URBAN SKETCHING AND A FEW TV DOODLES ON THE IPAD PRO

I doodle. I doodle a lot. especially when I'm at work waiting or watching TV. Here's a few samples from my iPad Pro doodling while watching TV one night. For these I used an Apple Pencil and the app Procreate.

This is just one screen of my doodles. A lot of time I simple erase them and start over.
The eye sketched while watching The Walking Dead. Some of the other doodles were while I was binge watching Medium.

I also got a little free time away from the twins to go out and do a little urban sketching. Below is a building in Albany, Oregon. this was sketched on the iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil and the app Procreate.  

Montgomery Park building in Albany, Oregon.

After I made it home I sketched the view from our living room window then decided to add a person looking out it. Also sketched on the iPad.

Here's some Amazon links to some of my sketching materials I use. If you need any art supplies if you order them through one of my links its a free way for you to help support my blog and youtube channel. I get a small commission that Amazon pays me whenever anyone orders through one of my links, even if it isn't what the link is for. So thank you.

MY SKETCHING TOOLS

Stillman & Birn Beta Series A5 Sketchbook: http://amzn.to/2tvb3JH

Apple Pencil: http://amzn.to/2DodFwt

iPad Pro 12.9-inch: http://amzn.to/2DhWfOI

JinHao Pen: http://amzn.to/2m3x2jJ

Lamy Safari fountain pen: http://amzn.to/2Dp91ye

Platinum carbon ink bottle ink black 60cc: http://amzn.to/2D1xFCA

Pentel Aquash Waterbrush: http://amzn.to/2F3ju0l

M. Graham watercolors: http://amzn.to/2Ee1yiA

For my YouTube channel, I do some of my filming with a GoPro Hero 2:  http://amzn.to/2m1LQzC

Please check out my videos (I NEED VIEWS AND SUBSCRIBERS!!!) 

RANDY'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL CLICK HERE

10 YEARS OLD TODAY

Today is THE KONA LIFE's 10-year anniversary. Although you'll notice the web address is amilucid (Am I lucid?) which was named for the screenplay I was working on at the time and I began the blog to record of my progress although I quickly changed gears and it became a diary of sorts for my adventures in triathlon.

Me finishing my first-ever triathlon -- Lavaman.

I'd encourage anyone who is training for their first triathlon, especially their first Ironman distance tri to read through my posts. There are a lot of training details and a lot of obstacles I encountered along the way that may help you through some of the challenges.

The original header for The Kona Life. That's me right in the center walking out to Kailua Bay for a Peaman race.

West Hawaii Today even published a few of my blog's entries leading up to my first Ironman in 2009.
I've also shared the worry of a parents as our son was deployed to Afghanistan as a Marine and elsewhere on three tours. The birth of our first grandchild, Training with world-class professional athletes, Search for Lance Armstrong (before his plunge into the abyss). It also records my 2 minutes of fame as NBC Sports followed me around while I participated in the Ironman World Championship.

My favorite place on earth -- Kailua Bay. I miss that place so much.

Some of the most important, fun and challenging events in my life are recorded on this blog. Even though blogs are becoming a fad of the past I think I'll keep adding to it. Though these days it doesn't have many visitors as it did when I lived in Hawaii.

Nowadays, The Kona Life is all about sketching, but I'm hoping to get back to training. Maybe not triathlons but who knows.

So if you happen to be reading this, thank you so much for stopping by and visiting my blog. I'll see you on the web... Take care.

RECENT SKETCHES JUNE-JULY

Wow. With summer being in full swing I haven't been able to do as much sketching as I want to. I actually go days between sketches which is frustrating.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE: From the fourth of July family gathering. Our son, Daniel, A US Marine stationed in South Carolina came out for a visit over the holiday. We actually had all but one of our kids together for the first time in 10 years.

Here's a few sketches I managed in between other outdoor activities.

The Tree Sisters in Eastern Oregon.

The corner of Water and Montgomery in Albany.

Albany City Hall.

Colorful alleyway doors in Albany.

Just a quick note: In two days it'll be 10 years that I've been writing THE KONA LIFE. It started out as random ramblings and quickly became a journal for my triathlon journey. Now it's morphed into a sketching blog.

If it all works out I'd love to kind of combine my passions for triathlon, running, biking and swimming and sketching into one blog and begin posting sketches of athletic events as well as start doing reviews of products from pens and sketchbooks to running shoes and swim goggles. 

I started a new sketchbook (Stillman & Birn Beta series A4) and for my first sketch in a new book I like to sketch what tools I will be using in it. This time I intentionally sketched and painted as quickly as I could, as well as leaving myself a note to remind me to, keep my sketches loose -- at least in this book.

While Daniel was here we went to visit Steve Prefontaine's memorial in Eugene.

Pre's memorial

Lots of mementos left by visitors

Here's a few of the above sketches with the actual locations.

Have a great week. If you actually read this stop by and say hi on July 19, 2017. It'll be THE KONA LIFE'S 10-year anniversary. 

MID-MAY SKETCHES

Like many sketchers, I have several sketchbooks and watercolor sheets and blocks going at once.

A selection of sketchbooks from Dick Blick. 

I have a Moleskine 3.5x5.5 scribbler that I carry with me in my pocket pretty much everywhere I go.

I have my trusty Stillman & Birn Beta A5 hardbound sketchbook. 

I also have a spiral bound  Artist’s Loft sketchbook that I use while watching TV just to practice reportage and likenesses of the characters of the shows I’m watching. I try to do a few pages of each hourlong series I watch each week. I also try to capture a few gestures/likenesses of characters from movies I’m watching.

On the Hong Kong Metro. From a video.

I use the spiral bound sketcher for pretty much everything from trying out new pens, signatures, warm ups such as drawing pages of circles and lines, contours. You name it and I use this book for it.

It’s really the only sketchbook I feel comfortable messing up in. I feel free to try new things, different styles, free association drawing, blind contours, practicing proportions, etc. without worrying that someone else will see them. This is basically my drawing diary that I don’t plan on anyone seeing.

If I happen to have a particular drawing in my spiral that I like a lot I simply tear it out and stick it in my Stillman & Birn.

A church in the Philippines. I posted the ink version of this on my last post.

I'm doing a series on rural life, that I use a Strathmore 400 series 5.5x8.5 that opens to 5.5x17 landscape.

I also started using loose watercolor sheets 9x12 Arches cold press and Fluid water color block 8x16 which I really like. The Arches is 100% cotton and since I don’t use it that often it takes a bit of getting used to compared to other papers. But the colors look great on it.

So here’s a few sketches from the past week or so.

A rough pencil sketch of Novak's Hungarian Restaurant on 2nd Ave. In Albany Oregon

The finished ink sketch of Novak's.

Novak's with watercolor added.

On location.

 They suck, I know. But hey, I've only been sketching/drawing since December so I'll give myself a little slack.

REPORTAGE, SKETCHCRAWL AND MORE

So I did my first reportage sketches last week. there was a May Day protest at the state capitol May 1 so I walked down there on my lunch break and sketched a few scenes. It was my first reportage -- reporting by drawing instead of using a camera. It was pretty fun except I only had a few minutes to sketch before I had to get back to work.

I also had my first unofficial sketchcrawl Sunday, May 7. Unofficial because I'm the only member and I'm not sure if sketchcrawl is a trademark or what. But I had fun walking around downtown Albany, Ore., and sketching, even it it was by myself. Hopefully, since the weather is getting nicer, if there are any other sketchers in town we'll run into each other and actually start meeting up for a group sketchcrawl, which sounds more fun than sketching solo.

I also did the usual Google Street View sketches last week. Street View is about my only means of "travel" these days.

Church in Cauayan City, Isabel, Philippines.

I also did a few misc. sketches. A sketch of the sculpture at the Capital Park with the ODOT building in the background and one of my grandson watching TV (A practice reportage). and a few misc. sketches.

That's not all of them but that's a few of the ones I have photos of on my phone. Thanks and have a great week.

A FEW WEEKEND SKETCHES

 Here's a few sketches from a very sunny weekend for the most part.

I drew the house Saturday and the tulips Sunday -- from two slightly different views.

This church was sketched from Streetview and photos. It's located in Negros Occidental, Philippines, where my son, daughter-in-law and grandson will be heading in a couple of weeks. 

 

This is Walmart in Albany. I drew this one day but for got to get a photo of it and went back the next but didn't quite match the view I had the day before  -- Oops.

SKETCHES FROM MY SKETCHBOOK--Late March-Early April

Here's a few sketches from late March and early April. As mentioned in the prior post I've started sketching from some of my photos from when I lived in Hawaii.

Hulihee Palace in Kona.

An alleyway off First Avenue in Albany Oregon.

The tools I'm using in this sketchbook. Always a fun way to break the ice in a new sketchbook.

A reader in a coffeeshop. drawn from a photo.

Also drawn from a photo.

Guitar player drawn from a music video.

Also drawn from a music video.

FROM MY SKETCHBOOK THROUGH JANUARY

Here are some of my sketches from my January sketchbook. I may have posted some on the previous posts.