Grosvenor-Strathmore

This is an ink and colored pencil drawing of the Metro train at the Grosvenor-Strathmore station.  I have nearly forty drawings of people on the Metro completed this year in a Moleskine sketchbook.  I decided to draw one of the trains because they are starting to show their age with that late 1970s industrial design aesthetic. During the work week, I spend a lot of time on these trains.  I have been riding the Metro for years!

Drawing my way through 2015

This is a house on Jefferson Blvd, and Eastern Blvd. in Hagerstown, Maryland.  The homes in this area belong to generations of hard working blue collar folks.  Not far away is a rail line that leads west and north.  This is an area that was one well serviced by passenger trains, but those days are long gone.  Still though, Hagerstown is criss-crossed by many train tracks.

I have become very fond of drawing in a wonderful Moleskine sketchbook.  This year I am filling it with drawings that relate to my rather long commute.  This is a house I pass near the end of my day.

Gethsemane

"The Garden at Gethsemane," oil on Masonite.  This piece is part of a series of paintings of inspired by Grimm's Junkyard.  Heavy vegetation hides the oldest cars in the summer months, and I often wait until there has been a decent snowfall before visiting the yard.  The old Dodge pictured above has been almost completely cannibalized for parts.  It has been in this spot for decades.

The 3 crosses in the distance on the right side of the painting are a nod to  Rev. Bernard Coffindaffer and his roadside cross project.  The many I have seen are on old state roads, and have become part of the charm of long drives in rural America.  Gethsemane, means oil press. A press is an emblem of trial, distress, agony, while oil points to Spirit and illumination.

Untitled

Charcoal and Conte crayon on toned paper.

Beneath The Albizia julibrissin

A work in progress, oil on birchwood.

Saturday Night Untitled Sketch

I did a bit of quick updating to this drawing after putting it down for a couple of days.  I started it late Saturday night.  I used vine charcoal, a General's 4B charcoal pencil, and a Conte white drawing pencil.  Strathmore just came out with a terrific pad of acid free 80lb toned gray paper.

Figure Drawing at Hood College

Tomorrow Dorothy and I are going to Hood College in Frederick Maryland to draw.  I really am fortunate to have a place to draw so close to home, and right on the way home from work.  That fact that my daughter can come along is just icing on the cake.  I think Dorothy started drawing before she started walking.  Here is her website: http://www.dorothygroesbeck.com.