Elk Grass, Pen and Ink Sketch, by Kim Blair

Elk Grass
7x5
Pen & Ink Sketch on Paper

Grass seems like such a simple subject to sketch.  But once you sit and stare at a clump for an extended period of time you begin to see the interlacing of stems and leaves that make up the free-form design before you... a design that will change once a breeze begins to blow.

Nothing is permanent in life... things will always change... even the patterns in the grass. 

Dead or Alive, Aspen Tree Sketch, by Kim Blair

Dead or Alive
5x7
 Ink on Paper

Leafing through one of my smaller sketch books I discovered a couple of pen and ink drawings from a plein-air outing in Elk Island Park... last September.  It was one of those warm, end of summer afternoons, when you sit and contemplate nature... with a pen in one hand and a sketch book on your lap.  This aspen tree looked rather dead... but still a bit alive... with a few silver dollar shaped leaves dancing in the soft breeze.

NFS