Sketching while away from home encourages me to try new approaches. This time, ink and light washes with some dry brush stroke work
At 7400‘ the air is clear. Snow capped mountains enclose the east and north. This plateau is ranch land and large lots
Over the past three years we have rented apartments in Rietberg. There have been plenty of opportunities to sketch the wide variety of “fachwerk” homes in the town.
Rietberg is a bubble. It’s a vibrant lived in village with great public transport to bigger towns. It’s an old moated town, full of interesting homes and historic buildings. Some of the homes are private, others are rentable, still others are restaurants or museums. And of course, La Luna, our go to ice cream shop is at the entrance to the village overlooking the lively stream that feeds the remnants of the old moat
I’m looking forward to the coming year to continue capturing the life of this village
For the past three years I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel in Europe on a bicycle with a wonderful new life partner.
Our now annual three month European bicycling lifestyle slows life down with frequent stops to sample the local coffee, tea, wines and beers as well as farm fresh veggies and local breads and cakes along the way. At our stops, I am increasingly confident in pulling out my sketchbook and capturing the moment. From time to time interested people will peek over my shoulder and sometimes even start a conversation. This opens the door for me to practice my emergent German.
This was one of my first sketches in Germany. We visited the outdoor museum in Detmold. Here, historic houses from the Westphalia area were dismantled from their original settings and rebuilt in the open air museum. On this day we wandered through heritage orchards and explored farmsteads from the 1600’s and on. Needless to say some of our party found an opportunity for a nap.
Eine meiner ersten Skizzen aus dem Freilichtmuseum, Detmold https://www.lwl-freilichtmuseum-detmold.de/
I’m looking forward to visiting again next year. Ich freue mich schon auf meinen nächsten Besuch im nächsten Jahr.
..the joys of rain
Drawing to the end of August 2021 and southern Arizona has experienced a magnificent Monsoon. Rainfall has exceed our annual rainfall in just one month. At the end of July, after 18 months of almost no rain, the desert had dried and the natural world seemed dead. We braced for a repeat performance of last year with summer temperatures over 100F for over 100 days. But then the rains came. Almost over night the desert greened, cactus bloomed and the wonderful smell of the creosote bush engulfed the humid atmosphere. A while later butterflies of all description appeared. This, the Queen, is often confused with the Monarch butterfly and indeed it is similar, even enjoying milkweed to lay its eggs. This particular butterfly found a safe place to perch on my bird fountain. The calcified edge created enough texture for it’s legs to grasp the edge and sip at the damp surface of the pot.
Life on my Own Terms 