Life As I See It

I like to take my sketchbook everywhere.  In fact, I'll probably take one to my grave. Much like exercising at the gym, it's important for artists to exercise their observational skills on a daily basis. Here are some recent journal excerpts - drawn at my gym, in the courtroom, at church, in the club, and more!

Sitting at a Trivia contest which raise money for the Red Hook Public Library.

Drawn while working out on an exercise bike - at IXL Fitness, Rhinebeck, NY

Drawn at Daryl Hall's club, Daryl's House - of guitarist Davy Knowles

A view of my father and sister sitting in his living room, Buffalo NY

The Rev. Will Mebane gives a sermon at St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo, NY

I burned 200 calories while drawing this scene at IXL Fitness, Rhinebeck NY  Woo hoo!

Random views of Rhinecliff Train Station and IXL Fitness

Sitting in at zoning board hearing, Red Hook Village Hal l 01.27.16

You can view a fun gallery of sketchbook excerpts here!

Life as I See it

Life is what's happening while you're waiting for something else to happen. I try to capture these moments in my sketchbook. Here are a few excerpts from recent journals...

sketch of a rather vivid dream I had.

I burned 230 calories at the gym while drawing this scene...

View from my pew, Christmas Eve 2015, Church of the Advent. Hatboro, PA

Some quick gesture drawings from a figure drawing session...

sketching while spinning...woo hoo!

A minister preaching at St. Pauls Cathedral, Buffalo, NY

You can view more fun sketchbook excerpts here!

Life as I See It

On Monday I attended the funeral of a very good man - who also happened to be a Korean War Veteran. At his interment, I couldn't help but pull out my sketchbook to capture the flag ceremony (above). What a powerful way to honor service to our country.

Below are more recent observations captured in my sketchbook: 

Attempting to draw while exercising at the Jewish Center gym, Buffalo NY 08.03.15

The Compact performs at Bread & Bottle, Red Hook NY 8.28.15

Quick sketches of Dan at the my drawing class, Atwater Gallery, Rhinebeck NY 9.03.15

Red Hook Community Pool   7.19.15

two minute drawings of Dan, Atwater Gallery Rhinebeck NY 9.03.15

Erin Hobson performs at Bread & Bottle, Red Hook NY 8.28.15

At the funeral service for my friend Bob, St Christopher's Church  Red Hook NY 7.29.15

You can view a fun gallery of sketchbook excerpts here!

Burn Calories while Drawing

If I were to sketch a scene while training on an elliptical machine, it might look something like the drawing above. Oh, wait. That's exactly what I did! This is a great way to practice drawing - and burn calories at the same time.

It was also fun to draw scenes while spinning on the exercise bike. I work out at the gym on a regular basis, so it felt right to start sketching observations there. January is a great time to draw at IXL Fitness - because it's full of people attempting to honor their new year's resolutions.

The kinetic atmosphere there led to some very sloppy - but energetic drawings.

You can view more glimpses inside my sketchbook here.

Year-end Sketchbook...

I drew the picture above as my dog Lily sat in my lap - shivering in fear - as she awaited her yearly check-up at our local animal hospital. Fortunately, the vet was able to extract a rotten tooth, Lily's up to date on her shots - and is in great shape for 2014.  I love sketchbooks, because they remind me exactly what I was doing at specific autobiographical moments in life. Each drawing is like a marker in time. Here are a few excerpts from the last week of 2013, and one from the new year.

From a beautiful Christmas Eve service...

At the movie theater, waiting for American Hustle to begin...

At 88 years old, mom is allowed to take naps any time she likes, especially on Christmas.

I burned 109 calories on the exercise bike while drawing this scene ( at IXL Fitness)

Thanks for viewing. You can see more sketchbook excerpts here.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2014!