Portrait of a remarkable man

Spent this past weekend visiting my dad. He lives in an assisted living facility and has been slowing down quite a bit lately - although at the age of 92, that should surprise no one. Anyway, we had a gorgeous day and spent much of the afternoon sitting outside his apartment in the sunshine, where I got a chance to sketch this. 

A remarkable man who's lived a remarkable life. 

Love you, dad!

Apricots and happiness

An exercise from my watercolor class led to this. We were working on values and shading. I'm not sure I captured values and shading, but I was happy with the way the colors came out. I don't want to overreach - being happy with just one thing when I draw is plenty.

This sunflower was another sketching exercise, this time working on water and translucency. I was happy with the flower. The water, not so much.

Also need to get better at shooting these with my iphone and uploading them. 

Sometimes all it takes

... is a little flourish to make your day. This little bit of artistry on a quick coffee I grabbed at lunch was just the thing. Even more special was that the guy who created it took real pride in it.

A good lesson there. Embrace the flourishes!