Currently Browsing: Popular Culture
10th Anniversary—The Great Minnesota State Fair Sketch Together
The dates have been posted, make your travel plans. Sketch Together organizer Marty Harris has the buttons ordered and we’ll be getting together on: Saturday, August 25 and Monday, August 27, 2018 The 10th Great Minnesota State Fair Sketch Together More details on meeting places and times closer to the event.
Even More Television Viewing
Yep, a couple more TV show reviews today. I’ve been trying to keep track of what I’ve written about already. Earlier this fall I watched “Trapped” on Amazon Prime. The action takes place in a remote Icelandic town. A headless torso shows up just as a storm blocks the town from outside help. The police […]
World Beard Day—September 2, 2017
That’s right, today is World Beard Day. This celebration of beards falls on the first Saturday of September. (Click on the link if you want to find out more background.) Why am I writing about World Beard Day? Everyone who knows me knows that I love to draw men with beards. Beards are marvelous. Beards […]
The Great Minnesota State Fair Sketch Together Is Almost Here!
The name has changed slightly but don’t be confused, the best sketch out of the year still offers the same great fun—two sketch out days to choose from (attend them both if you can); four fun meetings to attend and meet other sketchers, and a whole world of live subjects to sketch and interesting buildings […]
The Things You Learn Watching TV
I like to watch “QI” with Stephen Fry. Topics of all sorts get brought up. Other people have taken over as host in recent years, but I haven’t seen any of those episodes yet. Acorn streams episodes. Someone is always saying something funny as they try to answer Fry’s questions. For me it’s a good […]
Technology, Life, Letters, and Thank Goodness for Outside Biking!
I’m going through the transition period to outside cycling up here in Minnesota. The weather, in the 70s for a few brief days last month has once again climbed up to the 50s. The sun has also cooperated. I’m glad, because cycling is the perfect way to blow off steam when computers and technical things […]
Some Television Recommendations
There are so many television shows I’ve been watching lately—it’s hard to know where to start. I will try to avoid spoilers as much as possible. “Search Party” came to my awareness through a review in the New Yorker. The season was already over (fall 2016) and when I tried to watch the on-demand free episodes I […]
A Little Fun Drawing for the Weekend
I’m rounding out the week of Tombow Calligraphy Brush Pen and Pentel squeezy brush pen sketches with a sketch I made while watching TV. Often, while watching TV I’ll stop the TV show and sketch. Other times I’ll let it run, treating the show more like an exercise in capturing an ever changing live subject. […]
Sometimes People in an Audience Catch My Eye
Above: Line of people sitting in front of me at the opening performance for “Orphan Train.” In the pocket size Hahnemühle Nostalgie book with a Sakura Pigma Sensei. I had the great good fortune to go to “Orphan Train” at the Minnesota History Theater on opening night. My friend, composer and musician Charlie Maguire did […]
Working in a Series: Tootsie Pop Portraits
Above: Brush pen, Daniel Smith watercolor (on the Tootsie Pop) and Schmincke Horadam gouache background. In the Seawhite of Brighton square sketchbook I was using earlier this year. Sides masked with Nichiban Artist’s tape. I love Tootsie Pops. For years I couldn’t get them because we lived in Australia. They speak of very early childhood […]