Today was the first spring day where you could comfortably sit outside without getting chilled, and I had the great luck to be working along the Squannacook River in Townsend, MA.  It’s great white pine country up there.  The flat, sandy soils along the river support beautiful stands of straight, thick and tall pines.  I lunched about a mile from anywhere in a quiet spot with a great view of the river.  I had intended to do an ink sketch of this pine standing alone on the far shore, but started out blocking it in with a Derwent HB Sketching pencil liked the feel of it so I just kept going.  I used my finger to smear the background and it made the tree stand out better.

I have continued going to the figure drawing sessions once a week.  For the most part my work has been bad, but every once in a while it comes out OK.  It has all been enjoyable, though, and I figure that if I keep at it I may even get better at it.