American Tree Sparrow

It's always a long day back at work after the long weekend so tonight is a colored pencil sketch of an American Tree Sparrow.  They are part of the common and hard to tell apart backyard birds of America.

Lantern

Happy Memorial Day! I stayed close to home and did not do much.  I did complete this pencil sketch of a railroad lantern.  This is part of the meditation and working to get better skills.

Trout, part 3

So I have many happy memories of fishing with my Dad in the Mountains of Colorado.  I always wondered about what the trout were doing under the water.  So I always enjoy the different photos of fish under water and collect them and other artists renditions.  This is an ink sketch of a trout turning to trail a fly.

Trout, part 2

This is another pen sketch for practice and reference.  It is not an original idea but is part of the 10,000 hours of practice anyone must commit to to master any skill.  I do these sketches also as a mental break and meditation.  It is especially good to decompress from the normal work day stress and the commute.

Merlin the Wizard - tribute to Alan Lee

Another artist I really like is the fantasy artist, Alan Lee.  Above is my rendition of his pencil drawing of Merlin enchanted in the woods.  Alan's edition is much better but I challenged myself to replicate his techniques.  He is one of the artist I aspire to be as good as in my own art.

Trout Sketch

This is an ink sketch of a trout rising to a fly.  I did this a few years back and did it from a magazine picture.  This is something I wanted to capture for later use in a painting, so I added it to the sketchbook for safe keeping.

Portland Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse

The wife and I went up to New England for the wedding anniversary.  In Portland Maine, we ate seafood and went out on Casco Bay to see the islands and the Lighthouses.  The Spring Post Ledge Lighthouse is one of the lights you can see out on the bay, which is depicted above.  This is a watercolor pencil sketch with ink outline.