Monday

Today was supposed to be Daya's Ailey orientation. :(

******
Tonight's drawings.


7 mins

20 mins

20 mins

13 m,ins

Gouache and the Obelisk

I went to Central Park to meet with Jin and paint.
We were supposed to meet at Conservatory Water at 72nd st so I thought....

But when I arrived, Jin wasn't there.
Turns out she was at Conservatory Garden, up at 110th street!

That's far away!
What to do?

At least we were both on the east side, so i walked up 5th ave and she walked down 5th ave and we met somewhere around 87th street.

I got to walk by the Met. There has been a lot of construction there and it's all done now.

I miss the Met so much.

Jin and I ended up behind the Obelisk (Cleopatra's Needle).
Here is my gouache painting, first page in my new sketchbook!

The obelisk behind the Met is a real Egyptian artifact. It dates from 1600 BC.

We knew storms were coming, so we brought umbrellas.
The storm hit right as we exited the park.
It was so nice though, and Jin walked 29 blocks down 5th ave with me to the train!

That thunderstorm was so refreshing, it was amazing.

BEACH!

I FINALLY got to the beach!

It was so wonderful.
There is no swimming yet, we could only go in at the edge of the water.  Still worth it.

*****
This morning I got an email.
Almost exactly 5 years ago I had a falling out with one of my best friends.

This morning I had an email out of nowhere with an apology.
A very sincere genuine apology.

I wasn't ever expecting that but it's a good thing and I really appreciate it.

Actual Restaurant Food

.....at an actual restaurant!!

Jackie and I went to dinner.
It was SO NICE to be at a restaurant having a normal dinner.

We had frozen margaritas and lovely Mexican food.

MARGARITA NOTE: I got a tamarind frozen margarita which was good but ugly.
Frozen margaritas should be beautiful.
So I changed the drink color in Photoshop and it looks a lot better!

Knife Bug

This morning when I woke up I surfed Instagram for a few minutes.

David Cheifetz had a demo video posted; he does that sometimes.
It put the knife painting bug in my head. Again.

Every few years or so I get a knife painting bug.
It's something I admire intensely but cannot do.
Every time I attempt it is a disaster.

I have several painting knives of different shapes that I do not use but sometimes enjoy looking at.

Tonight was the Reuters East Coast group and I didn't feel like doing charcoal.
I did feel like doing knife painting.
It was weird and awkward, as it always is, like learning to ride a bicycle and failing.

Mostly I spent 2 hours making a huge mess.
Around the end I might have started to figure out how to hold the knife.
Although I am still not sure.

This is a 6x8 panel, oil paint, 2 hours, and I will probably work on it more.
She does need a face. And hands.

Wednesday

Today is Daya's last official day of 9th grade.
She has finished all her work, so she spent it couch-surfing.

What a crappy end to the school year.

*****
Here is my 1 hour drawing from tonight.
I couldn't really get my head into drawing at all.
It was such a grind. Ugh.

The model's big fluffy cat came to say hello.

More Fun with Graphite

Drawing Madeline tonight.
1 mins

7 mins

7 mins- she had a fan blowing on her.

20 mins

20 mins

11-ish minutes

Solstice & LaG Dance 2020 Seniors

Today is the 2020 Summer Solstice.
The longest day. 
Summer.

********
The LaGuardia Dance class of 2020 aired the senior dance concert tonight.
In general I feel very emotional for the kids, especially the seniors.
Even though I do not have a senior.

I don't know, it all just hits me so hard.

This concert is definitely LaGuardia style, the dance department really managed to honor and showcase the kids.  The dance department is such a special place.  Daya being there is truly one of the greatest blessings of our lives.

and...
.....

They got Mikhail Baryshnikov to send a tribute video to the seniors!!!

The performance will be up for a little while.
It is worth watching.

LINK


Photo credits @jaqlinmedlockphotography

Empty Central Park

We had a day off for Juneteenth.

Daya got her glasses they look good on her) and I went to Central Park for a little while.

It was weird.

We are still in Phase 1 reopening.

The trains are still pretty empty and all the ads are a few months old.

So that's pretty strange.  There's no way to not notice the deep abnormality.

Central Park is beautiful and strange.

There are no tourists.

The Zoo is, of course, still closed.

I didn't go too far into the park, just by the zoo and a little above.

A very familiar and loved area.

There are no street vendors, no performers, no tourists....empty, just a bunch of locals hanging out in the best park in the world.

It feels different.

Very different.

The vibe is off.

The grass is lush and our local wildlife is doing well.

I think the pigeons miss us; they are scrounging for food in strange places and I hope they aren't hungry.

I don't know if I want to paint there yet or not.

I probably will but don't know if I want to.

But I probably will.

I don't know.