Sketch party.

Went to sketch party to draw costumed models. Lots of fun. Used different materials. Soft pencils, ink, Ecoline brush pens.

Here I used ink. We had live jazz music, piano, it was really awesome to sketch and listen to music, my favorite things to do.

Pretty hard to sketch two models at once.

I like these Ecoline markers, colors a bit too bold, but water works with it.  I used Stillman and Birn sketchbook, it took washes nicely, very good paper. I really enjoyed it and since that went to a few different events.

Early morning sketch Upstate.

Was exploring shades of white and had fun mixing my pens and pencils early in the morning, around 6 am.

I used Wink of Stella pen by Kuretake, so the white is sparkling, but photo doesn't show it.

Sketches on NY Subway, few new tools and very uneasy day.

I was lucky to have a seat, so was able to relax unnoticed. This sketchbook is not laying as flat, as my previous one.

3 women, 3 different personalities. Even pencil felt it.

Awesome to have such different characteristics, not only ethnically, but different mood too. This is New York!

Here is my new tools from JetPens (the best shop in the world!), I decided to spoil myself, in secrecy, and got few amazing things, like sparkly brush pen "Wink of Stella", acrylic based watercolor by Rohrer & Klingner, few white pens, interlocking pencil caps, 2 mm lead sharpener, very thin black ink pen. All laying on the top of my drawing of a Subway musician, which is still in a process.

Few sketches in April in deteriorating sketchbook with brown paper.

I can't wait to get rid of this sketchbook, even I really like the paper. Hard to look back at filled pages, everything seems irritating and no good. This people I met here and there, touched me and gone. Again pencil and white gel pen.

This woman I met by the dentist, first I was hungry for drawing, than we start talking and she was pretty cool telling me stories from the life of Manhattaner. She knew my dentist for 40 years. Interesting that my dentist has such wrong opinion about me, I am not correcting.

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...

Subway sketches today on Q train, in pencil.

Today is a little bit warmer day, so I traveled Uptown Manhattan and sketched few people on the way.

For some reason people kept leaving too fast for me to finish sketch, so I had to discipline myself by grabbing few characteristic lines for the whole figure before clarifying some details.

I was lucky that most people were so self absorbed that no one bothered me with glances, and I was trying to look in different directions to hide what I do.  I used "perfect pencil" by Faber-Castell, the green plastic one, it is a bit hard, even marked grade B, but it was nice to have a tight lines, almost like driving BMW. It was a good training.

Drawings of me in my first art school.

I was searching for stencil and stumbled upon couple of drawings of me by my peers in my first art school. We drew all the time and this time we were posing for each other. This drawing by Andrew, he lives now in Germany, pretty successful painter.

Here I was drawn by the other boy, Alexander, who is now also pretty well known artist in NY and Germany. :)

Pencil sketches in same sketchbook.

Some of the sketches in Florida.

Back to NY, sketches on Subway. People are so different there, in Florida, they seems more human, they smile much more and look happier. In NY characters more amusing and unique, but you can feel the stress like a dark cloud over them... I had to slow my speed in Florida, love it there, closer to earth.

Orange juice or getting back to myself.

Orange juice on the plane. Watercolor in Beta sketchbook.

3 min sketch in South Florida.

Kilwins ice cream in Delray Beach.

Subway sketches on the way to Manhattan.

Sleeping man, he was so broken to pieces, but still presentable. I was glad he didn't look at me once.

It was a rainy day and boring things I had to do in the City, but sketching made my day happier, especially when I switch pencils. I used a little bit of oil based Faber-Castell.

Amazing to look at people, trying to feel their mood, hiding mine, switching stare, when they look at me. What is uniting them is silence, but everyone's silence is so different.

Here is another glass and I finished Chanukah, will take picture later.

Pencil sketches and pretty dinner.

Sketches on the "F" train and raw ideas for the boy's room with machinery.

Dinner, cooked by my daughter with turkey melt wrap and artichoke-spinach palmiers. Little Pig under the table trying to hypnotize me, so I will drop it all so he can eat it.

Subway sketches, November 15.

I draw on both side of the sketchbook's pages, seems more space for learning, even sketches getting dirty from touching each other, even destroyed.
 I went to get more paints in the City, in few stores, because all of  them had limited quantity. Met few nice people, who were kind to me and I was very nice to them. It is so easy to say something sweet, to erase ugly impression, left by one woman in her at least fifties, who threw bucket of gesso at a young cashier  girl, barely missing her.
 I was thinking how hard it is now to find work, and so many people with degrees working simple jobs behind the counter, because they need to pay bills. We have to respect each other and remember that one word can spoil the rest of the day for someone, who struggles enough to meet ends, that this person is someone's child, by hurting him, you hurt people who loves him too. Anyway, being kind is mandatory.

By drawing people, I carve their faces and imaginary stories in my memory.This young musician on the top with such spiritual expression on his face, even delicate white hand against the black case of the instrument,  seems, still playing, I don't even know what instrument it was. Or this girl with blond hair and prickly blue book bag and skinny legs, looking a bit goofy because of the big Mary-Jane sandals. Or a very good looking gay guy in tight black clothes, with doll's eyes, who didn't get into the sketchbook, but stuck in my memory.

Lunch and more glass.

Running errands and managed this page in my strange sketchbook.

Here is a photo of my beautiful lunch. I don't have time to draw it and miss ink terribly, but glass is the main priority, because all 12 pieces have to be installed on time.

Here is "Shabbat".

Yom Kippur.

Simchat Torah.

Preparing myself for the 4th one.

November 2 and Marc Chagall's exhibit.

 I drew people on NY Subway on the way to Mark Chagall's exhibit.
I think it is always good to give yourself different assignment when you draw. It helps to learn and grow and even discover new things about yourself. Here I forced myself to do first contour of the figure, ignoring all my knowledge about the anatomy, often trying to draw parts from the top or the bottom of the page, to train my eye to read general shapes. Then I can draw second contour, allowing myself to see the face, direction of the movement, connection of parts. To see what describes this person and his emotion the most. And than the fun part to see if I got it right in likeness.

Yesterday I went to see Chagall"s exhibit in Jewish Museum in Manhattan and I saw it in a new  new light, which was amazing to me. First, and I knew it, he painted what he felt strong about in his life, second, that all that fantastic images, painted on most of his canvases, based very strongly on knowing Jewish religion, where words in Hebrew, symbols and visual metaphors connected in a most amazing way.
I was not always agree with interpretation of his paintings, written near each work, but it was an awesome experience.

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.

End of october.

Another sketch of Holiday. Watercolor. Having fun, hope it all would work.

Drew yesterday in the doc office. Miss drawing a lot.

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.

I love America!

I love America! Rushing to do errands, I forgot my sketchbook at home, taking with me only one pencil, mechanical Faber-Castell.
In a process,  facing half an hour or more of the waiting time in the Nail Salon, I realized, I need piece of paper, or sketchbook, Asap.
And I got one in the store, I was in, it was the only one and very interesting sketchbook among bunch of ruled notebooks.

After that I went to a concert in the City and drew on the Subway and afterwards sketched musicians. Really charming sketchbook with toned paper.

Only in America you can get what you want the second you need it and the quality which could exceed your expectations. :)

Sketches in pencil.

Sketches in medical office. I added bits of color with 8 Multi color pencil.

When I was doing the last sketch, it was a young family sitting near me, they went inside and their 3 year old was playing on the Ipad.
When I look at children, my first thought is what world we would leave you, how you gonna change it, please, be wiser than us.
Then I was called in, met someone from Moscow, we started chatting, and  father of the child, who came out in the robe from the MRI room, told me suddenly, I love your art, you're very good artist, I was shocked. I thought I was hiding so well, covering my drawing with paper, where I started to compose the letter to some designer. I always feel invisible, when I draw, concentrating on a subject, meanwhile, people see me too. Uncomfortable thought.
I used oil base Pitt pencil on the last face on the right, really like it versatility, even the point is so thick.