Highlandtown is a small neighborhood in the eastern side of Baltimore. As the name suggests, it is on a ridge with great views of sunsets, the Baltimore Harbor skyline, and the Independence Day fireworks. Originally settled by Germans, then Poles and Italians, its most recent residents are Latinos. These families come from Mexico and Central America. Many do not speak English well, but they learn. And their children learn even faster and help out their parents.
These drawings, done in winter 2009, show a neighborhood in transition. In the spring they were exhibited at the High Grounds Coffee Shop in Baltimore, and they were included in a fundraiser for the Patterson Park Public Charter School, also in the city. I’m happy to report that they raised quite a bit of interest and money.
Eastern Avenue, I
Eastern Avenue, II
Eastern Avenue, III
Colorful Corner, with children’s mosaic
Cinco de Mayo
Pinatas and Peppers
Di Pasquale’s Italian Market (Mural in adjacent alley)
Here is a series of drawings I did while we took a trip to England and Scotland in October, 2008. They are a mere 5” by 8”, all done on the spot. I used a pen for the black line, then water soluble caran d’ache crayons for the color. A brush and water dragged across the color dissolved it into a watercolor wash. It is very convenient to add the colors after I return indoors. It challenges my mind to remember the colors too.
Now that I have talked about technicalities, I’ll mention why I wanted to do these travel drawings. First of all, they require a lot of focus and concentration, even though they are small. I like the danger of drawing with pen…there is no room to be tentative. I love the excitement of capturing the moment and the feel of a place, both at the time of doing it, and later when they are completed. And then, I like to share them with others, as a way of communicating both my love of art and of travel.
Pub lunch - mushrooms, chips, and veg Halifax
The view from our hotel window - walled garden York
The view from our hotel - the extinct volcano called Arthur's seat, so close to the city center Edinburgh
The view from our hotel room - down the steep hill and across the Firth of Clyde Helensburgh
The view from our hotel room - a Victorian era pub called The Chester Bells Chester
The view from our sitting room - the half-timbered Prince of Wales pub is about ten feet across the cobbled lane Ledbury
Our tiny sitting room - sofa, window bench, and gas fireplace. Video tapes and books of poetry. Ledbury
The church at the top of the lane, where we attended Harvest Service Ledbury
The ancient church of St. Michael and All Angels Ledbury
Ledbury Hops Fair, traditionally held at the end of the growing season. The 15th century market hall on stilts in the background with our little lane on the far left
View from the inside of Sudeley Castle - Cleeve Hill and farmers’ fields
View from Cleeve Hill of the Cheltenham valley, the Malvern Hills and Wales in the distance
A happy accumulation of our favorite British snacks
DRAW-NH! My big New Hampshire project - Draw all 234 towns in the state.
I drew Town #234 on Saturday, November 17, 2012, at the Salmon Falls Mills in Rollinsford, completing the project within my self-assigned goal of two years. And now the book has been published!
Click the map to visit the project. From there you can go directly to an image of every New Hampshire town as it appears in the blog.
Or, by using the search box at the upper left of every page here on the blog, you can find all occurrences of a town’s name (or any other word you might be looking for) from throughout the entire blog.
Or you can buy my book, which contains the ‘official’ drawing of each town. Some people keep it in their car and check off the pages as they make their own colorful journey throughout the state.
My Summer 2015 project
Draw behind the scenes at the New London Barn Playhouse.
Click the picture to see all 45 sketches from my project of drawing behind the scenes at the New London Barn Playhouse during their summer 2015 season.
Recent publicity
Here are links to some recent commentary on my work:
All blog images are available for purchase as notecards and larger prints
Click the pic to learn more
Introduction
I live in the woods near the small college town of New London (New Hampshire, USA) on the east coast of America. My husband assists me with technical aspects of the blog.
I was born, raised (well, until age 6 and summers) and educated in New Hampshire. I graduated from the University of New Hampshire in Durham, in Fine Arts and French. I have lived a few years outside of the United States…in England, France, and Germany. We as a family lived in Maryland from 1970 to 2008. We have been back living in New Hampshire for over seven years now. As well, we love to travel, and are often in western Canada, where our grandchildren live.
I plan to share drawings, paintings, and other art explorations here on my blog. And then add some commentary about the scene that inspired the work.
Here’s a great site called Urban Sketchers, which has links to people all around the world who love to draw on location. I am listed under the members section.
Click the pic to visit
I wrote a few lines on how I make my drawings, and what materials I use. Click here on ‘Try It’ to read in detail about my methods.
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Eastern Avenue, I
Eastern Avenue, II
Eastern Avenue, III
Colorful Corner, with children’s mosaic
Cinco de Mayo
Pinatas and Peppers
Di Pasquale’s Italian Market
Canton Library
Looking Out the Window
The Fine Art of the Nap
