The Hole & Fireworks

Daya and I went to Millie's for 4th of July.
It was such a nice evening.
Not only did I get to see Actual People, but the actual people are my friends!!

We had dinner and good chats, then went outside to see many illegal fireworks that people in the neighborhood do, and some legal ones from the Empire State building.

On the way over, we passed a small construction site which contained a hole in the ground.
Daya became obsessed with the hole.

While we were watching these lovely fireworks, Daya only cared about walking a few blocks back to see the hole.

Kids are very weird.

When we were ready to go back to Millie's, Daya wanted to go back to the hole to investigate it further. I said go. She did.

She fund the hole and texted me a picture of the hole.
Apparently it is not very deep so Daya was very disappointed.
She hopes they will make the hole deeper.

Daya is obsessed with real estate these days and she wanted to show me apartment listings on the bus home. And talk about kitchens. Like all 14 year olds.....

We missed our stop and ended up in the wrong neighborhood.
But it was so nice outside, so we decided to just walk home.

I'm glad we missed our stop; I love walking and talking with Daya and it was such a nice time together.

Backwards Weather Control

Jin and I were supposed to go to the beach today.
Except the weather forecast from yesterday into this morning was severe thunderstorms starting around 1pm and going into the evening.

So we decided not to go.

There was ONE t-storm around 6pm.

I told Jin that if we had gone to the beach, it would have stormed all afternoon.
She said we can control the weather.
I think this is true, but we have got it very backwards.

Neither of us knows how to fix it.

July 1 Drawings

It's July!
Drawing is a good way to start the month.

1 hour-ish

7 minutes

20 minutes

1 mins

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