Chinese food.

Our local Chinese restaurant. Recorded one fun evening together after tiring day of planning and brainstorming. We went to 3 places to get different food for each of us (cranky us) and got dessert in Turkish store. I used sepia ink, 2 Kuretake brushes and 3 languages: English, Chinese and Russian.

Hydrangea.

Little table scene with hydrangea. It grows on the side of the house and despite severe negligence keeps blooming and gives us joy. I used sepia ink and Kuretake pens for color. More stirred my emotions more color goes into drawings. Paradox.

Albany.

For some reason scanner refuse to read blue in the sky the way I did it, so instead of frustration I decide to feel thankful that it works at all. My ink got yellower and blue Kuretake pens agreed to drizzle over the drawing. Used ink and Kuretake over hot pressed Arches pad. Strange paper behavior, resist washes, pretend to be blotter paper. Still searching for ink friendly perfect watercolor paper.

Portrait with the mirror.

While running around hopelessly and helplessly (January  was never my favorite month of the year, even it is not freezing or worse), I manage to ink another portrait with mixed ink, one green Kuretake pen and Inna's help. I already see so much what I could of done differently and I want to add and change, but I'd rather do another one, and may be ink will get browner and mood will change.

Portrait in interior. Photo.

I played a little bit with Clone tool to clean the background and removed "red" eyes. I read a bit about new tools in Photoshop 5 and got mad jealous, really want to try this Puppet Warp tool.
I wanted to show emotion through the soft light here and used 2 languages.

Lincoln Continental.

Lincoln Continental Mark 4 1976. I think this what it is, I looked online. It was chilling on someone's driveway. I used Omas Sepia ink, it is juicy but red is too strong for me, I like yellow puddles more. I was trying to stuff ink into Pentel Color brush, it was resisting my crooked syringe and I was holding myself from performing open heart surgery on poor brush, but I really want to know what's inside. Didn't find it online. May be anyone knows?

Stollen.

I was depressed for couple of days, but kept drawing from time to time, almost mechanically. More color crept in. Nice acquaintance   brought us Stollen from german bakery Upstate, it was pretty and tasty. But this drawing would be a memory of my distraction, not a panegyric to delicious Stollen. I used ink and Kuretake pens.

Plates.

Here tried to use wet media in the old sketchbook, where first drawing dated September 1, 1999, assuming we were Upstate, before the school started, at "Yellow Dacha". My daughter was 13 years younger and we didn't have our first dog yet.
Anyway this paper is not good for washes, absorbing every touch like blotting paper. So no-no. May be for pencil sketches? But too bulky for the train.
I drew empty plates with sepia ink and few Kuretake pens and afterwards shoved this sketchbook back into deep shadowy shelve for future experiments.

Waiting in the car in autumn shoes.

I did this sketch in moleskine with ink, without preliminary pencil lines, freezing in a cold car, in double parking, in thin shoes,  for 15-20 minutes.

Trip to Albany.

Playing with light and color. One of my favorite Kuretake pens is drying out. I wanted to show strong contrast of the light and shadows and rich red of the barns outside. Again it is about beauty of youth and being a part of life. Ink and Kuretake pens.

Mountain road.

View from the road side,  Upstate New York. This rocks often glistening from ice or water, you can get lost in it's angular shapes, I was very approximate. Ink and water brush.

Cup of coffee.

Cup of coffee while waiting for the food in the Diner Upstate NY. Fat edged uncomfortable cups, weak coffee, but fun observing people, barely talking, just enjoying existence. Ink and Kuretake.

Play.

Play was great. Backdrop and green hill-n-bush, marbleized columns, and another backdrop, not here.

Had a great time.

Life in Moleskine.

Moleskine for me not just for picturesque drawings but everyday companion for my lists, studies, thoughts, sketches, schedules, address book, doodles, shoulder I can cry on, etc. :-)

Portrait.

I played with 2 inks and few Kuretake pens, used white pen a little bit, wrote "be happy" in shaky half dissolved letters (I love puddles), and now I deserve breakfast.

Painting for the play.

"Scary night" backdrop, painted in less then an hour with dripping paint.

Hill on plywood.

In a process, without backdrops yet.

Beetle.

I won't want to drive it, I like big cars, but have to admit, it is good looking. Sepia ink and couple of Kuretake pens.