From the Sketchbook - Esther Sarah Frewin

Thought I'd try a sketch of a great grandmother, Esther Sarah Frewin Seward, from a very little genealogy photo.  My hope was that the details might emerge which escaped us in the photo.

I realized a few things about her as the sketch took shape.  The hat - must be crocheted or lace with lots of ribbons added and tied under the chin.  She had perhaps lost some of her teeth by now judging from the angle of the corners of her mouth.  I hadn't appreciated how beautiful her eyes were.  Judging from her face, I would guess the photo was taken later in her life - maybe sometime between the 1870's and her death in 1885.

She came from England,  was widowed a second time shortly after arriving, moved with her only daughter to pioneer settlements in Utah and Idaho.  Her grandchildren remember her with great fondness.  She lost her sight near the end of her life.  I would like to know more about this courageous little pioneer.

From the Sketchbook

Willows in a High Desert Meadow, Colored Pencil

Life Drawing from the Sketch Book

 I would like to get time with each little grandchild while they are engaged with something else so I could observe and try drawing them from life.  Here Reagan was absorbed with a puzzle and paid very little attention to me.

From the Sketchbook

Turnerville and Grover Park sketches from photos

Bedroom Window  (Watercolor)

Tried the old window in a 20" x 14" size.  It's getting there, but I'd still adjust the brick color, though I do like the texture of the bricks.    Leaves are coming.  I blew the top ones - need to apply the resist better.  Live and Learn...

From the sketchbook this month

Colored Pencil

Watercolor from photographs

Colored Pencil

I guess I'm dreaming of warmer days... But I love being forced to work in the studio and really try to get things down on paper - like snuggling up to a book on a dreary winter day.  The hours fly by.

Lost Creek from below the Hardman,  2012 Colored Pencil

The Bedford place had such lovely scenery - any direction was a visual treat.  This scene was done on textured mat board with Prismacolor colored pencils which are fantastic  for the range of colors possible.