Gingerbread House

I loved meeting artist friends with Tiffany at the Urban Sketchers KC event at Family Tree Nursery this morning!  Though the winter storm was fast on our heels, we had time to sketch in the greenhouse and enjoy the light and foliage!  This gingerbread house is new in the Cafe seating at the Shawnee nursery. So of course, I had to sketch it!  I'm using ink and watercolor in a new leather sketch bag I picked up in Branson.  The ATC miniature sketch I left as a thank you for allowing us in to sketch today. I think this is the first time I've been here in January!  It was the perfect way to spend our last morning out before becoming ice abs snow bound!  And now, I'm looking forward to painting snow!! Painting number 5058 in 5058 days. 
 

World War 1 Museum

 

It was fun gathering with Urban Sketchers KC on Pearl Harbor Day to remember our heroes, and sketch the National World War I Museum.  This is my second sketch of the morning, a quick one, and I forgot to get a photo of the first one on site! This place was very busy today, with many visiting on this special day.  It was fun to capture it all in ink and watercolor. Painting number 5031 in 5031 days. 

Burr Oak Woods

 

Oh what a gorgeous morning for painting in Burr Oak Woods with Urban Sketchers KC!  It has been years since I've been here, and it is certainly worth the drive. Birdsong surrounded me as I sketched, and squirrels played among the branches. The cold morning soon warmed, and I found myself shedding layers. I enjoy this quiet time in the woods with ink, paint and paper.  Time stands still here as I work, and I can truly focus on my subject. I find myself wondering, is there any better meditation than this? I think not. Painting number 5177 in 5177 days. 

Hall of Waters

The Hall of Waters in Excelsior Springs is an iconic slice of local history.  Once a tourist destination for the healing waters, the hall is lined with themed Christmas trees open to the public to vote on their favorite.  What a wonderful tradition to capture in ink and watercolor for our monthly Urban Sketchers KC event.  Glad to have my Mom with me to enjoy her first trip to this town, and to lunch at the local diner after a bit of shopping!  Painting number 3978 in 3978 days. 

Ray's Diner

What fun today was to meet friends and Mom in Excelsior Springs for our monthly Urban Sketchers KC event!  I love the small town charm along these streets, with it's many historic buildings.  This is only my third time to this town, and the first trip for Mom - so it was fun to explore a little more of the place today.  We lunched at this diner afterward where I had an amazing cinnamon roll - even though I don't eat like that, lol! Painting number 3977 in 3977 days. 

Oak Street Mansion

 

What a gorgeous morning to sketch at Oak Street Mansion with the Urban Sketchers KC!  We normally meet the first Saturday of each month in a different Kansas City location, and this was my month to host our event!  This lovely, historic boutique hotel is up the street from the Nelson Atkins Art Gallery, nestled in a neighborhood of grand homes.  What fun to get to paint here on such a beautiful day.  Perfect weather and historic architecture - win-win! Painting number 3895 in 3895 days. 

Salon at KC Museum

Meeting at the Kansas City Museum with Urban Sketchers KC artists, this was my first time back in years.  Care has been taken to keep the historic beauty, while creating a lovely gathering space.  It was fun to step back in time, and sketch the grandeur of this wonderful old mansion.  The architectural details are majestic, and a bit challenging to capture! I can't wait for the cafe and bar to open on site, so I can bring my family here to enjoy the beauty!  Day 12 of the #stradaeasel challenge, and painting number 3660 in 3660 days. 

Kansas City Museum

I loved sketching this grand staircase at the Kansas City Museum this morning.  My first time back here since the major renovations, this place is lovely.  A cafe and a bar downstairs will open early this year, making it a place to gather in a grand setting.  Here with the Urban Sketchers KC, it was nice to sketch with artist friends while browsing through the museum.  I need to return here with family to REALLY see all there is here.  With only an hour left to sketch, this is my first of two drawings.  This place is another gem in the Kansas City Crown, another wonderful Long mansion transformed! Painting number 3656 in 3656 days, and day 8 of the #stradaeasel challenge.

Union Station Ornament

 

Wishing you all a Happy New Year full of family and friends on this last day of 2022!  This year has been full of blessings, and I'm thankful for each and every one.  We've been celebrating Christmas for days with my brother and his boys in town, with all our other family.  I'm looking forward to 2023 and all it's trimmings, and finding new ways to explore the world around me in paint!  Painting number 4139 in 4139 days. 

Union Station ATC

This is my Day 2 ink of my Diamine Inkvent Calendar - Yule Log!  A rich, warm brown ink that lightens to a reddish tone with water.  I have a little water brush pen that I've filled with bleach, and when pulling it through this ink - it bleaches to a pale turquoise!  Today is our monthly Urban Sketchers KC meet up, and we're gathering at Crown Center.  So, I arrived early to walk the link over to Union Station, and try out this beautiful brown ink here!  Painting number 4112 in 4112 days. #diamineinkventcalendar 

Rockhurst University Belltower

 

What fun it was to sketch on the campus of Rockhurst University as they celebrate the arts in October!  Calling it Artoberfest, the Kansas City Symphony was on site playing as artists and urban sketchers dotted the campus. The first 25 paintings completed today were framed and are now hanging in the Greenlease Gallery on site this weekend.  Love celebrating the arts in the community - and commemorating the day in paint!  Painting number 4365 in 4365 days. 

Central Library

Who knew the Central Library in Kansas City was so beautiful?!!  I am constantly amazed at the gorgeous places I get to paint - that I didn't even know existed!  The front door is beautiful, and the entry hall was so stunning that I stopped right there to paint!  The whole place is so like Union Station - the ceilings, chandeliers, columns, floor, mood, railings and there is even a grand clock!  This painting will be part of a special display in the library featuring Urban Sketchers KC, along with 24 others.  I can't wait to see them all framed together! What a fun morning with Urban Sketchers KC!  Painting number 4297 in 4297 days. 

47th and Nichols

I intended to paint several different buildings this day, arriving early to meet other urban sketchers at the park. Well, I spent so much time on the first sketch, I hardly had time to get this one drawn.  After a quick marking of the lines and angles, I added a few shadows with my pen.  Taking my water brush pen to those masses, I gradated them quickly - making this very loose and fresh!  Urban Sketchers KC is soon trading work with Urban Sketchers Seville - our sister city. How fun it will be to have work from that lovely place in Spain!  Painting number 3367 in 3367 days. 

47th and Nichols

What a lovely morning to paint at 47th and Nichols on the Country Club Plaza!  I was so happy to gather with artist friends again for an Urban Sketchers KC event with our sister city Seville, for a sketch exchange!  I was on the Plaza earlier this week to get in some early sketching. As one of the admins, we were all trying to do extra work, to be sure there is enough to exchange with the artists in Urban Sketchers Seville. For each artist who sends a painting (size 9x6), a painting will come to them from an artist in Seville, Spain.  How cool is that?  I've only just turned in my work, and I can hardly wait to receive my treasure!  I hope we do much more of this in the future - just imagine the international connections to artists of shared interests!  What a wonderful way to spread a little joy across the pond! Painting number 3363 in 3363 days. 

Fogo de Chao

I love getting an early start on this weekend's Urban Sketchers "Paint the Plaza" day.  The weather has been spectacular this week, so it has been a joy to sketch outside!  This building is another iconic stand out in the Country Club Plaza. I can't tell for sure from here, but it looks like the face of the clocks are also plaza images.  I'm always surprised by the details I see when I'm painting on location.  They are so much more apparent as I work.   The opposite is also true - sometimes there are big ugly things in my line of vision, and I don't see them at all as I paint.  I think there is a lot of "self-editing" going on in my head - without my knowledge! Love painting down here!  Painting number 3361 in 3361 days. ❤️🎨

Central and Nichols Rd

There was some construction going on down this road, so traffic was limited, street traffic, too.  This building has always caught my attention, but I don't think I've painted it before!  I started by sketching the big shapes, then tightening down on those fabulous moorish details.  I love taking the time to really notice all the craftsmanship that went into these buildings.  I think if that when something looks too complicated - I'm just drawing it, not building it!  Kansas City is very lucky to have the Country Club Plaza, there's no other place like it!  Painting number 3360 in 3360 days. 

Chuy's on the Plaza

I've gone out early to sketch for this weekend's #urbansketcherskc sketch exchange with #uskseville Spain!  We are trading an oversized postcard size - 9x6, so I thought the extra time would help with such complicated architecture.  Seville is Kansas City's sister city, so what better way than to celebrate Urban Sketch life than by trading work?  We did a similar thing with Mexico a few years ago, and I LOVE my sketches from there!  I also love that I can go to any city with a chapter, and meet up at their events while in town.  We're all one big family, after all.  And the bonus is that I love painting the Country Club Plaza!!  Painting number 3359 in 3359 days. 

Crown Center Wreath

It is so fun to paint the Mayor's Christmas Tree as seen through the giant wreath at Crown Center! Kansas City is magical during the holidays, and today is our monthly Urban Sketchers KC sketch venue.  We gather afterward to share our work, and the tiny painting is actually an ornament to exchange with other artists. There were several blanks available that we could paint to share, so I painted three, along with two larger works. There is something to be said for daily practice, my speed on site increases with time!  This place is a yearly favorite for the holidays, but this is the first time I've painted from the third floor!  Wonderful view from the top!  Painting number 3242 in 3242 days. 

Path through the Rose Garden

Loose Park is one of my favorite places to paint in Kansas City - especially in the rose garden!  Gathering with the Urban Sketchers KC group this morning, I arrived a little late.  Finding this spot immediately, I still took a stroll through the garden just to be sure!  I set up and jumped right in, laying in my lights and darks from the onset.  I simply love the morning light spreading over the garden, and that has to be captured quickly, before it fades.  What a wonderful way to start the day!  Love getting to visit with friends and nature lovers in the field, too.  It is one of the best parts of working en plein air!  Painting number 3106 in 3106 days. 

Christmas Balls

Tonight finds me painting on a watercolor postcard for the Urban Sketchers KC postcard challenge. Well, it has been a challenge!  I purchased postcards, not realizing that I don't like painting on 140 lb cold pressed paper, unlike most watercolorists.  The other day I was not happy with my watercolors on this paper. So tonight, I grabbed my acrylics instead.  Well, I prefer masonite for my acrylics.  So I then grabbed my closest fountain pen and was surprised to find purple ink in it!  Lol! It was actually perfect for the orange background, but ink and acrylic?  That's a new one!  Maybe tomorrow I'll go with straight ink for the challenge.  There has got to be a medium that I actually like this paper for!  Painting number 2996 in 2996 days.