End-of-the-month Sketches

Now that I'm trying all these new media, here are some traditional sketches, which seem to be the backbone of my artistic life.  

I'm getting together periodically with three other really cool women to sketch.  Several of us are trying to expand our repertoire to include landscapes, architecture, and SPACES.  I duly took charcoal and pencil to draw with since I was going to draw new things (instead of the usual pen and ink I use to draw people), but alas, I just don't have the patience for it.  I did two drawings with charcoal--one of a person in a setting, and the other of a copse of trees that was structurally interesting, but then I ended up sketching the other women sketching, much more my usual thing.

This is my foot, all crinkled up to make some interesting shapes, on the drive to the Prairie Festival at the Land Institute in Salina, KS yesterday.  Unfortunately the road was not completely straight, so the light kept changing.

This is the first of many sketches sitting in the barn listening to fabulous speakers.  Because Wendall Berry was one of them, there were many more people than there  usually are.  I'd say at least 200 were listening.

  I find I can draw quite well while listening to folks talking.  Drawing doesn't in any way detract from my ability to pay attention to the speakers.

 The only thing I can't draw while listening to is poetry reading.  It's peculiar, but I suspect poetry gets routed through a slightly different part of my brain, and one that either overlaps or interferes with the drawing part of my brain.

But overall, I find this a pleasing collection of sketches.