memory before I lost my sketchbook or my hat. And later, sitting in…
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Walking bridge
Despite frigid winds, the quality of light today was too beautiful not to spend some time painting outside. I struggled to hold onto my sketchbook and palette through the wind while painting the walking bridge over the river. But I’m glad I got a snapshot of the beautiful day. One of the qualities I love…
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Camp Hill Plein Air 2025
My favorite yearly plein air event has come and gone again! This is the first year that I’ve been able to paint from the park that’s central to the event (previous years I’ve been chased under businesses’ awnings by the rain). It’s a beautiful neighborhood, and so many of the gardens and architecture beg to…
