83rd street.

Quick sketch from the car on the way from the store, where I was choosing decorative pillows. What a nice house, I wanted to go there again and do a serious detailed study. Ink.

Sample with metallic glazes.

Did few samples, among them this one, with metallic glazes, hopefully I will get to paint oriental motif there, in the show room.

In this studio, not mine, borrowed for a day. Its nice there.  Will have to use it for another 4 compositions, as soon as I will prepare it.

Winter in my soul or overpass in Sheepshead Bay.

This winter was impossibly too long and too freezing, but aesthetically white made regular urban scenes very appealing and less ordinary. I used ink and Kuretake.

Here is my memo for making your own ringtones for iPhone.
I made a few from the songs I like, because it is annoying that everybody have the same sounds. I like to have special ring for the people I love. And searching online I didn't find the full and easy tutorial covering all problems, so combined a few into an easy explanation for myself. :D

Yellow sunrise and pencil sketch.

Getting inspired by completely different palette of the sky every morning (I don't know how it is possible, such an amazing variety). In my mind I am painting it with the big flat brush. In reality...

Sketch at the doctor's office. Drawing with "perfect pencil" Faber-Castell, I like it dry lines, reserved touch, matching with my own today's feelings, to close tighter endings of my shell.

Sunrise and sketch with "perfect" pencil.

Beautiful morning.

This freezing weather keeps me mostly indoors, but sometimes I can't keep my pencil still. On one occasion I spoiled myself with sushi, my favorites, with eel, and drew a guy, while waiting for the order, and at home. Would be so nice to go to eat with someone, very patient friend, and sketch there, for longer...

Georgian Bread.

It was small place on Neptune Ave where we use to buy hot long bread and "hachapuri" (flat bread with cheese inside) made in clay oven/tandoori (but with different name). On the way home half of the freshly baked bread from the brown paper bag was eaten, shared. So delicious. Now it turned into a small restaurant with Georgian cuisine. Sometimes they sell "kupati", sort of like Italian sausages but with roughly chopped meat and amazing herbs and spices.

Orange car.

This vintage car grabbed my attention on a small street in Bay Ridge, in Brooklyn, but it took me forever to add color and a few details, since I am still doing few projects at once.
I hope, that I won't forget few ideas, which still popping in my head, not drawn, and a few friends I don't have time to communicate with won't forget me.
I used ink and Kuretake on Winsor and Newton paper.

Concert and sketches.

Sketched on the Subway on the way to concert of Federico Aubele in Brooklyn. First was young group from Montreal, so I sketched them a little, than it became too dark.

Federico Aubele was amazing, he mixes sounds of the street with traditional Argentinian tango and longing guitar. It is especially touching for me, because I am on the 3-d book of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and my heart is connected to Barcelona for now. Aubele from Buenos Aires and lived and created music in Barcelona, and so is Natalia Clavier, the magic voice of many of his songs.
 Here is one of his songs from new Album, I bought there.

Carrousel

I could not help it swaying along with music.

 A bit rough, on the way home. Came home around 1 am, what a youngster. I will draw my impression in ink, as soon as I'll gain a bit of freedom.

November 1 sketches.

I sketched in Starbucks, it was nice to sink in a comfortable chair and I was seeking a minute of silence. Some people who sat near me start taking to me, about unusual warm fall, than about their problems. One really cute guy with a wing of a blond hair, falling on his forehead, first asked me to watch his coffee while he got his bag, than complained about his pain and pills he needs to take, and from being tired to stay alone at home. His eyes were light blue with thin red outlines, pain lives that red. I felt very bad. He didn't need to hear me, but just someone to listen to him.

I felt very fragile that day, because of my problems with the project, I am doing. But meeting few strangers, who I will never see again, hearing them, caring, liking them, restore my strength, because every one of us can do something to make others feel better, to change the world, to give a smile, to say a word.

Nail Salon.

Did couple of pages in the nail place, between running errands and worrying about Piglet, our sick Chihuahua, who refused to eat today and seemed so much worse than the day before. Miss drawing, miss peace. Love pencil on toned paper.

Just a day.

It was yesterday's today. I can rarely steal the shot. I am, probably annoying with my hunger for visual and I can't explain.

And the sunrise from yesterday, with electric light in the sky. When you experience things alone it seems to have deeper meaning, and often you don't even use the words to describe it to yourself.

Little sketch in pencil. Here I used my precious Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602, the original vintage one. It is a bit drier than Palomino version. I spend it, I waste it, what is the point to treasure when you don't own tomorrow?

Ave I.

Sketched on Ave. I with watercolor while waiting. It was a little experiment. I tried to go from bigger wash to smaller strokes and keep tonal value.  Weird. Feel serious need to pull out real brushes.

Spent few minutes in the waiting room in the doc's office. I need to be more loose with pencil sketches.

On the roof top.

On the roof top. Was thinking of importance of tonal values. How color secondary, how it won't work without base. I used watercolor paper, I got in Dick Blick, some sort of Fabriano, it was too thin for my intense washes. Gotta research thicker papers with similar grain.

Mani-pedi.

Sketch in the salon and my new adorable tool from Goulet.  New ink, Noodler's Rome Burning in Gamma sketchbook.

And

New tool and new ink from Goulet Pens. So far I am in love.

Green limes.

I finally stopped adding little touches to Green  limes and decide to consider it done. Even I still see, how it could be improved. I tried to show how time is flying by, how momentarily our impressions are, how hard to live in a moment and be present fully. Little pixels of the drawing start flying away, some contours getting weak and uncertain, soon the whole happy green cooking event will become distant memory.
We did green lime syrup.
I used ink and Kuretake. I aded new ink, Noodler's Rome Burning.

Beautiful today, August 7.

Awaken as usual by my elderly cat Chuck, I wandered around till I saw the sun rising, and it was so beautiful. Inhuman beauty. We were looking at each other, sun and I, nothing else existed.

Fierce beauty. It is all around us, we just have to stop and notice. We don't have to live as "expected by society".  Urge to live, urge to draw.

Red car.

This little red car grabbed my attention on one of the streets in Brooklyn. May be this happy red, may be pretty boring background, may be my thirst for textures, may be all of that contributed to completing this ink drawing despite the horrible heat, at list 104 F in the shadow, with my AC broken. And my fingers and furniture stained by this bloody red. And paper didn't cooperate, Arches Rough Torchon, sand off my brushes. I used ink and Kuretake and few drops of Liquitex paint.

Few sketches.

Took a Subway once in a long time, really surprised me how many beautiful people around. Didn't get to sketch much. Used Gamma sketchbook by Stillman and Birn and my vintage green mechanical pencil.

Dissolved in the rain. Snapped on my phone.

Tennis photos.

I was allowed to come to see tennis play, took some photos, sketched a little.

Loved every moment of it. Will post sketches later.

Morning sun in the kitchen.

Early morning.

I don't have time or decision about how to finish a small drawing with cherries, so took a camera to appreciate the beauty of the day.

Sun is coming into the kitchen. Here Chuck who doesn't let us sleep, he is 17 and a half and his favorite thing is eating and screaming like an elephant, preferably during the night.