Westwood Library Annex Sketch

Westwood Library Annex

Detail from odd frieze over the door. We could spend days sketching this place.

I have had my eye on this building to sketch for a while(only a mile or so from my house), so Vanessa and I had a beautiful day to check it out.

It is cram packed with sculptural details. We call is the angry baby building due to the prevalence of the unhappy looking cherub faces.

Angry Cherub Exhibit A

Cherub Exhibit B

I hope this building is still being used. It looked pretty deserted. It could have been closed. There was a Mad Cap Puppet sign in the window, maybe they bought it?

If no one is using it,  I want to live there.

Vine video: https://vine.co/v/heFnAzljj63

Faun and cherub detail

Lovely non-cherub detail

Trip to the Cincinnati Zoo and Other Animal Sketches

We saw these llamas in Missouri...

 I have a couple books about animals coming up, so I have been going to the zoo and other animal places to take pictures and sketch.

Sorry this is not a wordier post, I am still beyond swamped pretty much through the end of the year.

Snow leopard sketch from the Cincinnati Zoo… These are such weird cats. This one would come to the fence, touch it with both paws and chew on her left paw, limping off on the other three. At the Bronx Zoo a couple years ago, one was staring at the toddlers looking in by the fence and chewed on her tail… They seem to be frustrated by close but inaccessible prey.

A selection of ink gesture sketches...

Starting to think about bison??!!

And owls...

Sketching at St. Mary's Basilica

Vanessa and I sketched a bit of flying buttress action at the St. Mary’s Basilica in Covington. It is like visiting a European cathedral in Kentucky.

It was a gorgeous day to be out. It felt like September rather than the usual 90s in August. Here is a vine video: https://vine.co/v/hbgZbr2MlvB

Also, there is a wonderful Duveneck mural inside the cathedral; definitely worth a visit.

This sign was outside the cathedral. It made me laugh for some reason, high and quaveringly...

I expected it to say "spiritual surveillance..."

Live Art and Steampunk

I realized today I totally forgot to post this on my blog even though it is hovering around in cyberspace in other parallel universes. I started this sketch at a live art event at The Drinkery with the Ghost Empire Collective several weeks ago after I did this goat painting.

 I really like the design of a lot of steampunk stuff although I have to admit that the portrayal of steampunk fandom in The Guild made me laugh.

Anyway, I am behind a little bit here compared to my other art spots, but that will be fixed soon. I have a lot of sketches and new art.

Our next Live Art session is on September 6th. I will post info here.

Memorial Hall from Washington Park and On the Radio

A lot has been going on lately, so a quickie post. Vanessa and I went to Washington Park a couple weeks ago to sketch. I did Memorial Hall and she sketched the renovated buildings next to it.

It was a hot day to sketch and we were mercilessly pestered by a bitey fly, but at least we missed the gigantic pop-up storm that hit as I drove home.

In other news, I participated in a Children's Book Illustration discussion with Will Hillenbrand, Loren Long, and Tara Calahan-King that will aired last Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 7:00 am on WKRQ-FM (101.9) & WYGY-FM (97.3) and at 6:00 am on WUBE (105.1) & WREW-FM (94.9) 

 The show is Sunday Morning Magazine with Rodney Lear.

I will post a link to the audio when I can. It was a good discussion and we were all chatty in a podcast way rather than a radio way so Rodney had to do a bit of trimming. It is so hard to be concise when answering questions and one always thinks of what one SHOULD have said later.