London Sketching pt 1 + Manito Art Fest!

Come see me this Saturday, 10-6 pm at the Manito Park Art Festival! It’s always a great show. Us artists will be set up on the lawn next to the Duncan Gardens!

I’m also teaching “Plein Air Sketching at Manito” class on the 13th, 9-11 am through the Corbin Art Center. There’s still space and I’d love to have you! Sign up here! All skill levels welcome!

In London they have Uber Boat! We mostly rode the Tube to get around, but we did have one day where we got to ride the boat and it was fascinating to get a completely different view of the city from the Thames. I’m not sure what this bridge is named, but you can see St. Paul’s in the background along with a ton of construction cranes.

This is Millenium Bridge-If you’ve seen the Harry Potter movies (the last ones), then you have seen this bridge! The pointy building in the back is called the Shard.

I got to fulfill a long time dream and sketched in the Victoria and Albert Museum with mom one evening. I’d love to draw at the British Museum too but it was CRAZY packed when we were there.

We were running around so much, it was hard to find time to draw so a good part of my sketchbook is “What can I see from this restaurant table?” because waiting for food is one of the few times we weren’t on the go. Anything is interesting when you draw it and it builds my memory of the trip even if it isn’t a famous tourist destination. Always look for reasons to draw rather than to not draw!

Done on the Tube. The mother/daughter pair on the right “made” me and asked to see the drawing. I think the Orthodox gentleman eventually noticed that I was drawing him but pretended I wasn’t. Both are perfectly fine responses for me.

Our flat was just across from this fabulous building-the historic Michelin Tire home office! The whole place is a shrine to tires and car racing and elaborately decorated. It now houses three restaurants: a one star Michelin upstairs, a French restaurant on the main floor and an oyster bar in the foyer. This is just the top part of the building because I couldn’t fit the whole thing on one page and get in all the details I wanted.

Here’s the bottom half with people dining alfresco and some fun decorative details that I noticed on the building.

We ended up having lunch in the French restaurant. They reused old Michelin Man decorated ash trays to hold butter and we learned that the motto of the Michelin Man is “Nunc Est Bibendim”: Now is the Time to Drink!

Coming up: Pt 2 of my London trip and what I’m up to in the latter half of June!

Fall at the Japanese Garden

Fall in Spokane is such a beautiful time. The leaves turn brilliant colors and I try to get out to enjoy the blue skies, crisp air, and flaming trees as much as possible. Soon we're going to be buried under a pile of snow!

So many people suggested the Japanese Garden at Manito to me as a place to sketch, especially in the fall and they were totally right. It is breathtaking. Get over there before it is too late. The Japanese Garden closes for the season November 1. Last year, the foliage was so spectacular, the Manito staff decided to leave the garden open an extra week or two, but don't count on that. Get over there!

I just LOVE the color behind this stone lantern. Absolutely GORGEOUS and so much fun to paint! This is the most recent sketch I did at the garden and the foliage is really at its peak!

This sketch was completed on an overcast day before the foliage really exploded into full color. The evergreen shrubs and trees really set off the red maples well!

On the day that I sketched this, there were only a few visitors standing on the bridge, but when I returned to paint the stone lantern above, the bridge was crowded with people taking photos!

To paint this stone pagoda, I balanced precariously on a rock along the walk way, trying to stay out of the way of passersby. 

As I was walking into the garden, I saw this view. The gold at the end of the path along the outside garden fence caught my eye and when I needed a break from over 2 hours of sketching on a chilly day, I got into my car, cranked on the heat, and painted this!