Waiting the nightly bat exodus. Austin.TX

 

The Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. Nearly 1.5 millions Mexican Free-tailed bats reside in vertical crevices beneath the bridge.The bats provide a valuable environmental service to central Texas by consuming 10-15 tons of insects nightly.

 

Some more sketches of my recently sort trip to Waco and Austin  here

Historic Houston

Given the newness of most of Houston, the title of this post seems a bit humorous. This is the old Jeff Davis Hospital which sat abandoned just above downtown for many years. The new Jeff Davis was torn down years ago and the Federal Reserve Bank sits in its place. This building, which was built in the 20's, has been turned into artist's lofts. I got a little carried away with the hatching, but once you start you're stuck. Oh well, I love this old building and I may come back to it with a looser approach later.

Urban Sketching on Toned Paper

All of us know that the majority of a tonal drawing is middle tone. And, at some point in our sketching careers, most (maybe all?) of us have thought to ourselves, "There must be a simpler, faster alternative to spending so much time covering up the whiteness of our paper."

As it turns out, as early as the Renaissance artists had identified a fast, visually appealing option - toned paper. This week I've covered that alternative in some depth in a blog article entitled Tools of the Trade #3 - Toned Paper. If you're interested, please feel free to take a look. Then maybe give it a try. (You may be amazed by the speed of this technique.)

Happy sketching everyone! (And don't forget your sunscreen, sunglasses, broad-brimmed hat and plenty of water till this heat subsides.)

Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary. Houston

An 18 Acre Wooded Oasis in West Houston .....