Category Archives: Nuts & Bolts & Magic

Why not me? Why not you?

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

August 11th has been a powerful day for me… several times. In 1973, it was the day of a horrific car accident where my brother and I were both badly injured. Fast forward 41 years to 2014, August 11th was … Continue reading →

Posted in Book #2: Double Take, Look at That! book, Pen & Ink, sketching, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Resilience and Positive Resignation

Posted on November 10, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

This week’s column links two entries from “Double Take,” from May and July 2017. Both entries explore how, when faced with adversity, some people fail miserably at giving up. You read that right. Some people call it “perseverance” but I … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Book #2: Double Take, Musings on Life, Seeing and looking | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The best creative partner just might be your notebook.

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

I was in the middle of drafting this post when a dear friend emailed me a link to an article in the NY Times. The article entitled, “How the Humble Notebook Became an Essential Creative Tool,” begins with the sentence, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book #2: Double Take, Sketchbooks, sketching, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to Double the Fun when Travel Sketching

Posted on October 27, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

(This is the next in the series of excerpts from my illustrated memoir, “Double Take.”) Planning a vacation? If you’re like me, the minute you buy your plane ticket or book your B&B, it feels like you’re almost on your … Continue reading →

Posted in Book #2: Double Take, Pen & Ink, Seeing and looking, Sketchbooks, sketching, Travel Adventures, Trips to the UK, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When a pen is more than a pen

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

(The next in the Autumn 2024 series of excerpts from my illustrated memoir, “Double Take”) April 25, 2015 – journal entry about pens and my pen history Back before the invention of markers, gel pens, roller-ball pens, and ballpoint pens, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Book #2: Double Take, Musings on Life, My Story, Pen & Ink, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Do your pauses refresh or agitate?

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

A brief note first: This latest series of posts has given me an unexpected gift:  the feeling of reading “Double Take” for the first time. When writing, editing, proofing, final proofing, final-final proofing any piece of writing, it’s natural to … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Book #2: Double Take, Musings on Life, Pen & Ink, Seeing and looking, sketching, Watercolor | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

No need to be in a city to be an “Urban” Sketcher!

Posted on October 6, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

For centuries painting outdoors has been referred to as “en plein air” painting. It is a French term that literally translates as “in full air,” and is used to describe artwork created outdoors, through observation of the scene in front … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Book #2: Double Take, Pen & Ink, Seeing and looking, sketching, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Is Community the only art tool you’re missing?

Posted on September 29, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

For the next ten weeks I’ll be sharing excerpts from my illustrated memoir, “Double Take,” published in 2022. Enjoy! June 17, 2014 – sketchbook journal entry I only pretend to like Art Instruction. What I really crave is Art Community. … Continue reading →

Posted in Book #2: Double Take, Pencil sketching, Sketchbooks, Sketching tools, Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mining “Double Take” until New Year’s Day

Posted on September 22, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

At the bottom of every blog post, for the last 8 years, there has been a tag line that reads: About Bobbie Herron: I live surrounded by watercolor brushes and paints, fountain pens, sketchbooks, and journals- often wanting more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Book #2, Book #2: Double Take, Pen & Ink, Pencil sketching, Seeing and looking, sketching, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity) | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Watercolor is a gentle medium. No way around it.

Posted on September 15, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

Look at this Winslow Homer boat on a stormy sea. Observe closely, this is watercolor… … and then imagine it in oils. There’s no comparison.  If you want to calm yourself and create something of beauty or even release bittersweet … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments