as we drove past . . .

Our daughter and son-in-law bought their first house many years ago in the same area of northwest Houston (Copperfield) that we now drive through on our way to my chemo treatments. We passed this old church many times when visiting the kids and I’ve wanted to sketch it for years but never did. Until now. 

I snapped a few photos with my iPhone as we drove by, then sketched from them later at home. Goofed on that copper steeple though — it should be taller.

To add the ink lines and text, I re-inked another favorite fountain pen that hasn’t been used for a while. This is the Pilot Namiki fountain pen filled with De Atramentis Document black ink. Writes so smooth with a flexible nib! A special gift from Bill.

waiting . . .

This time, I was waiting for Bill instead of him waiting for me. He had a dentist appointment in College Station; I went along so I could replace my debit card later at the bank. No one else in the waiting room.

our southern view

The main living area in our home was once the “alleyway” of a pole barn. We wanted lots of light and ventilation; on the south are these French doors with windows on either side. The view of pasture, tall pines and oaks is usually full of birds — and maybe a feral cat stalking gophers. I sketched this during the heat of the day when all creatures sought some cool shade.

Bill, waiting . . .

Here, I was playing with a Koh-I-Noor Magic Pencil lead refill; Bill was waiting as I received another chemo infusion (that’s my recliner at the bottom of the drawing). This time we were at M.D. Anderson’s West Houston location — so much easier to drive to than the Med Center!

Bill’s cousin Mike made this 5.6 pencil lead holder on his small lathe. I think the wood is Purple Heart. He also made me a regular sized mechanical pencil out of Bird’s Eye Maple. The button at the top of this fat pencil is pressed down to advance the lead, but it also unscrews to reveal a point-sharpener.

A very light shadow can be seen on the left page made by a Pentel Pocketbrush pen in my previous sketch. It didn’t really bleed through enough to fuss about.

Pepper

Yesterday we drove down to our son Jason’s so Bill could help install a new breaker. I went for grandkid-time — both human kind and animal. The newest family member is this affectionate girl, Pepper. We have 3 grandchildren in Beasley, 2 cats (Taco and Cupcake), and now this half-grown puppy.

This was also a chance to test a Pentel Pocketbrush pen in this purse sketchbook. When used to fill in a large black area, there is some very light bleed-through so I’ll probably just skip the next page. But light areas of watercolor and regular fountain pens work great without any bleed-through.

the rest of my stuff

In my previous post I showed the wee bag that I carry to medical appointments and listed the stuff it holds. This sketch tells the rest of the story . . . While I carry such a small bag (easier to manage when I was using a walker), Bill carries this backpack that we borrowed from our son-in-law with the rest of my supplies. And sometimes my wee bag ends up inside this backpack as well.

sketchbook for my wee bag

While waiting last week to have a chemo pump removed, I sketched this flower arrangement in the waiting room. We were at the West Houston M.D.Anderson location this time; the downtown location does not have such things.

This little 2” square book is great for tiny sketches but is too chunky to easily fit in the bag I carry. So I switched to a 3 1/2 x 4 7/8” journal refill that came in my passport-size Travelers Notebook. The lighter paper handles ink and watercolor well for simple sketching and the flatness fits much easier in the cross-the-body bag.

As in all my sketchbooks, the first page(s) contains a palette — or in this case, a few of my favorite Demi Palette layouts.

a weighty subject

I really should be doing the P.T. exercises given by my home healthcare physical therapist. But instead, I sketched my ankle weights, crumpled up.

drawing with an old friend

My first Fude Nib fountain pen was this Hero M86, a gift years ago from my sketch buddy, Kate (Cathy Johnson). It’s a beautiful pen that somehow made me think of a little chinaman. But it felt very heavy to use when the cap was posted — and I prefer posting a cap so it isn’t lost.

In recent years, I seem to be developing essential tremor in my right hand. Online research suggested using heavier pens for improved handwriting with shaky hands. So my Hero pen has come out to play again.

The book stack was drawn with the Hero but I drew the pen itself using a Lamy Vista filled with a water-soluble ink so I could “paint” with the moistened ink.

waiting . . .

From yesterday, not very many people in the waiting room when we arrived for chemo. But after my infusion, it was full enough that we went outside on the patio to wait for our daughter. She provides transportation (we don’t like driving to the Med Center) but was on a conference call for her job.