millen pond - july 4-11, 2015

We recently spent a wonderful week at Millen Pond.  I went out and bought 6 pencil cases and filled each one with a different artistic tool.  I brought colored pencils, oil crayons, pastel pencils, watercolor crayons, a set of technical pens, watercolors, graphite and charcoal pencils, and inks.  In addition to my sketchbooks I brought some pastelbords, claybords and scratchbords.   Each morning I went out for a couple of hours. I did at least one drawing a day and I tried to use each box at least once.

I’m not sure why I do this, other than I am nuts and it is fun.  I probably would have better results if I stuck with one thing, but then perhaps I’d miss the chance to find something else I’m good at. 

The first day I went down to the end of the pond for a different view of the old bridge, using pastel pencils on pastelbord.   The next day I was standing at the bridge looking at one of the oldest houses on the pond, using sepia pen on claybord.

The third day I started this scratchboard, which still isn’t finished.  It was a special request of our landlord, a pair of loons swimming in front of our cottage. I also tried the watercolor pencils for a view across the pond from our porch.

The next day I had nothing until a brightly colored sailboat appeared on the pond, and I tried it with oil crayons on scratchboard.  Then I did a watercolor on aquabord looking over the back of the cottage toward the pond.  I did not do the scene justice.

On Friday I did a pen and ink on claybord of our favorite cottage as seen from the bridge.  Later in the day I did a watercolor of the bridge from my kayak that I wedged between some rocks just off that cottage’s point.

On our last night there I stood out on the dock as I listened to the loons calling.  Someone had recently talked with me about nighttime drawing and I had that on my mind as I admired the view of the pond at night.  I didn’t try anything then, but the next morning I did this from memory, using pencil on claybord.