I was re-inspired recently by the work of Erik Svetoft. A scroll through his website (http://eriksvetoft.tumblr.com) made me feel a little less choosy about my subjects. Where before I would be more deliberate about where I sat; how the lighting was; would the scene stay static; etc. Erik's work looked like he could draw anything anywhere. So most times Donna and I go out for tea or a meal I'll linger long enough to whip out a quick sketch. Here are the last three:

 

I began this drawing with the stroller that was in the foreground, but the baby and her mom left shortly after I started. That's the way it goes sometimes.

A few months ago I had a small show of prints in a local coffee house near my home here in North Seattle. The show generated a number of fun commissions of houses and businesses in my neighborhood. The above drawing was the most recent. Sometimes the homeowner asks for me to re-foliate the trees, put the blooms back on the roses and fix the paint job. This house was smooth sailing because I was able to draw it just as it was. 

When this homeowner originally asked for a drawing, the front yard was full of bamboo. He wanted to surprise his wife with the painting. He decided to wait until the bamboo was removed and by the time the yard was ready, the wife had decorated the house for Halloween. I'm glad he let me draw it with all the decorations because it was fun to include all that detail.

This drawing was commissioned at the same time, but I had already drawn the building once (below). I had drawn the building from the opposite corner, attracted by all the clutter near the corner of the building, and the woodwork on the second floor. After seeing the first black and white drawing they hired me to redraw it in a more flattering light. Specifically, the owner of the shop asked if I could, in the new drawing, "not make the building look like it's falling down."