tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30447780936674098652012-02-08T22:50:07.266-05:00With my first glasses, emerging from a friend's house into a starry winter night, I looked up and stopped short. "They're all different colors!"Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.comBlogger6821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-75302258415188886092012-02-07T23:00:00.003-05:002012-02-07T23:38:10.567-05:00

Oui, Etienne has been away from home every Tuesday since who knows when. Today he was home and could go, so he went. Et voila, instead of something he wishes to destroy before anyone can see (which is what he expected after so long an absence), there are some drawings that (as Etienne says), "bear a second look." These are the last three in the pad, and took 25 minutes each. Etienne reports that

Grenouillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781552127989900151noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-70390687964405735512012-02-04T15:23:00.005-05:002012-02-04T16:48:12.890-05:00

Oui, c'est moi, Grenouille, and other sources of inspiration. Two compagnons joined us during Noël. Le coq verre vert which Etienne calls a "glass rooster" (he does not yet possess a name) and a trilobite noir (à ma gauche). The trilobite is l'homme antique in our ménage, reportedly 500 million years old. I must admit he does appear older than Etienne. Give the photo un clic and see for

Grenouillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781552127989900151noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-19580975811342155502012-01-29T18:12:00.004-05:002012-01-29T18:39:30.771-05:00

The family October holiday in the woods turned Etienne from his facade d'Internet and towards a quieter place. It is not that he has ceased to paint and draw, but, rather, that he has ceased to talk much about it.With a little twisting of his arms, and with the encouragement of his cheri, I have persuaded him to allow me to post. I thought I would begin with a few of his recent

Grenouillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781552127989900151noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-42790248457257711822011-10-16T07:19:00.000-04:002011-10-16T07:19:00.199-04:00

My last full day in Salt Lake City I went back up the hill toward the capitol to draw two lovely old houses on State Street. Brown Prismacolor pen. No pencil first - just sat on the grass across the street and jumped in with the pen. Mistakes must be "faked" into the drawing, since there is no erasing. Like a musical performance, where errors are best handled by acting like they're how it was

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-53148253221852069592011-10-11T07:30:00.000-04:002011-10-11T07:30:00.840-04:00

On South Main in Salt Lake City, Utah I bought a fun little journal in a used book store (Sam Weller's - if you've read your Pickwick you know that name...). The cover is like leather, has a nice feel. Inside the mustang emblazoned cover is a binding with dozens of small black and red images of nothing but Chevys. Knowing how we fought over Ford vs. Chevy as gradeschool boys (I was in the Chevy

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-86644935620672657502011-10-05T22:57:00.005-04:002011-10-06T00:01:53.419-04:00

I happened to be in Salt Lake City for a conference and found myself surrounded by streaming crowds of Mormons who were also there for "Conference." The Temple area is beautiful.I did this sketch just inside the gate to the garden, just south of the Temple. There are several graceful old plane trees there, and the sight of the sunlit building through their branches is what made me stop and spend

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-28007394258980979552011-09-21T16:56:00.007-04:002011-09-21T19:57:25.692-04:00

Anyone who reads my blog may be bored of seeing these... I would understand. But I remain excited about these because I see change and progress, and because I continue to have little idea what I'm doing throughout the process of creating these images. Each one is a plunge into the unknown, using materials which continue to feel unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and extremely imprecise. And that's what I

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-60784133348234064012011-09-19T19:31:00.003-04:002011-09-19T19:51:06.279-04:00

Today after breakfast I attempted to unstick the disposal flywheel with a broomstick, as recommended on the Internet. It beats putting your hand in the unit... (It's like Nathan Lane's / Zero Mostel's rule from "The Producers" - "Never put your own money in the show!!") It had been humming when we flip the switch, with no other action, which research indicated was likely due to a stuck flywheel.

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-28365160303726751352011-09-15T22:44:00.004-04:002011-09-15T23:02:09.915-04:00

Tonight the short poses didn't work well for me, and the longer ones, drawn larger, did. I never know from one session to the next, and I have no idea how it works. I just show up and do my part and the muse does (or doesn't) do the rest. We had a lovely model - I also drew her months ago - in pencil. She has lovely lines in her limbs, like the edge of her thigh at the bottom of this drawing, as

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-51780661607896705232011-09-14T21:47:00.003-04:002011-09-14T22:45:07.319-04:00

I have two stories to tell from my travels these last 24 hours. No pictures because while I do have a sketch to show for one, I dropped my camera and can't upload pictures right now.First, I had the privilege of attending a Braves / Marlins baseball game in Atlanta last night. It's the first time I've been to a big stadium (I've been to Durham Bulls games, but that's a small stadium). I did a

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-23011946236514237032011-09-10T15:03:00.006-04:002011-09-10T15:56:03.214-04:00

This is the final result of a longer than usual meditation on lines, light, and my own face. I feel most at liberty to play with my own face, which is why I like to draw and paint it. Besides, I have more info on what goes on behind that face than any other, and that seems to inform the resulting images. As usual, my camera has understated the green a bit and reduced the contrast, but this is

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-80739690159246806122011-09-08T21:22:00.007-04:002011-09-08T21:37:44.469-04:00

Again, I was able to get into a new drawing space with these. Lighter wash this time - allowing me to build the tones more gradually, which I enjoyed on the longer poses. On the last two of these I got a bit heavy with the marker, and I think it detracts from the figure. All of these begin with wash first, applied quite quickly (30 seconds or less), then the china marker, then back and forth

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-48448506889697190232011-09-05T09:57:00.001-04:002011-09-05T10:46:45.415-04:00

We had a relatively dry, cool day right after Hurricane Irene had passed NC, and we went that morning to Duke Gardens. Dearest and Oldest took photos, youngest stayed with me and read a book, and I drew. Initially I settled down to sketch the light on bushes and plants in the terraced garden, but it bored me after 10 minutes and I walked away. In the wisteria gazebo there are open-work steel

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-29465595816078633602011-08-28T13:52:00.005-04:002011-08-28T14:14:12.589-04:00

The fun thing about drawing in public is the conversations. While I sat in the hot son and laid out this sketch, I had to repeatedly sight (with my pencil held up or sideways) the locations of different window lines or the proportions and arrangement of objects. It was a challenging subject to get correct - I wanted to be sure to position the stories correctly, and have the right number, etc. The

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-82662281178187642882011-08-26T21:02:00.006-04:002011-08-26T21:52:28.326-04:00

I've mentioned that I have been wrestling with the washes and lines at life drawing sessions for the last several months. It's felt like starting over, and I've left several recent sessions without a single drawing I cared to show anyone. And it hasn't bothered me - I've been quite content in the pursuit, the chase. The fact that it's been disorienting and largely a mess has pleased me,

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-5217620270855838182011-08-13T16:30:00.005-04:002011-08-13T17:12:34.070-04:00

Bonsoir. Etienne has again granted the keyboard to moi, but under condition of telling the story of the market veggie. Deux Poulets brought aubergines to Etienne, from a friend. But voila, they are one "eggplant," as you call them here. Une stem, deux "eggs." This was the invitation to play with his food. Etienne said this has happened before - this is the third time. So these photographs show

Grenouillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781552127989900151noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-3538730014860154542011-08-10T22:55:00.003-04:002011-08-10T23:14:41.704-04:00

Late yesterday I dove into a piece of paper, drawing lines with blind contour technique from a number of random photos on the Internet, deliberately not completing recognizable shapes, and turning the page to lay more on top of more on top of more. Here is the end result. I took thirty minutes or longer and turned it and turned it and erased some lines, and drew some more and then I found my

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-54708512975846441952011-08-07T14:55:00.005-04:002011-08-07T16:06:08.353-04:00

Oui, c'est moi. It has been a long while since my last posting. Etienne has been hogging the keyboard, oui? Of course in the pond we do not use expressions with pigs; one who is taking more than one's portion is as a bullfrog. But he has been tres busy and the drawings have come more rapidly than in the past, so he has had more to show.But it seems there has been less to say? More show, less tell

Grenouillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781552127989900151noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-26092110028516211392011-07-30T22:33:00.005-04:002011-07-31T12:25:25.566-04:00

This started out as a painting with amaryllis drawn in pencil. I had other plans for this - it was never meant as a straight flower painting - but I did not intend for chickens to show up. They just forced their way in (chickens and sheep seem to do this from time to time in my work - I have no idea why, since I have little day-to-day connection with any barnyard animals except via our fridge...)

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-27688262182742362802011-07-30T13:52:00.001-04:002011-07-30T14:01:50.979-04:00

I painted this back in May, but didn't get around to posting it until now. We have the theater bug bad in our house, with four out of five of us (I'm the lone holdout) in a musical that is running four nights right now, and it's been pretty exhausting living theater hours in the night, and getting up early for work. So not much painting or drawing happened this week other than figure drawing

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-40268497901421728082011-07-26T23:42:00.004-04:002011-07-26T23:59:38.377-04:00

I'll admit I have become obsessed with life drawing. I've been twice as often lately as I've posted here - two of the sessions yielded not one useful drawing. And I have struggled and been lost and have loved the entire thing. I used to be done when the session was d0ne - worn out, actually. Tonight I was sorry there were not more poses - and we went two and a half hours instead of the two of my

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-38894674999959240722011-07-21T22:05:00.003-04:002011-07-21T22:40:29.104-04:00

Working with a brush and wash or watercolor before the lines feels really uncomfortable. Tonight I felt either at sea with no anchor, or things just seemed to make sense and I watched in fascination as things happened on the page that were better than I expected. I still ended the evening feeling I had nothing to post - nothing worth looking at again.But then I got home and looked and some of

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-1480321125559812392011-07-16T17:27:00.009-04:002011-07-16T23:22:38.550-04:00

Today, at the Eno River Farmer's Market, Two Chicks Farm had an unusual potato that they had kept with me in mind... because of the food play with the tomato we bought from them, last time (which ended up in a collaboration on That's Why, as well). They said the potato had a head, too - but that broke off before they could get it to me. They figured I still might be able to make something of it.

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-72309476823409954172011-07-14T22:02:00.005-04:002011-07-14T22:17:32.088-04:00

Tonight we had a lovely young model. Every human form is so different it amazes me. This is one of the privileges of doing this kind of drawing, and one of the treasures each model shares - this view of the variety and beauty of the human body.I was determined, tonight, not to fall into old habits and draw the way I always do. It was a struggle. Trying to use a brush, ink washes, negaitve space,

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-78950752868040974422011-07-12T20:49:00.003-04:002011-07-12T20:59:39.503-04:00

To me, a Sharpie is a blunt instrument. So is a 3/4 inch square wash brush. I was seeking something different than I usually do.Approx 12 x 16 inches, watercolor and Sharpie on Arches hot press. Approx ten minutes.I see lines I wish I had left out... Next time...I also see some lines I really like... Next time...It's all about this time while the instrument is in your hand - then it's all about

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-14533632697246157432011-07-10T18:35:00.004-04:002011-07-10T18:44:13.088-04:00

After our usual visit to the Hillsborough farmer's market (Eno River Market) and walk downtown, we headed to Duke Gardens which had been flooded the evening before. The rain came from a storm which diverted my flight home to nearby Greensboro for fuel and to wait for the downpour to pass the Raleigh-Durham airport. Water was still high, and brown in the big duck pond. I parked myself on a step

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-89899841502261821592011-07-03T16:23:00.004-04:002011-07-03T16:38:34.072-04:00

One of the highlights of Durham's year is the annual Festival for the Eno which runs for three days every Fourth of July weekend. It's a fundraiser and awareness device for the preservation of the Eno river, which flows through Durham and Orange counties for much of it's length. Every year there is a new T-shirt design, and you can pick up reprints of the previous years (except some of the best

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-31640279104437750312011-07-02T16:19:00.007-04:002011-07-02T22:03:22.053-04:00

I joined another drawing group (on Meet-up) and they happened to have a session in my town today. It was great to get there in less than 10 minutes. But I was nervous, as well, for several reasons. First, I hadn't met any of these artists. This group tends to meet in people's homes (as today) and that can be more intimate, and (for me) a little more awkward with strangers. And the entire group

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-7625842120474189272011-06-30T22:27:00.005-04:002011-06-30T22:49:50.277-04:00

After an interesting interlude in the land of the pencil, I am back to working with charcoal, pastel, and charcoal pencils. Today I even availed myself of china markers (which probably aren't even light fast) because I like the waxy devil-may-care way they inspire me to handle them.I went into tonight's session determined to get loose and work almost entirely with the side of the chalk (which I

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-40265445211889762322011-06-26T17:31:00.003-04:002011-06-26T17:33:34.947-04:00

We went to the farmer's market Saturday and I bought a tomato that required some play. I decided he needed a sweetheart.

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-83931342714751624832011-06-24T22:28:00.002-04:002011-06-24T22:31:10.314-04:00

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-75194088226251664062011-06-23T21:58:00.004-04:002011-06-23T22:23:23.846-04:00

I went to figure drawing this evening and was disappointed to find out that a model I have been hoping to draw again had been scheduled for this evening, but she had been injured (sports) and would not be joining us. I hope it's nothing serious.We had a young athletic male, instead. It was a challenge and a pleasure to draw his youthful lines (we have had a run of older models), particularly the

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-2207511073939318612011-06-22T21:18:00.000-04:002011-06-22T21:27:31.916-04:00

This is also from our beach trip, several weeks ago. This is in Wilmington, NC.I loved the yellow awnings on this old red brick building the minute I saw them from the yogurt place across Front Street (the Fuzzy Peach), which had attracted a crowd because they were giving away their product for one hour that Saturday. So while the rest of the family went in to check out all the shops in the

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-18489761914656704352011-06-19T16:00:00.000-04:002011-06-19T16:02:56.734-04:00

Several weeks ago we took a brief trip to Carolina Beach, renting a little condo on the ocean. I did these two sketches from the porch/balcony in the front, the first in brown ink and watercolor, the second in Micron pen. We played in the waves, walked the beach, went out on the Kure Beach pier for a beautiful sunset, and did some wandering, shopping and eating in Wilmington, which is NC's port

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-83025533634208962752011-06-18T11:12:00.001-04:002011-06-18T11:45:00.786-04:00

I bought a huge pumpkin for Halloween last year (post here). I couldn't stand the idea of putting it out to freeze and then rot in the winter, so I just moved it into the garage (a two man job) and got to happily thump and talk to it all winter, as I was coming and going from the house. In April I finally put it outside, after the last chance of freeze or frost. This is how it looks in mid June,

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-79405979126303472922011-06-16T21:51:00.005-04:002011-06-16T22:01:10.898-04:00

Today's model was a long, lean, older male with nice muscles and even nicer bones. The poses did little for me, though, until we got the first long one (25 minutes) and I requested a pose from the back. I had realized that he never turned his back to us - and (as I explained to him) I find the back difficult and would love a chance to try drawing his. He said he didn't care for his back, and that

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-2833924440569657572011-06-15T21:45:00.000-04:002011-06-15T21:58:43.049-04:00

On our recent beach trip we went to the Fort Fisher Aquarium, and then took the ferry to Southport on our way home. Few of the creatures are still for even a moment - fish often swim continuously - so this spiny lobster was my best subject. I only had a few minutes, though, before the rest of the family would be ready to leave for the ferry and lunch, so this was done in less than 15 minutes.

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-49776504008772723862011-06-11T17:35:00.003-04:002011-06-11T17:46:28.326-04:00

I have a collection of black and white street photos, with people caught at random in the images, so I can sketch even in my hotel room on trips. I haven't done one in a while - and I was never happy enough with the previous results to want to show them to anyone. But the quantity of sketching I've been doing lately, and the life drawing, seem to have moved me to a different place, and I can

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-64161648601609074602011-06-04T14:15:00.002-04:002011-06-04T14:35:13.802-04:00

I went sketching with Mom recently - the first time she's tried drawing from life in several years, I think. It was fun. We went to Pittsboro, near where she lives, and drew the co-op market. The periodic cicadas were making their weird alien sound in the wooded areas around us, rising and falling in volume. And a mockingbird sang with all his might in a tree beside us as we sketched,

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-15284577565991726012011-05-31T17:43:00.005-04:002011-05-31T18:21:46.717-04:00

I took the day off today, and we're celebrating my birthday. It's in December, but I decreed several years ago that I would celebrate it in April or May from now on. So today, while our two oldest went to work (summer jobs) Dearest, Youngest, and I went to the Natural Science Center in Greensboro, NC. For my long-ish sketch I was having a hard time choosing between a rhino skull and a hippo

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-27914940549653061192011-05-30T11:46:00.000-04:002011-05-30T12:29:32.166-04:00

We had a lovely model this evening, with beautiful shoulders. I've drawn her before, over a year ago. She is in her sixties, I would guess. These sketches are the 5 minute sketches (all on one page) and then two 10 minute sketches, and then the two twenty minute sketches we did last. As usual, I felt like I had finally gotten in a groove just as we finished. And also, the 10 minute poses are

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-89821622444965799632011-05-28T22:12:00.005-04:002011-05-28T22:21:46.511-04:00

On our Saturday morning walks in Hillsborough, we always stop at the Farmer's Market to get greens, eggs, bread, and (of course) flowers from Marsha. Sometimes I leave her bouquets just the way she arranged them for sale, and other times (like this) I break the blooms up and recombine them in more locations in the house. These are on the sill of the big window in our stairwell. Bachelor's

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-58178051509584677802011-05-25T19:03:00.000-04:002011-05-25T19:25:59.715-04:00

I went back to Roswell, GA one evening recently, and I did a stylized sketch of the fashion boutique (Capricious) whose owner had previously let me sit on one of her benches in order to draw the cafe across the street. The shop was closed before I got there this time. They have lovely windows, and elegant choices displayed, and I like their sign/logo.Fountain pen with brown Noodler's Ink (which

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-63272048898171346682011-05-22T19:21:00.000-04:002011-05-22T19:50:35.097-04:00

This is a 1940 Packard I sketched sitting cross-legged on beautiful wide heartpine floorboards. The small museum is part of the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. I had about 20 minutes, and an 8 x 10 inch sketch pad and a pencil. I love these old autos from the 40's, with their big fenders and tall grills.This one is black, with shiny chrome on the bumper, grill, vents, and headlight trim, and

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-66142950463799271332011-05-19T16:00:00.000-04:002011-05-19T16:03:55.546-04:00

I did a quick visit to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC recently, and did several sketches. These will also appeared on our Durham blog "Top of the Triangle." Most of the Tangelo family contributes, including Moomin Light.This lion skull captured my interest immediately with all the curves and positive/negative spaces overlapped. This exhibit has a crank on it that makes the lion

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-56982101107746778992011-05-07T22:45:00.000-04:002011-05-07T22:53:17.665-04:00

We picked up Daughter at the end of her first year at UNC Asheville this week. I can't believe her first year is already behind us. She really made the most of it, worked hard, played hard, started a dance club, and made impressions that have greatly expanded her view of who she is. I think she got more than her time and money's worth - and she made us very proud.While she finished her

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-14408811606916023302011-05-05T23:45:00.000-04:002011-05-06T00:01:28.686-04:00

I got to Life Drawing late - and missed the first pose. Worse, setting up in a hurry, and jumping into drawing without any mental transition from my rush through traffic, unbalanced me. So the first sketches were largely a loss.But I discovered something interesting. Our model was a beautiful young woman, with a nearly perfect figure and ideal proportions. There were so many lovely details:

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-33258649575872425292011-05-04T22:53:00.004-04:002011-05-17T21:11:18.498-04:00

I've been on the road a lot (again) - for work and for pleasure. Georgia, of course - but this time I discovered Roswell (thanks to Dearest for research locating something historic and interesting outside Alpharetta). Here is a sketch of Barrington Hall, a historic site. I sketched this during a thunder storm - capturing the house quickly with pencil, getting into watercolors just in time for the

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-41611379291816816632011-04-21T23:26:00.004-04:002011-04-21T23:58:00.457-04:00

We had two models show up tonight - they both had confirmations. But only one had a check cut for posing, and she's the one who stayed. I was happy with the result, because though both are good, I wanted a draw a female tonight (we drew a male last week) and her poses are particulrly good. She's also an artist, and works hard to give us more interesting angles and foreshortening, etc. She's

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-36587795578782101302011-04-17T22:40:00.000-04:002011-04-17T22:52:04.328-04:00

While the family was walking towards Malaprop's Bookshop in Asheville, I passed Origami Ink. I slowed down several dozen feet past the shop, and finally told the others, at the door of Malaprop's, that I would meet them inside...I went back and had a long and interesting conversation with a deply engaged, very knowledgable sales person, who's been with the shop for years, about what fountain pen

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-23027800126550230162011-04-16T16:29:00.000-04:002011-04-16T16:49:34.244-04:00

When oldest was a much younger guy, probably about six, he and I used to "goof around," wandering around north of Durham, getting out of the car whenever things looked interesting.Interesting might just mean somewhere we could pick up rocks, or get to the shore of a stream or pond, or visit an old country store. Probably the most picturesque and old fashioned of the little stores was the old

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-69912246089715303072011-04-12T18:19:00.000-04:002011-04-12T18:43:07.232-04:00

After a visit with Daughter at UNC Asheville (we went up to see the Dance Department's program, which was wonderful - daughter choreographed and led an audience participation piece that made us very proud of her), we took a short stop at the Botanical Gardens next to campus. We stopped to use the restroom, but the day was beautiful, the light was golden, and we decided to take a short stroll.

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-1371427648860716382011-04-10T09:30:00.000-04:002011-04-10T09:45:01.316-04:00

I spent a recent Sunday morning drawing and painting. This is how my table looked afterward. The drawing and painting completed that morning and shown here will appear in other posts, later.Click the image for a closer look. The small watercolor set in the upper right is my field kit, and I deliberately limited myself to it while finishing a sketch I started in Asheville (not shown in this

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-34900223162991011622011-04-09T11:04:00.000-04:002011-04-09T11:14:29.912-04:00

(Written in April 2011)I have been deliberately walking underground between concourses T and A at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport because of the display of sculptures by artists in Zimbabwe. This week I had an unusually long wait in the airport, and I plopped myself down in the space between two of the sculptures, sat on my roll-aboard, got out my new fountain pen, and sketched this piece,

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-58480913306011994012011-04-06T22:24:00.006-04:002011-04-06T22:37:19.526-04:00

A friend's father passed away last week after a long illness. My own loss comes and goes, and all sorts of things bring it into focus. The echo of the friend's experiences made it a low grade ache under everything else. It went well with the muscle spasm in my lower left rib area, from coughing through several nights when I had the flu. Being up all night several nights also made me think of Dad,

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-60172808868480655022011-03-24T22:21:00.004-04:002011-03-24T23:07:47.315-04:00

I have had a terrible flu, with a cough preventing sleep for almost two weeks. Last night was the first night I got to sleep before 2:00, and I slept through the night. I felt like a new man.And it's Thursday, so the Life Drawing Studio is in session in Carrboro. Oldest could come with me this time - a happy alignment of a tiny gap in his major college projects (NCSU College of Art and Design)

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-9122673497034571522011-03-20T14:56:00.004-04:002011-03-20T15:22:32.811-04:00

On a recent photo and sketch trip with Dearest, we stopped at a drugstore to run a little side errand. She went in and I didn't need to, so I sat in the car and looked across Roxboro Road. There was a hedge and some bare winter trees at the edge of the street - a planting done years before by the city of Durham and then made asymetrical and more interesting by time and accident. I played my

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-27837797022867158612011-03-13T22:53:00.000-04:002011-03-13T23:22:28.055-04:00

Today was a down sort of day - end of vacation, Daughter going back to college after a week at home, still not feeling totally well after my cold... By this afternoon Dearest could tell I needed some time to myself, and probably to sketch. So she suggested downtown Hillsborough, "We live in an historic village - go sketch."So I did. Tupelo's, a favorite restaurant in the center of town,

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-87349922620162815462011-03-12T15:26:00.004-05:002011-03-12T15:52:10.309-05:00

With all of our spring breaks aligned, we all took off together for Folly Beach, SC and Charleston. We did our usual favorite things, and some new ones.One of the new things was touring the Yorktown, a WW II aircraft carrier on permanent display at Patriot Point in Mt Pleasant, across the harbor from Charleston. We've seen it over there for years, and finally got over to see it. It's enormous,

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-45222268727365699522011-03-09T20:21:00.000-05:002011-03-09T20:30:23.076-05:00

We went to see a Paperhand Puppet Intervention performance at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, and I took the opportunity to show the studio to Dearest and Youngest, who had not seen it. This is where I do life drawing - drawing the nude figure. The old chair and the easels are the main characters in the space, until people inhabit it.Ballpoint pen in 5 x 8 moleskine. My usual spot is about ten

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-57734583377287665722011-03-05T20:00:00.001-05:002011-03-05T20:15:14.210-05:00

I loved this hotel in Orlando, and spent several evenings peacefully sitting there, drinking a glass of wine, watching the sunset, and smiling at passers by. These, however, were both drawn Sunday morning, while I waited for my conference sessions to start at 1:00. The first is a little too light and tentative to please me, but it does capture something of the feel of the boats tied up in the

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-8660858720615122822011-03-03T22:48:00.000-05:002011-03-03T23:06:12.077-05:00

The Loews Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando is part of the larger Universal complex, along a long thin lake (probably man made). The resort is at one end, and has a South Pacific theme (staff greet you with "Aloha"). This old plane floats in the lagoon at the resort, where the dock comes down to let patrons board the free water taxi to Universal Studios' theme park, which is in the middle of the

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-89546993770311047522011-02-27T12:40:00.000-05:002011-02-27T12:43:02.146-05:00

I have been too busy travelling, and too busy with other things at home to attend life drawing sessions. Worse, the human figure is something difficult for me if I don't stay in practice. It would be like a rusty musician going to a jam session; the results would be frustrating and embarrassing. Worst of all, without recovering some level of skill, the beauty before me would elude my feeble

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-62389103717654911402011-02-26T22:29:00.000-05:002011-02-26T22:33:22.462-05:00

These are from my recent trip to Florida. I flew down on Saturday and worked Sunday afternoon through Wednesday, then flew back on Thursday. So I had time to sketch in airports, and time to sketch a little on Saturday and Sunday there at Universal in Orlando. Those sketches were more detailed drawings, and are for another post. Here is the Mexican band which was playing in Raleight-Durham

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-28795157741723751782011-02-25T21:25:00.000-05:002011-02-25T21:25:42.604-05:00

I usually work in the airport, and on the plane. Laptops and wi-fi devices mean that the six hours I spend getting from one office to another are not completely lost on travelling. It's the main reason for flying rather than driving in many cases, for me.But there are also times when the laptop isn't allowed, or the timeframe is too small to do anything meaningful for the job. If my blackberry

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-10240109684011993162011-02-14T10:10:00.003-05:002011-02-14T10:29:16.924-05:00

Thirty years ago, on another warm, sunny Valentine's Day, family and friends gathered in Raleigh, NC to watch two highschool sweethearts get married and drive out into their life together. I only remember snatches of that day - mostly because I was so nervous. If I had it to do over, I would slow down the vows, and try harder to imprint on my faulty memory the moment I looked into her eyes and

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-33506258355806740072011-02-14T07:37:00.003-05:002011-02-14T07:40:19.093-05:00

Happy Birthday, Daughter, and Happy Valentine's Day.This was drawn and painted on our October trip, for you, but I saved it for this.I hope your day is wonderful - and this year, as well.Love,Daddy

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-42364459217823513402011-02-04T21:00:00.003-05:002011-02-04T21:31:54.363-05:00

I have no idea where this is, or where it came from. I can't even clearly recall how it started (well, I do remember that the cat came forward first). I don't know how the animals became buildings. I don't have any idea why elephants are wandering this city. I do know it first surfaced two months agao and has been on the board while two others were completed around it, jumping line.And I do

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-73909781271572723562011-01-21T21:01:00.006-05:002011-01-21T21:49:42.537-05:00

I grew up in a white elephant of a farm house in Columbia County, NY, across the road from a beautiful trout stream. That trout stream's name was Dutch, like almost all the older place names in the county, which had been settled when the city at the mouth of the Hudson was called New Amsterdam, not New York. Here in NC, where rivers don't get large until much closer to the sea, the stream would

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-3944898468909116382011-01-07T20:56:00.003-05:002011-01-07T21:19:00.798-05:00

This is probably not finished, but it's close, I think. I have to make some adjustments to the closer sycamore - too speckley. And I may change some of the other shapes after I live with it a bit.But this captures some of the feeling of the memories and the imagined place, the excitment of passing between these two trees. In reality they were young and straight and without much character - but

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-51025666016486409072011-01-01T09:37:00.003-05:002011-01-01T10:05:32.560-05:00

Last night our cul de sac had their annual New Years progressive wine and appetizer wander, from house to house. This is my favorite non-family social event of the year. I've written here many times about our neighbors and the amazing fortune that placed so many good people all in one short street. Last night was the first time I've seen some of them since my father passed away on the 11th of

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-66388901952996840022010-12-29T22:06:00.001-05:002010-12-29T22:12:23.053-05:00

Drawing the figure from photos is far from optimal because the camera compresses and eliminates so much information, particularly about depth. But for Christmas I received (from Dearest) a DVD of model poses, photographed in series of 24 shots evenly around the pose, and lit well to reveal form and contours. Faces, in particularly, have been my scary spot, so I decided to start there. And I

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-30277742353008255912010-12-28T22:00:00.002-05:002010-12-28T22:04:37.474-05:00

Moleskine sketch after our Christmas evening snowfall (first white Christmas in the Triangle since 1947, I heard). Our tall red juniper outside our library window was weighted down with snow. The red lights kept on shining through the gloom. Click for larger version. Pencil, felt tip, and red Prismacolor in moleskine - 10 x 8 inches.

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-86722420633727594452010-12-17T22:11:00.003-05:002010-12-17T22:18:05.438-05:00

Pip drew me a happy drawing, because he heard I was sad. I was very glad to get it today in the mail.Yesterday we had a funeral mass for Dad, and a reception and family gathering afterward. The time with distant loved ones really does help. There is good reason behind all these traditions.

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-11977445164134282792010-12-12T08:50:00.003-05:002010-12-12T09:57:43.931-05:00

I got the first call Friday, on my way to the airport in St Louis. Dad had slipped into a coma, and his breathing was suddenly different. I was on my way home, with two colleagues. I was glad they were there when I heard the news. As usual, for me, I felt a big blank, but this one had a sound of distant roaring static behind it. When I got to the airport in Raleigh at 9:00 PM, I called Mom

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-27809338230904972852010-12-05T16:10:00.005-05:002010-12-05T17:27:56.339-05:00

My heart must reach the bottom of my grief before it can turn toward the light. It knows this, but it hates the dark, and refuses to go down, clinging to ledges for weeks or months at a time, keeping me running and waiting at the surface. Running in my war paint, my face turned helplessly away from the event that I cannot stop, weaponless against the passing time, wearing this stubborn mask

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-67448927356063262332010-12-02T22:54:00.003-05:002010-12-02T23:04:49.151-05:00

It was snowing, and that meant shovelling out the Dietzes. I would walk backwards against the wind that howled around the big bend in the road, and then struggle up their steep driveway to the detached garage. I knew where the snow shovel was. Everything was neatly stowed, exactly where it was the previous time, as if time stopped between my visits. I also knew where the Dietzes were; in their

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-49255601813781973042010-11-25T13:30:00.000-05:002010-11-25T13:55:36.569-05:00

Wednesday evening I drove through heavy Atlanta traffic to reach the Buckhead Diner for a 6:30 reservation. I was meeting a special friend I had not seen in several years. The conversation was only the slightest bit awkward for the first ten minutes, and then we talked like we'd seen each other last week. But there was so much catching up, and so much fascinating comparison of notes, that the

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-86346868737886872762010-11-21T10:04:00.002-05:002010-11-21T10:18:41.204-05:00

When I sat down on the large central lawn of Duke University's East Campus to capture students painting the big wooden bench in front of their dorm, I knew I would have to work a lot from memory. They kept moving around. I might have 20 seconds, if I were lucky, on any given pose for each figure in the sketch.So I worked fast, and since each figure is captured in the spot they were then, but

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-56012571752428966942010-11-19T22:16:00.000-05:002010-11-19T22:25:22.194-05:00

Another subject that keeps coming up in my paintings is the wind. I've had strong feelings about breezes and wind all my life, particularly as it affects trees and grass around me. I immediately relate to human beings who have sensed a presence, a deity, in the air. Few things exhilerate me like a blustery sunny day in autumn.But I'm never remotely satisfied with the results of my various

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-23469514811490609082010-11-11T20:40:00.000-05:002010-11-11T20:42:37.673-05:00

The last of the mountain trip sketches... We always spend some time on the Linville River, skimming stones, wading (no matter how cold the water) and playing Pooh Sticks from one of the pair of high bridges. This time, as Dearest waded, and Youngest rock hopped dry footed into the middle of the river, I sketched some of the wildflowers and leaves. Rosettes of primrose leaves, dried stems of

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-81599771398968246712010-11-06T17:33:00.002-04:002010-11-06T18:49:48.391-04:00

(Chicken-pot-pie, eaten at the dinner described below...)We were having one of our animated dinner table conversations about life, the universe, and everything, and something caused Oldest (22 and a Sophomore at the NC State College of Art and Design) to toss in the comment, "Life is for art." It took me several twists and turns in the conversation to catch his tone, and to come back, during a

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-10305641062728507472010-11-02T21:40:00.000-04:002010-11-02T22:02:14.405-04:00

We take our autumn vacation each year in Blowing Rock, NC. It's a pretty town, beautifully set, with lots of colorful maples in the fall.Mountain towns are different than Piedmont towns, the two having been settled and founded by diverse groups, with almost opposing views on issues like slavery, the purpose of the farm, and styles of local government. 150 years after the start of the War

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-7374481036788211362010-10-31T11:00:00.000-04:002010-10-31T11:15:48.417-04:00

Every few years I find a pumpkin stand with the big deep orange pumpkins I love the most (not the dull brown-orange ones you find everywhere) and I splurge on a large one. Then I put it in the house and enjoy looking at it and thumping it gently for weeks after I buy it. As Oldest put it, "It's wonderful that there is a fruit that gets that big." This year I put it on the hearth. I put a

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-25664992490742829912010-10-30T22:31:00.003-04:002010-10-30T22:40:34.604-04:00

On one end of Granfather Mountain is the attraction the Morton family built years ago to support their protection of the rest of the mountain. It's been updated and added to for decades, and it's better every time we go.The "Mile High Swinging Bridge" is less scary since they replaced the board bottom with steel sheets; but it's still too much for many people, and most cross it carefully, with

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-2276452527847279572010-10-29T22:47:00.003-04:002010-10-29T23:07:10.963-04:00

It started with a two week vacation in the mountains, away from electronic distractions, with lots of time hiking and outdoors. Then there was so much to do when we got home, and so much business travel, that I have not been back on line even for e-mail more than two or three times. No time to write blog posts.But I did do a good bit of sketching on the vacation, in a new horizontal format book

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-91590108304874181582010-09-15T22:59:00.001-04:002010-09-15T23:11:38.923-04:00

A lot of my paintings are like found objects - pencil and paint handled almost subconsciously until things begin to emerge. Other come to me whole and then I plot and create them from the internal image. The Cicada painting is an example of the latter.Here is the page from the moleskine, where the idea came to me - back on August 1st. (The octopus, by the way, was a doodle - he may also have a

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-91978385953509140232010-09-13T22:45:00.004-04:002010-09-13T23:15:03.499-04:00

Youngest and I took the canoe and paddled a bit over a mile up the Haw River from the bridge and dam at 15-501, South of Chapel Hill, NC. We began that ride with me capsizing the canoe, and dumping us both into two feet of water. I had been trying to get into the water from the bank, without getting my feet wet. "You did it wrong," as Youngest put it. We were cool for most of the trip as a

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-71406036501303859732010-09-11T21:37:00.003-04:002010-09-11T21:55:56.875-04:00

Dearest, Youngest and I went to Bugfest 2010 in Raleigh today. The NC Museum of Natural Scinece puts it on every September, and it is by far their largest event. While the other two went in and braved the crowds at the exhibits, I stayed in the pedestrian way between the museums and sketched this scene. The museum is a lovely building - modern with classical sensibilities, to match the older

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-48195584588208378022010-09-05T21:30:00.000-04:002010-09-05T21:59:17.944-04:00

After helping Daughter move into college, we took Youngest and spent the next day in Belmont, NC, at the Stowe Gardens and in the village for lunch and a little wandering in the heat. Here are my moleskine pages from that day. One sketch is of the sheet of water that pours out of a hole at the top of the orchid wall in the conservatory at the gardens. If you have a chance to tour Stowe, the

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-13898775833850384652010-08-31T22:49:00.000-04:002010-08-31T22:56:34.267-04:00

Youngest saw my "Keys to Drawing" book lying on a side table, and started reading and doing some of the exercises a few weeks ago. That was a surprise. He achieved right-brain shift on some of the first exercises, and was excited by that.I've been looking at the book as a way to consider habits in my own drawing and sketching, to shake up my routines, and to get more of those valuable little

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-77035743589650367622010-08-29T08:58:00.003-04:002010-08-29T09:12:48.615-04:00

One of the first questions Daughter had to get settled with her assigned college room mate, when they connected on-line prior to moving in this year, was, "Pirates or Ninjas?" They both answer that question Pirates (so do I). Other friends of Daughters say Ninjas over Pirates.Somehow this all came together in my head with Yin and Yang and I realized that I could produce an image of this

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-75029700873922715482010-08-27T21:07:00.003-04:002010-08-27T21:15:47.354-04:00

This painting came to me while looking at the amazing wings of Cicadas (that middle "a" is pronounced long here in the Southeast). Actually I've been trying to do this image in some form for years now (without the insect - that seemed to be the unifying element, finally). It comes in part from looking at Paul Klee paintings of houses and roofs and lollipop tree shapes, and it comes from stacks

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-58995687278899037702010-08-05T21:11:00.003-04:002010-08-05T21:32:20.951-04:00

My chief pleasure every week is the Saturday morning walk in our village of Hillsborough followed by the visit to the Eno River Farmers Market. I'm wearing the market's t-shirt right now. We know more and more of the farmers/vendors by name, like Marsha who sells cut flowers (we always get enough for our wall sconces and a large vase upstairs), and Rachel the fellow homeschooler who sells fresh

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-85840993204937930312010-08-02T21:45:00.003-04:002010-08-02T21:53:57.366-04:00

We have this amazing bean out on our deck. This is just the top 6 feet or so. It starts on the ground below the deck, and climbs about 10 feet up to the bottom of this sketch. It has, since this drawing, climbed higher, reached out five feet in all directions looking for something else to climb, succumbed to gravity and put down long tendrils that reach the deck rail and start back up again.I

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-43084913621544613682010-07-24T14:50:00.005-04:002010-07-24T15:22:09.944-04:00

I was ready to head home after Saturday (July 10th). It was great to be someplace exciting, and to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, but I missed having someone to share it, and I was starting to talk to myself. (Even in Chicago or New York people will look at you on the sidewalk if you start talking to no one and you don't have a Blue Tooth in your ear.)The trip back was all about

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-1786882958327532012010-07-18T22:04:00.002-04:002010-07-18T22:08:10.499-04:00

Four of my favorite photos from the trip to Chicago... It's not a coincidence that they're all vertical.

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-8288402735588692482010-07-17T20:08:00.006-04:002010-07-17T21:07:07.417-04:00

I could go on and on about Chicago. My Saturday was a 14 hour day in town - I probably walked more than 6 miles altogether, all over the Loop, into Greektown (lamb for lunch), and ultimately down to the lake shore. I had an Irish dinner at Katie O'Shea's, outside, where I ended up the only remaining outdoor patron when a ten minute rain shower scared off everyone else (I just raised my umbrella

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-88303799301283063732010-07-15T19:29:00.005-04:002010-07-15T19:43:44.222-04:00

The evening of the first day of my trip was long, sunlit, and only in the low 80's (Chicagoans were complaining around me, but I was used to high 90's, so this felt great to me).I walked down Michigan Ave and decided to try my first street watercolor of the Blackstone Hotel and other buildings from a park near Congress Ave. I love the red brick and green roof.The little teeny brush that came

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3044778093667409865.post-77668838291382817982010-07-12T22:24:00.005-04:002010-07-12T22:51:56.171-04:00

The finer tipped marker made things better. The guy on the left had a beautiful blue Hawaiian shirt on. Since he was so round, and the shirt was so long, it looked like he had short little legs. Not a dress choice I would have made in his shape... As with all the subjects, I only had a few minutes, and he walked away.In Atlanta I saw two older gentlemen sitting side by side in blue and white

Steve Emeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08628329561652344403noreply@blogger.com3