To say goodbye to Liza.

Few days ago we lost our very much loved cat Liza to cancer. It was very painful for us. My daughter was probably 8 when Liza was born in our family, it was funny story, how she decided to stay with us. Our neighbor, psychic, came to us to choose a kitten for her patient, the one with healing powers, she said. She pointed at Liza and said, she is the one, the best, she is not even a cat but someone not from here. We felt pretty strange hearing it.
Liza was unusual from the beginning, when other kittens played with each other or interacted with their mom, Nikita, Liza was standing on her weak legs and stared at us, people with her huge blue eyes. She always wanted people, not her siblings. She developed black spot near her ear, like birth mark, distinguishing her from other kittens, which disappeared the next day when we decided she is staying with us and other kittens went to their new owners.

We have many funny stories about her, she made us laugh, she cared about us and our pets, everyone fell in love with her, even people who met her once. She was never afraid of anything, she loved to watch men at work, cable guys, plumbers. When we walked, she never moved, we had to walk around her, it was her house and we were her people. When we had a "girl talk", my daughter and I, she was the third girl, sitting on the bed with us, she loved it. When we cried, she run  and licked our tears, she knew when we were sad and came to the rescue.

Here is Liza on Time Capsule, near my computer.
She was the best "sleeping pill", she knew how to "restart" my heart, somehow after electric shortage,  she made it change to her pace and I felt calm and happy and fell asleep.

She was so funny.

I know animals communicate without words, I am a bit jealous, but I am sure we'll come to it too, may be through science. I experimented, it worked with Liza.
Anyway, I am happy we met and loved Liza and she gave us so much love.

Fire truck in Brooklyn.

Sometimes life could be scary and bring painful thoughts, and seems, no way back to joyful and care free moments, but simple things like glimpse of bright red truck in a dusk or promise to have pizza Di Fara together next week may light up a small flame of hope.
I used ink and Kuretake brush pens on Arches paper, I really like this paper, it is thinner than my previous Winsor & Newton and Saunders Waterford, but ink flows easier and sinks deeper.
 I wish I could remember the exact name, to get more of it.

Subway sketch in Delta sketchbook.

Sketching on F train. Too many people on the train on Saturday for me to be comfortably sketching, old lady in a Burberry jacket sat to close to my right arm, so I was too limited and had to switch to Kindle. At list I finished annoying book, so now free for new adventure.

Oct 19 sketches in Delta sketchbook.

Sketches in the medical office.

Sketches in the Hospital in Manhattan in Delta sketchbook.

I went to the hospital with my friend and spent there about 13 hours. Sketching kept me alert and patient, helped with worries about my friend. Strangers, we where locked up in the waiting room, waiting for news about people we love.

This man was reading but somehow he radiated hope and strength.

I was afraid to leave the room, so didn't go for food or coffee. Doctors could come any moment to talk to me or nurse could call from 2 old fashioned phones, hanging on the wall.

I stopped being me, I guess, I was worried, I became part of my friend. Some people, who came early, like me, were falling asleep.
I took with me water soluble pencils and water brush, and Pentel 8-in-one color pencil.

I drew in Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook. What a wonderful paper, I am using it too fast, even sketching on both sides of the page. When turning pages, checking it in disbelief that it is one page, not two, just thick, strong and creamy paper.

This reading man looked like professor. On this woman my head dropped and I made her too dark.

Here, on the way home, I got the seat at few last stops, so sketched couple of heads.

5th Avenue, Manhattan.

I am almost out of expensive watercolor paper and still hard to conclude if I am that fond of it, for ink, or I like better thinner, less grainy and cheaper brands. It is not about money. It is about being able to make thinner lines, easier to manage puddles and saving my brushes from their points being sanded off.  It doesn't allowing me smaller details.
Even I went crazy on water brushes and some cheap Pentel brushes and got a whole bunch,  it is still hard for me to trow out handful of abused and spoiled water brushes.

Sketches in Delta sketchbook in Manhattan.

I liked this girl hugging big bag on the train. I wrote down interesting recipe of Zucchini fries, gotta try it.

People on the train.  I drew this man from reflection in the window, somehow it was harder, but I got his mood. Paper in this sketchbook is so good that I drew on each side of the page, unbelievable, 180 lb.

It was fun to draw people in "Whole Foods", even hard to see the details, big distance, but the good part is that no one paid attention, so I was chilling with my feet up on the chair and coconut water.

Some people worked on computers, other ate, some listen to music, I got jealous of that person with awesome headphones I want to get one day "Beats by Dr. Dre", the clearest sound ever. Good ones cost $300-400.

Few sketches on the way back after amazing wrap in "Wolfnights" with cashew nuts, goat cheese and meat with signature sauce. The best ever. Deserve a drawing. Small place, but cozy, with swinging seats on chains. They open till 2 am.

Pencil sketch.

I am being greedy and drawing on both sides of the page in wonderful Delta sketchbook by Stillman & Birn, which I am carrying with me through the day. This time I went to medical office for a few minutes, auto shop to change breaks, spent few minutes waiting in the car near train station, wrote down the recipe for the hair mask, so my all day is drawn on this page in crumbling sketches on the top of each other.
Strong paper sustained multiple
washes. I want to find Faber-Castell water soluble pencil to add to my bunch. For a while I take with me in a pencil case few water soluble pencils and can't get enough of it.

Green night.

I named it Green Night because of unreal yellow-green light which  lit up this corner of the small Brooklyn street. Adorable street signs, balding trees. I, probably, project my own feelings, as usual, after reading about Ingeborg Bachmann and her in the book by Max Frisch "Gantenbein", the book, which I bought for my daughter not so long ago and loved in my youth, never knew that he wrote about Ingeborg Bachmann and their complicated love story. And I got sad reading about her in her forties burning to death alone in her Rome apartment, leaving unfinished books...
Anyway, about drawing, I scraped some lines on beautiful expensive paper with broken syringe, then drew with ink and couple of Kuretake brush pens.

Couple of interesting links to Learn how to draw.

Drawing cherries. From UK.

Always curious and appreciate tips from others.

Wonderful tutorials from Cathy Johnson.

Admire Cathy Johnson's talent to draw and paint any subject so graciously and her way to explain and teach. Amazing artist.

Marcel Proust.

One of my favorite writers, whose books I brought with me (not all 7 books, because in my time it was not possible to find them all, not translated), so some I got here, in English. I had one sentence of his, I copied from the book, hanging on the wall of my studio for years, thinking, it is so perfect for painting, it is painting in words, one day I will paint it. About morning in the mountains, red  highlights on the horses backs and gold on the helmets, and fog, and hope, long sentence, like most of his. Unfortunately I don't know French, to read it in original, to be able to understand and enjoy fully. Twenty something years later I still didn't paint it.
I used ink for this drawing. And it has a faint shimmer in some spots, which scanner didn't pick up.

Brooklyn, Pioneer street.

Street in Brooklyn, I liked combination of street signs, wires and bits of architecture, I felt the music, meaning music lines above my head. Somehow it all felt connected trough the music cords. I added touches of red to the scene, may be because it was the main motif. I used ink and Kuretake pens on really fancy paper.

Sketching in Delta with water soluble pencil.

Sketched yesterday on the way in the medical office. On the top drew my antique Redipoint pencil, I think it is from 1920 something, it said Martin Miller on the side. 1.18mm lead, a bit too dry for quick sketching, but sometimes good for underlying sketch for ink.
Our cat Liza was diagnosed with cancer, and we cried and tried, and agonized over her, we love her very much. She is 14 years old and was born in our home. She is the gentlest soul. And it looks like she took a pity on us, thinking she still needs to take care of us, and she start eating and going to the bathroom again, despite doctors advices to think of how to part with her. Every time she showing interest in food, the whole family is dancing greek dance around her with huge smiles.

She is sitting on Time Capsule.

Also I saw it online and really like it Drawing on glass tutorial.

Story Farm.

Beautiful farm Upstate, in Catskills, which brought us and our guests lots of fun not once. We love to buy local produce there, it tastes and smells like food from childhood. Across the road barn with cows, which I drew before, sometimes we go to watch and pet them. I used ink and Kuretake brush pens on some vintage piece of paper.

Sketching in Delta.

Yesterday's sketches on the way. Used "Sketch & Wash" pencil in "Stad" One push pencil holder, because pencil got too short. I should be more persistent in doing sketches of everyday moments to sharpen up my mind. Too much time wasted.