I wanted to start this NATO alphabet series with something simple. I was also testing some new paper. Smooth is nice, but it highlights fingerprints. Once they are used up, I’ll focus on the sulfite paper, because it’s cheaper and can be used on both sides.
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Thanks to Hazel Burgess for suggesting that I try blind contour drawing. It’s a great exercise!
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And thanks to Jozsef Abranko for the nudge to use my gouache to paint (duh!)
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I had been constipated with drawing for two decades before generative AI became a thing in 2022. When computers can create perfection in seconds, imperfection is now proof of humanity.
Nothing like a digital existential challenge to get moving. I picked up the pen again, meditating on my right hand shaping the letters of the alphabet, morning after morning.That cycle was replaced in 2024 by calligraphy, but I always wanted to properly close out this practice that awoke my spirit after such a long hiatus.
I hope you enjoy these old sketches paired with new graphs and my new explorations in gouache.
I had to cheat a little for this one. Is this six stripes or seven? And there’s more stripes if I shift the frame a little.
In collecting these numbers, I went out on an early morning walk and snagged a bunch of them. I had trouble with four and six, but it doesn’t take much to find the numbers and letters out there.
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They created a library after an episode of Bluey, Furniture piled in the center of the room as a reference desk.
They lined my books along the wall “for adults”. (They already had a shelf books from the library district)
Mini was the library pet, Mr. Little Wooden Guy held up signs.
I was a teacher bringing a class of stuffies, Field trip to the the library!
The next day, I returned with a family of bears, Daddy, Mommy, Bear Bear, and Adventure.
When the show was ready, they ushered us into the bedroom stage, We bought the cheap seats—they came with a sheet over my head.
I watched the shadows of the boy and girl, Dancing with abandon.
As an architect, I stare at ceilings. While being wheeled to the MRI and getting a drain stabbed into my liver, my main memory was watching the details where the ceilings met the hospital walls.
Ceiling fans, especially with light kits, are an unloved feature of residential architecture. In today’s conditioned age, they are somewhat redundant. But they’re still part of life in a hot climate. Even if they don’t get used, it’s better to have one—with four to six blades—than to have none.
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My wife made homemade noodles last night. She uses a recipe that is 2 parts flour, 1 part water, and 1part eggs.
I’m a fan of a decadent 3:2 flour to egg recipe. But no matter, her noodles were tasty and springy. It was great in a soup, then as part of a stir fry, and finally as a treat for lunch.
When we first started making noodles, we rolled it by hand. That’s a lot of work! So we got a KitchenAid attachment, which was expensive but has been among our most used kitchen gadgets.
These noodles might be an unnecessary expense of time and money, but what a savory little luxury!
On vacations, we have settled upon magnets for our souvenir, usually purchased on the way out of the park after it has closed.
Last summer, I initially settled on a nice, mid-mod, metal and enamel Disneyland magnet, only to find this quartet of Munchlings at the next store over. So the Mouse got us twice.
We also got a 5-pack of Mickey Mouse lollipops to ostensibly alleviate the boy’s motion sickness. It did not prevent a couple of incidents on the winding road up to Big Bear.
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I can’t believe our Disney + Big Bear1 trip was almost a year ago. As the years tick by, I’m becoming more aware of how few of these trips we will have together. That said, counting down futures vacations is a very nice problem to have.
This year’s summer trip was a family reunion out in Portland. With the advice of a friend and my sister we hit up a bunch of cool places over five action packed days.
The falls. As advertised, this is the must visit. Take the Historic Columbia River Highway and hit up the falls along the way. We went on a weekday, but I suspect it’s impossible to find parking on Summer weekends. Visit the Gateway to the Gorge Visitor Center for a possible free parking permit at the famous Multnomah Falls.
Mount Hood Fruit Loop. We drove around and got some nice scenery, but it was late in the day so we didn’t get to see much farmy stuff. We had already eaten by the time we got to the “Gorge White House”, but this place had a great vibe.
Bonneville Fish Hatchery. A free must visit to say hello to Herman the Sturgeon. The kids had a blast feeding trout for a quarter.
Farmer’s Market at PSU. Epic vibe on a lovely Saturday morning.
Peninsula Park and Rose Garden. Late one evening, we ended up wandering around the Rose Garden with my sister. The warm weather and the late summer sun made for a magical moment. It was nice to offload the kids for fifteen minutes with their aunt.
International Rose Test Garden. Lovely as well, but nowhere as intimate or charming as the garden at Peninsula Park.
OMSI Museum. What you might expect from your local kid’s science museum. The highlight was a chemistry lab which the Vegas Discovery Museum does not have.
Portland Japanese Garden. Gorgeous garden. Not cheap, but we easily spent a good four or five hours there before heading out to the airport.
Even though public transit in Portland is better than most suburban metropolises, I’m certain that it is vastly preferable to have a car. And if you have a car, the “Parking Kitty” phone app makes it super easy to pay at the meter. Aside from that, I guess one’s visit is at the whim of the weather gods. We hit record highs, but for folks from Vegas, that wasn’t a deal breaker.
In all, a great visit. When we go back, I’m guessing we’ll check out some other places to mix things up, but we’ll return to the Falls, Bonneville, Farmer’s Market, and Peninsula Park.
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In the post with the wolves, I forgot to mention that the kids had named them Sesame, Vanilla, and Cloud. So the full name of the stuffy from the gift shop is named “Rocky, Sesame V. Cloud”. ↩︎
The boy gave me three vials filled with colored water. She followed behind, shooting photos with a wide angled lens. I’m not sure what they were scheming, but they were giggling the whole time.
I can’t believe how quickly time flies. Last year, work was grinding down my body and psyche. Fortunately I only had three weeks left before jumping out to the airport.
I was trying to do right for the Division on the way out, but it was time to decouple.
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We played Marco Polo at home
Marco’s white cane was a roll of old drawings.
She started next to the bed I walked circles around Marco until cornered by the bathtub.
He cheated, hiding in the closet, standing on the toilet.
Never said Polo!
Finally caught, he grabbed Marco’s shirt and followed her around, a little red caboose.
We finally made him Marco He squinted, not blind, swinging his cane as a baton.
Last summer we visited the Big Bear Zoo. It was HOT! The wolves thought so too.
There were actually three in the exhibit and on this platform, but I needed two, so I picked this photo.It was a moment of wonder to be half an inch from these majestic animals.
While viewing the wolves, the kids named them Sesame, Vanilla, and Cloud. So the full name of our wolf stuffy from the gift shop is “Rocky, Sesame V. Cloud”.
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Two little fish harass the shark.
My arms clap like a crocodile—clap! clap! clap!
Eeeeeeee!—they jump off the boat-bed into the carpet-ocean, only to race back on deck.
They hide under boxes—he can’t eat a turtle!
The second they step out, this shark drags them into the deep, black bathroom.
Clap! Clap! Clap!—I stalk the cook in the kitchen.
