Mollie . . . 13½ years old and now gone. She was my baby. She’d snuggle with me. When I got out of bed she’d jump up into my spot and force me to get in between her and Holly and have me cuddle her. Tears are running down my face as I type this. What a sweet dog. I miss her terribly. And Zoe . . . she’s been very quiet. In face now she’s in her “hidey hole” – underneath the bed in Holly’s office. It’s her place of refuge. She’s sad and misses Mollie. And so do I.
This is a drawing I did of an apartment building in New York – from pencil sketch to the start to the end. I wasn’t sure it was going to work – I’d never done an apartment building before – it’s vertical instead of horizontal. It does make a difference. But it worked. And though it’s hard to see – there are pink flamingos on each balcony on the first floor – and a brass doorknob on the building door. For the brass doorknob I used gold paint that I had bought to do some reverse-glass-painting. Doing reverse-glass-painting is a whole ‘nother method of painting. I’ll fill you in on that in a later post. ■ I’ve been trying to do one pencil sketch a day. It’s to try and improve my drawing ability. I’ve been pretty much up to that one-a-day pace, but missed it today. I’ll post some of them here for you to look at. ■ And yes, it’s time for bed. ‘Night. ■
I’m still doing a drawing a day. They’re quick, but useful in helping me develop my skills. Someday I’ll publish a book of my quick sketches. Just wait . . . . . .
I finally got to get to one 
of our Kalo Foundation events today. Two of our board members gave a presentation on Park Ridge, the arts, and silversmithing. It was an interesting presentation and well done. ■ There are a number of other presentations that are being given over the next 2 weeks, but I’m working for most of those. Bummer. I’d really like to see and hear the one on Friday given by a family that makes miniature houses/rooms, furnishings, etc. Think of Colleen Moore’s dollhouse at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago. ■ I’m trying to set a goal of doing one quick pencil sketch a day. I think it’ll help improve my drawing skills. ■ I’m a judge for the Lombard Lilac Parade on Sunday. I’ve been a judge for the past maybe 5 years. Should be a good time. ■ As always, time for bed.
Here are a couple of quick pencil sketches of a home that I need to draw. Should I draw the front (top), or back (bottom) of the house? The back of the house is on Chesapeake Bay and the pier makes it kind of interesting. ■ Your thoughts?
Before I forget – happy Mother’s Day. ■ Had a pretty good gig this afternoon. Nice crowd – not as large as we’d like, but it was Mother’s Day, so I wouldn’t expect a huge one. ■ We did shrimp and scallops on the grill tonight. Delicious. ■ The note card above is our invitation to the rehearsal dinner. It’s a quick pencil drawing of the home that we’re renting and where we’re hosting the party. Should be fun. ■ Finally got the guitar that I purchased last December back from being setup. In all fairness I kept telling our setup guy to put my guitar on the back burner and work on the customer’s first. I’ll post a picture of it sometime this week. It’s a very unique guitar for a Fender. ■ I’ve got two drawing finished that I need to ship out this week. In one I have to finish drawing in pink flamingos. Don’t ask. ■
and it’s fun! ■ It’s always fun – and productive – to have lots going on. I’m busy, but that’s good. Just wish it were bringing in money. ■ The sketch in this post is a first attempt to draw the home we’ll be renting for our daughter’s wedding. I’ve drawn it to put on invitations for a pre-wedding party. I’ll mail those out tomorrow, so I’ll post the final edition in the next couple of days. I don’t want to spoil the drawing for those on the invitation list. ■ I’ve started on another drawing, which I had planned on scanning and putting up on the customer’s web page, but I’m a little behind. ■ Parties – my neighbor Jac, is having another one of his fabulous summer parties. Can’t wait. ■
. . . . since I last blogged. I’ve been busy – that’s my excuse and I’m stickin’ to it. ■ I’ve been working on a pen and ink of an apartment building in NY. It’s interesting to try and draw this one. Trying to find the right perspective; get dimensions correct; and even try and see the details that need to go into to the drawing – and trying to make what’s important – to stand out. ■ No work today at the store. Business has been poor and we’ve lost some more students to baseball and general summer stuff. I started working there 4 days, then 5, then 6, and now I’m at about 3. Not good. The economy needs to pick up – we need more people to get good jobs. ■ The oil-spill situation in the Gulf has me very concerned. Not only do we have friends that live on the gulf coast – about a block away from the beach, but the loss of the great seafood also concerns me – as well as all of the fishermen whose livelihood depends on fishing there. ■ I’m thinking of opening up a facebook page for my pen and ink business. What do you think about that? Let me know. ■
