I Made A Pie

Something a little different - The other day friends of ours had us over for dinner. Now our friend Andi is likely one of the best cooks in the world and she happened to make an Apple Pie, which was delicious. Conversation erupted about pie making and my wife, a good cook in her own right, commented about how much of a pain in the patoot it is to make a pie. Well I decided to find out. My wife was away visiting friends so I thought I could make a mess, and a pie as well. The video above shows the process...and by the way, she was right it was a pain in the patoot, but I kind of want to try again. . .

Morning Photos Instead

I took my camera down to the river today instead of my brushes..here are the results.

Click on images for larger view.

Wood River - 8 sec exposure

Wood River - 3 sec exposure

Wood River - looking toward rt 91

Berries

The old dam across the Wood River

Still waters by the bridge

Another view

Down stream

Autumn

Catching up again...

Hope Valley morning

I though I might post a few of my recent sketches. It has been a while since I posted and for no particular reason..possibly lazyness..possibly just too busy..you decide.

House along Main Street, Hope Valley

Back in Arcadia Management Area

Morning at the pond

In the woods

So that is a quick selection of some of the stuff I have been doing recently..wish I had more words of wisdom, or maybe something witty to say but the well is dry today.

Route 95 in Southern Rhode Island

Looking North on Route 95, Wyoming, RI from Edward Huff on Vimeo.

Another time lapse shot while sketching. Having a lot of fun with these and learning the ropes working with raw files and various techniques. Nothing exceptional yet but someday. . .

Still at it

Sunrise - Providence from Edward Huff on Vimeo.

So I am still out early in the morning sketching and making things. I have been enjoying shooting time lapses once again and doing some photography as well as sketching. The time lapse above was shot while I was sketching the image below.

Providence  - Click image for larger view

I have been experimenting with different papers and techniques, still struggling most of the time and filled with frustration all the time but having fun none the less. I have posted almost 800 sketches on my Flickr page and they have experienced over 600,000 views. Although the number of views has little bearing on reality I am proud that I have stuck it out for a while and got so many sketches posted..there are more that will only live in the pages of the sketch books, but the 800 on the Flickr page have value in the respect that I can see that I am making some slight progress.. I figure another 67 years and by golly I'll have it.

Slater Mill, Pawtucket  - Click image for larger view

A sketch of an actual touristy spot in Rhode Island, I love these old mill sites and the Slater Mill is so iconic of New England.

Wyoming Pond - Click image for larger view

I will leave you with this image of Wyoming Pond. I feel fortunate to live in such a lovely area.

Loosen Up!

Barberville Dam - Click image for larger view

So today I tried yet another experiment in my quest to understand values. I did a VERY rough sketch, just putting a few key notations in light pencil. And the working with a largish brush (just to keep things loose) I started laying in color going light at first building to the darks. This required a lot of squinting. . . .hence the lack of any real detail. I worked with a limited palette of cad yellow, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna. There is a lot of stuff I would try to do differently if I were to sketch this again but I learned from this and am not too displeased. It's almost recognizable. I also have a new little paintbox which I like a lot. Very portable and since it is made of tin I glued a magnet to the bottom of my water cup so when I have the box in hand I can just stick the water cup on it an it stays there.

My tools and a lovely spot.

For those of you with a sharp eye you can determine just what kind of a fool this old fart is. You can see that I painted on the sketchpad upside down...spiral on the right..so now I have at least one upside down sketch in this book.

It's good to have sunlight

Nichols Lane, Hope Valley, RI

The mornings have been treating me well with nice bright sunlight this past week and I have been trying to capture it with ink and paint. As I mentioned in another post, I have been working on value. To me it has been an illusive dance between light and dark so when I get this strong morning light I can work out the values a bit better. Likely still making the darks too dark but I felt that I succeeded in the two ink sketches pretty well.

K. G. Ranch / Arcadia Road, Exeter, RI

So I wanted to share a few of images and am open to comments and criticisms, it is all about learning what works and what doesn't. So if you have a comment, please leave it below.

On Mechanic Street, Hope Valley, RI

I read recently that a work is done when you feel like you have accomplished what it was you were trying to say. These are close. . . . and as a side note, the color painting was purchased by a fellow employee when she saw it on my desk after I had scanned it. woohoo!

Some sketches

Main Street, Hope Valley - Click image for larger view

Since I haven't posted any sketches for a while I thought that I could do a quick review here of some things I have done in the past few weeks. I am still sketching early mornings before work, but I took a few weeks off while I was out of work, after a minor surgery. The sketch above was actually done in my studio from a sketch. It was a request from the person who lives in the blue house.

Coolers on the Dock, Wickford, RI

I sketched this one on Friday morning, and didn't really have enough time to finish. I kind of rushed the background as I was up against the clock. I should have taken some pictures as this would make a good studio painting.

Near the dam at Barberville Pond

I sketched this one on a dreary morning from the front seat of the car parked near the dam. I have been enjoying painting in the woods more and more. The trees pose all sorts of different problems that the houses of Hope Valley.

Wood River Inn, Wyoming, RI

Finally got some early morning sunlight. As the Earth is moving around it's orbit the sunshine has finally caught up with my schedule. Hopefully I have a few more of these bright mornings before it swings past the mid point and takes my mornings back into the gloom.

Switch Road, Hope Valley

I have sketched this road several times from the same view point. This was another of those mornings that was threatening to rain and the light was flat. I tried to work out the values of light and dark, foreground and background. This is my current area of focus. -- gotta keep working on that.

Back in the woods.

This is a spot along the Wood River in Hope Valley where I get some glimpses of the wood river. I included this one here to show how important values are. The values in this painting are not what they could be. The big fallen stump looks more like a hole in the paper. . . in other words, this one sucks as far as values go. I need to really start doing quick value sketches first, but time is so short when I sketch in the morning.

You can check out all of my sketches by clicking this link.

Another Early Morning Sunrise

Best Viewed Full Screen

I was sketching this morning at the Carolina Trout Pond, off of Switch Road in Carolina, Rhode Island, and figured I might as well shoot a time lapse at the same time. I could see that the sunlight was going to creep down the trees on the other side of the pond and knew it would be a nice warm contrast to the cool blues of the remaining snow left from the storm the other day. I did forget to lock down the focus of the camera so there are some imperfections, and I wish I had a wider lens..but all things considered I am pleased with this shot. Glad for the snow on the ground. This 30 second clip represents almost one hour in real time..54 minutes I think. If you go to full screen you can spot a Great Blue Heron fishing at the far end of the pond, and a few ducks down there too in the final seconds.

My sketch was more complex than I anticipated when I started...lots of trees. I was sketching the far shore directly across the pond. I was sketching from the inside of my car as it was 18º F outside. I was up against the clock and if you follow my ramblings you know that I sketch before work up to the last minute so every one of these drawing 'has a deadline', so to speak. I did run a few minutes long today and got into the office a few minutes later than normal. But I like the results.

Across the Pond - Click image for larger view

More to come as I am confident that the weather will improve, as least it has in the past.

Morning stuff

I went out the other morning to sketch, as usual, and decided to go into Providence and shoot a time lapse as well. Here is the result of both.

Providence, Rhode Island - Click image for larger view

So I had parked in the first spot along this stretch of road and sat my camera up in front of the car and watched it click away as I sketched the scene. I do like shooting time lapse.

I always find it interesting how different my sketches are from the reality of the scene - I seem to have made some stubby buildings... and you can see in the time lapse how the light was changing.

Some Photos for a change

Just a small collection of some photos I have taken recently.

Nana at Purgatory Chasm - Click image for larger view

Wyoming Pond -late March Snow

Purgatory Chasm

Reflections

Chilly Morning

The falls

Roaring Brook Falls

Roaring Brook

Along the Purgatory Chasm

Bridge over the brook

Lost in the woods

Lone Pine - Click image for larger view

For the past several months Carol and I have been off hiking every weekend so naturally I have been scouting different areas before work and sketching accordingly. It is an interesting change (for me) to switch from the buildings and houses in urban areas that I typically sketch, to go to the more organic woodlands around Rhode Island. I have been having fun and learning a lot. I liked the composition above just because that one tree is so out of place and right behind the sign.

The Crawley Preserve - Blue Dot - Click image for larger view

A couple from the Crawley Preserve, which we haven't hiked yet, but I would guess these trails are in our future. It is remarkable just how many different wooded areas there are around Rhode Island and how remote you can be within minutes of leaving your car.

Crawley Preserve - White Dot - Click image for larger view

And a spot along the road in Wood River Junction, Rhode Island. I didn't find a hiking trail here but this is a great access to the Wood River to put in a canoe or to fish.

Bridge on Rt 91 - Click image for larger view

So I will keep sketching away, hiking  and trying to record some of what I see. As Carol and I continue to discover new places I will keep posting here and elsewhere, just in case anyone is interested.

Just back from the sun. .

.A view from the boat - Click image for larger view

We have just returned from a wonderful couple of weeks in the Caribbean with friends. The first week was spent in the British Virgin Islands cruising aboard a 40 foot power catamaran. Highly recommended. We were able to make it to just about everywhere we wanted to go and the boat handled like a dream with no issues.  We flew from Boston to St Thomas and were greeted by a friend who treated us like royalty, thanks Kelly. The following day, after the sunset cruise the night before, and a great dinner, we caught the ferry to Road Town, Tortola, BVI and on to the charter company to get the boat. The Moorings is highly recommended as they were courteous and professional. We didn't get away from the dock until about 3 in the afternoon and set a course to Norman Island, and the adventure began.

Jost Van Dyke - Click Image for larger view

We cruised from Tortola to Norman Island, Peter Island Sopers Hole, Jost Van Dyke, Trellis Bay, the Baths, Leverick Bay, a quick stop at Coopers Island and back to Peter Island, returning to Road Town on Tortola to catch the ferry back to St Thomas. At each stop there was swimming and eating and exploring and new tastes and drinks and sights to see..so much crammed into so little time. Need to go back for a few months next time.

A page from the collection - Click image for larger view

From St Thomas we flew to San Juan Puerto Rico where we met up with more friends. A total of seven of us made our way to the ferry in Fajardo to travel the 17 miles to Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico. Now the ferry was the best bargain of the whole trip. Since we were all seniors we got our tickets at HALF PRICE!! It cost a dollar! Well, each way, so for the 7 of us it was $14 round trip. What the heck can you get for a dollar these days.

A small market - Click image for larger view

We stayed in Isabel Segunda - the major town on the island - which must have a total of about 20 streets and everything is in walking distance. We loved the island, great views, even better beaches and super friendly people. We  drove all over the island, toured the bioluminescence bay, walked the boardwalk in Esperanza and ate at great restaurants. We always ate well whether at a restaurant or cooked at 'home' -- special thanks to those who cooked, it was all so good. . . .

Media Luna, great beach down a long dirt road - Click image for larger view

So it was sad to say good-bye to such a special place and break up the little group that made our time special. Sunday morning we flew home from San Juan to arrive in temps that had the wind chill well below zero.  Ahhh it's good to be home. . . . . .

You can view all of my sketches HERE!

It's a New Year

The Fallen Tree - Click Image for larger view

The first post of the new year. 2016 - amazing!  I started this blog back in 2008 and it didn't have much of a focus, so here we are several years later, and still no focus. I have been posting my sketching recently but over the years I have posted animations, stop motion videos, time lapse videos, photography and 360º photography - the sketching is a more recent aberration. I am hoping to diversify back into more creative areas this year. However, being a basically lazy  old fart who knows just how it will shake out. But to anyone reading this out there in the interweb, I hope your new year is filled with spontaneous creativity.

Cheers, Ed