Category Archives: Nuts & Bolts & Magic

The Greatness of Blue: a holiday season story

It was the 24th day of the last month of the year, snow was everywhere, and all the summer birds had long since headed south for the winter. Or so the villagers thought. The townsfolk were busy trying to keep … Continue reading

Posted in Cartoons, Musings on Life, Watercolor, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Another sketchbook completed, and what I learned

I just finished another sketchbook, six months of Sundays, literally. And because I can’t simply leave it at that, I had to go one step further and try to figure out: 1- how to shoot a one-handed video in a … Continue reading

Posted in Pen & Ink, Seeing and looking, Sketchbooks, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Introducing the new, larger Look at That! Art Pouches!

I just finished producing my latest batch of fourteen “Look at That” Art Pouches that are, wait for it, big enough to hold your cell phone! Yes, I caved! Back story: I invented these pouches a few years ago, to … Continue reading

Posted in 2- Bolts: Sketching Tools, Look-at-That! Pouches, photography, Seeing and looking, Sketching tools | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What a year it has been.

A year ago yesterday I published the Kindle version of my book, Look at That! Discover the Joy of Seeing by Sketching. Two days later, a year ago tomorrow, the paperback version became available. In the last 12 months, 3,353 … Continue reading

Posted in Look at That! book, Seeing and looking, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Art Therapy: A Misunderstanding

Let’s begin to address all that is wrong in our human world. Play with this idea for a few minutes — a step-by-step guide. Think about the 5 senses of Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste, Touch. Pick one to be your … Continue reading

Posted in 3- Magic: Art Epiphanies, Musings on Life, Pen & Ink, Seeing and looking, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Learning how to slog, again

If this post sounds familiar, that’s good! It was originally published on July 15th, 2021 and soon after, I got cold feet. I mean, really cold feet. Cold enough for me to sign up for an eight-week online art course … Continue reading

Posted in Book #2, Look at That! book, Musings on Life, My Story, Seeing and looking, Tip Jar, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What I’ve been learning

It’s been a busy month since I last wrote: finishing up one course (writing), still in the middle of another (art), loving what I’m learning in both. Writing The course I just finished was offered by Memoir Writing Ink, an … Continue reading

Posted in Pen & Ink, Sketchbooks, Sketching tools, Tip Jar, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

“Up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no…it’s a brick!”

So here I am, several days later than expected, still enjoying walking around my lovely city. A little FYI about it: Concord is home to about 43,000 folks, residing in a 67-square-mile area. We have lots of hills, trees, rivers, … Continue reading

Posted in 3- Magic: Art Epiphanies, Musings on Life, photography, Seeing and looking, Tip Jar, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Brickwork of Concord

Do you ever stop to think about all the brickwork in your world? It’s everywhere, and yet almost invisible. Interesting facts: A standard red brick in the United States is 3.625 inches deep by 2.25 inches high by 8 inches … Continue reading

Posted in Musings on Life, My Story, Seeing and looking, Tip Jar, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Garden photos and how to see even better

I recently returned from visiting two long-time friends whose rustic home and gardens are tucked into a wooded hillside in central New Hampshire. Early Sunday morning, long before I heard my sleepy friends stirring, I tiptoed outside to enjoy my … Continue reading

Posted in 3- Magic: Art Epiphanies, photography, Seeing and looking | Tagged , , | 8 Comments