Lost Pages Book Store

Every year I get this notion of doing a long-term project to improve a certain skill.  Last year I did the Wandering Camera daily photo project to explore new photography ideas.  This year, I wanted to keep a sketchbook, but with one thing or another, time passed on.  I finally got tired of waiting and decided that June was going to be THE month to embark upon my Sketchbook 2017 project.

Lost Pages is the very first painting in my little sketchbook.  Although it is a make-believe book store born in my head, I would love to own a real one by that name.

I am very fond of Stillman and Birn sketchbooks.  The pages of this 5.5″ x 3.5″ sketchbook are the perfect size for playing with ideas.  The Beta sketchbook is also great for pretty much all painting media.  I started filling this book when I was sick earlier in the month.

My orange kitty Taffy is my constant companion.  I missed him while he was having a surgery yesterday, it was the ninth surgery for this little fellow.  He is back home now, in pain and a bit battered, but otherwise safe and sound.  I will be busy taking care of him over the next few days.  I love this photo I took of him a few days ago.  He is really as soft as he looks here, and as sweet as his name.

Charlie – trying to climb a wall

We have another kitty called Charlie who is equally sweet and also very clumsy.   He can’t climb anything to save his life, so it’s a good thing he is an indoor-only kitty.

Sirens

The morbid side of me is fascinated by the idea of Sirens.  I am thinking of expanding this scene into a larger painting.

Dawn

Once, when we were camping in the Inyo Mountains, I was up early to see a lunar eclipse.  Shortly after that, dawn broke just as the moon was setting.

Rusted Tiles

Rusted tiles are quite beautiful.  I was having too much fun painting this one, making random rust spots on these tiles.

Silicon And Gold

I wanted to see if I could paint sand with marker, then came up with the idea of sand to circuit boards.

Looking Up At A Bristlecone Pine

California is home to Bristlecone pines.  During the same camping trip in the Inyo Mountains, we hiked the Methuselah trail to see these oldest living beings on Earth.  The colour of the bark on these trees is created by fungus and polishing through ice and wind storms.

On Sunday, my 14-year-old pencil case bit the dust.  I had become so fond of the round pencil case, I had to make a new one.  I came up with an idea of making it in a certain way.  I made a few prototypes; these two are the final finished ones.  Both pencil cases are lined and the zipper ends are covered. 

The dark green one used to be my husband’s pyjama pants.  I love green tartan, so when he discarded the pair, I saved the leg fabric which was in very good condition.  I used the same fabric both for the outside and the lining. 

The yellow one is a newsprint fabric and I used a pinstripe grey fabric for the lining as well as for the sides on this one. 

I got couple of sweet packages from another friend, Mary as well.  That however, is a story for another day.

Hope you enjoyed my little show and tell!

Until next time,
-Soma

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