For the month of February, friends challenged me to produce a piece of art every day. I’m a little surprised but quite proud to report that I did!

In 29 days, I produced 25 pencil sketches, 2 photographs, 1 piece of graphic design and a study for a large art project I hope to complete later in the year.

Here are some of my favorites.

Bay Division

Bay division - inspired by the cover of the Joy Division album, Unknown Pleasures. Topographically accurate to San Francisco.

Untitled

Untitled - pencil sketch. The first sketch of the month. I was quite pleased with the contrast in light on the rock.

Reflection

Reflection

Joy

Joy - pencil sketch from a photo. My first portrait. Captured her messy hair and her mood, I think.

Easter Islander

Easter Islander - pencil and pen sketch. From life, Easter Island statue in Vina del Mar, Chile.

The tree in the pool

The tree in the pool - pencil and pen sketch. Inspired by David Hockney’s water paintings. It’s so hard to capture the constantly shifting motion of light on rippling water.

Shoulders

Shoulders - felt-tip and pencil. I love the light in San Francisco. It casts such interesting long shadows towards the end of the day at this time of year. I also love the whole umbra / prenumbra effect which defocuses parts of the scene. I made a few sketches of the shadows I cast during the month. This one is my favorite. In Zapallar, Chile (which also has amazing light).

Patagonia

Patagonia - pen and pencil. We spent the final week of the month in Patagonia. The landscapes there are magnificent and I enjoyed sketching several of them. This one is a sketch I left behind in the guestbook for our generous hosts.

Patagonian Rocks

Patagonian Rocks - photo. Patagonia is a geologists delight. There are so many different rock forms amid the glaciers. I made this photo with my daughter.