rush hour in Kandern

February 29, 2012. The last day of February seemed like the first day of spring. It was warm enough to hang out and draw on the street for an hour and still feel your fingers. I counted about 20 people who came by to say hello, including my daughter on her way home from school.

tulips

February 28, 2012. Stayed home sick today- whatever it is that's going around finally got me. My wife usually keeps tulips on our coffee table, so I thought I'd draw them today.

on the driveway

February 25, 2012. Thanking God for the warmer weather, sitting outside, shooting baskets with my son, coffee. Driving in France this morning, enjoying the colors of the fields- pale browns, subtle golds, leafless trees, just a bit of a chill, but nothing to keep you inside from sketching on your driveway.

Fasnacht Parade

February 19, 2012. Today is the annual Fasnacht parade in Kandern. After lunch, I went downtown to sketch a bit of the scene before the heavy celebrations got started. Here's one of the floats, boasting a sturdy observation deck and gaping mouth, from which a couple kids emerged to come look at the funny guy drawing pictures on the side of the road. I say funny guy, because I was certainly out of place, in the crowd of masked and befeathered ghouls and trolls. The music was thumping and the adrenaline was pumping, as folks came from all around to take part in this revered cultural event.

lost keys...

February 18, 2012. I was going to sketch from inside my car this morning, but I couldn't find the car keys, so I braved the cold. In fact, I still can't find the keys. I'm going to go look in all the same places I looked before.

drip drip smile

February 15, 2012. It's a wonderful sound to my ears- the melting of snow. After three weeks of very cold temperature, we welcomed a slight rise of temperature, which brought some beautiful snow cover. And the last couple days even the snow cannot hold on, as the temperature continues to rise. I sketched out the window of my classroom today, looking down on the town of Wollbach below. By the end of the day, the snow had turned to slush and this view had dramatically changed.

Kandern Underwear

February 12, 2012. I got up early this morning and went down to the town square to capture what it looks like in Kandern this week. It was -14 C, so I stayed in my car to draw, turning on the engine every so often to keep myself from freezing solid like the small waterfall in town. I thought this made an interesting picture with the strings of underwear decorating the town square and the group of nuns walking down the main street on their way to the church. I'm not a big fan of this type of decoration, and look forward to the day they take it down.

old man winter

February 9, 2012. Down in southern Germany, we were convinced it was going to be a mild winter. We were wrong. The sub-zero temperatures have lasted a couple weeks now, and there's no sign of warming ahead. The students found pieces of cardboard in the recycling bin, and have been wearing off the snow from the little hills in the playground. At the end of the day, there are boots, mittens, scarves, hats, and pieces of cardboard everywhere. Spring seems a long way off...

the Hexenball

February 6, 2012. It's Fasnacht time again in southern Germany, and you can see people dressed in wild costumes preparing to party it up before the 40 day period of Lent. Over the street in Kandern hangs a banner advertising the Hexenball (witches ball), along with strings of underwear. This tradition goes back hundreds of years in the Black Forest, and looks like it's here to stay.

The book is out!

February 2, 2012. "The Art of Urban Sketching" was finally released this week, and is already at the top of the charts amongst the drawing and art books on Amazon. I probably won't get my copy until this summer, but my mom got her copy and took this photo of the Kandern page so that I could see how it turned out. A huge thanks to Gabi Campanario for including me in this project. I can hardly wait to get my copy to read about some of my favorite sketch artists around the world.