Wigwags and Zucchini Muffins

A favorite attraction at the Oregon Zoo is now the wig-wag train crossing signal that's across from the leopards. Sorry leopards, but you don't go "ding ding ding" or have a red light in your belly, do you?

A slightly clumsy attempt to capture the dynamic wiggler bouncing around in the cafe chair while eating her muffin. The proportions are all cattywampus, but the general concept of seat as jungle-gym is coming across at least. 

Sunset, ballpoint pens

Experimenting with new angles on portability in this new life phase of sketching, knowing that my toddler's needs (diapers, wipes, spare clothes, books, snacks, etc) outweigh the bulky kit of art supplies that I used to carry before.

This little series used a set of 3 double-sided ballpoint pens, total of 6 color options, in a super-slim little pocket notebook. Not terribly elegant, but it's enough to keep me having fun!

(Perseid meteor shower star party, Rooster Rock State Park, Oregon)

Back-of-envelope baby sketches

OK, as this darling baby kiddo gets older, sketching gets more difficult for me. She's ambitious! She wiggles! She wants to put every darned thing right into her mouth!

But I have been able to whack out a few back-of-an-envelope opportunistic sketches, usually when she drops off to sleep in my lap.

Sometimes those sketches happen on the back on an incoming envelope...

...and sometimes it's on the back of an outgoing envelope. 

(These sketches were from March and April, and she's changed so much already since then!)

Bigger Baby, Same Poses

Amazing how this kiddo, even as she gets bigger and fancier and stronger, still strikes the same poses when she's nursing as she did as a teensy newborn.

Baby Hands

Through a combination of innate reflexes and personal style, a baby's hands and arms can be very bold and expressive.

I haven't yet been able to capture the fleeting "jazz hands" reflex when our little peanut is startled, but I do have plenty of chances to draw how she drinks milk with her pinky up, as if sipping tea with royalty.

There is so much personality in those tightly-closed fists, too.

If it weren't for the chilly winter weather, I'd likely be sketching her tiny baby toes as well--but for now, warm socks are the priority. (A project for spring?)

Baby Face (Part Two)

As a new parent, there's a lot of data to gather about the tiny critter that's burst onto the scene. For the first weeks, I was keeping careful track of when she last ate, how many diapers she blasted through during the course of a day, etc in order to make sure all is good and healthy.

Thus, my pocket notebooks have become a strange medley of charts diagramming milk in/milk out, with elaborate baby doodles in the margins.

Not to mention the fact that, when struggling to stay alert for lengthy late-night feedings, sketching on any handy scrap of paper can keep my brain from shutting down entirely. (Sleep deprivation is a great way to loosen up the linework of one's sketches, as it turns out).

 

Whether it's studying her face as she nurses...

 

...or just trying to stay awake in the doctor's waiting room, I've been very grateful to have pen and paper on hand.

Baby Face (Part One)

I gave birth to a baby girl on Halloween morning, and was sketching her right from day one. (I actually packed my watercolor kit and a good squirrel mop brush in my hospital bag--laughable to see me pondering what brush is best for the occasion!--but have nonetheless only done pen sketches of her so far.)

Sketching helps me wrap my head around this momentous event. Who is this tiny human? What does she look like, how does she move?

A baby's face is such an odd thing--familiar in structure, yet with such different proportions than an adult face.

Simultaneously adorable and surreal, bizarre.

It it that it's rounder, taller, wider...? Still can't pin down the exact dynamics that makes a baby's face distinct.

But good job, evolution, on making baby faces absolutely fascinating.

Lazy Vacation

The trick with going on vacation is that it's darned hard to sketch while socializing with family and friends! Despite a whole week in California, I only got a chance to pick up the sketchbook twice. * ¡Lo difícil de ir de vacaciones es que es muy difícil dibujar cuando estoy enfocada en socilizar con familia y amigos! Pasé una semana entera en California, y solo tuve la oportunidad de dibujar dos veces. 

The first chance was when we stopped at my parent's house. Their kitties are not offended when I skip the conversation in favor of the paints! * La primera vez fue cuando nos paramos en la casa de mis padres. ¡Los gatos no son ofendidos si agarro las acuarelas en vez de conversar!

Later, I took a few quiet moments to sketch while I watched my husband and his mom play a strategy game. * Después, encontré algunos momentos pacificos para dibujar mientras observaba un juego de estrategia entre mi esposo y su mamá.

But I don't mean to complain--I had a lovely time seeing folks, and it was very relaxing all around. Plus, my little 3-year-old niece got a chance to do some serious painting with my watercolors while we waited for dinner! It's a delight to see how much she seemed to learn with each stroke of the brush. Inspiring. * Pero no debo quejarme--era un gran placer visitar con todos, y me relajé mucho. Ademas, ¡mi nieta de 3 años tuvo la oportunidad de hacer un serie de pinturas con mis acuarelas mientras esperamos la cena en un restaurante! Me encanta ver cuánto ella aprendió con cada paso del pincel--qué inspiración.

Small Doodles

My little pocket notebook, which I intend to use for grocery lists and other mundane notes, sometimes catches little random sketches simply because it is on hand and convenient. Here are a few recent examples. * Tengo un cuadernito que llevo conmigo para apuntar cosas sobre los quehacers mundanos del dia. A veces, lo uso para dibujar simplemente porque lo tengo conmigo. Aqui hay algunos ejemplos recientes. 

 

Bee-mimic fly & brick building. * Mosca que imita una abeja, y edificio de ladrillos.

Punk rock dude & urban goats. * Un tipo punk-rock y tres cabras urbanas.

Pocket Sketchbook: Volcano, Volcano

Was up in the west hills of Portland today and caught these views of Mount Saint Helens and Mount Hood in my pocket sketchbook. * Estaba en las colinas en el oeste del Portland hoy, y capturé estas vistas de Mount Saint Helens y Mount Hood en el librito que llevo mi bolsillo.

Elephants

Elephants are kind of a thing in my family. Back in 1962, when Packy was born at the Oregon Zoo, my grandfather loaded his family into the car and drove all the way from California so they could see the baby elephant. So when my Aunt Lois was visiting Portland earlier this month, of course we had to go visit the new baby elephant, Lily. * En mi familia, tenemos un gran interés en los elefantes. En 1962, cuando Packy se nació en el Oregon Zoo, my abuelo cargó toda la familia en el auto y condució de Californa hasta Oregon para ver el elefante recién nacido. Así que, cuando mi iía Lois visitó Portland esta mez, claro que fuimos a ver el nuevo bebe en la familia de elefantes, Lily.

And in the tradition of Grandpa Chang, I of course had to sketch baby Lily and her mother Rose-Tu while I was there. * Y en la tradición de mi abuelo Chang, claro que tuve que dibujar el bebe Lily y su mama, Rose-Tu, durante la visita.

My grandmother recently send me a letter that ended with, "Hope you are well--draw more elephants!" Yes, m'am. * Mi abuela me mandó una carta recientemente que terminó con la frase, "Espero que estes bien--¡dibuja más elefantes!" Sí, señora. 

Edited to add a photo of Grandpa Chang drawing elephants. * Editado para incluir un photo de mi abuelo Chang dibujando elefantes. 

 

Meeting Notes

A co-worker was trying to remember who had attended a certain meeting. * Una compañera de trabajo estaba tratando de recordar quienes assistieron a una reunión.

She ended up using my doodles on the paper that covers the meeting tables to figure it out. * Ella usó los dibujos que yo había hecho en el papel sobre la mesa para averiguarlo.

Sketchbook Archives: Portrait Series

My charming husband is going to have an article in Bicycle Times magazine. They asked him for an author photo--and he asked me if I could find that one sketch I did of him, years ago... * Mi esposito escribió un artículo para la revista Bicycle Times. Le pidieron un foto para incluir en la página de los autores--y él me pidió si yo podía hallar el dibujo que yo hice, años en el pasado...

Chris, 2000. Ballpoint pen/bolígrafo

My old sketchbooks are not well organized at the moment, so I had to look through them all. I love this drawing of Chris, but that's not the one he was thinking of. * Mis libros de diubjos no son bien organizados ahorita, así que tuve que mirar casí todos. Me encanta este dibujo de Chris, pero no es el retrato de que él estaba pensando.

Chris, 2006. Ballpoint pen/bolígrafo.

I also love this drawing--but that's not the right one, either. * También me encanta este dibujo--pero tampoco es el dibujo correcto.

Chris, 2007. Pencil/lápiz

This quick sketch from our trip to New York City makes me smile. But that's not the one he wanted. * Este bosquejo rápido de nuestro viaje a Nueva York me hace sonreir. Pero no es el dibujo que quería.

Chris, 2004. Black and white ink/Tinta negra y tinta blanca.

I finally found it! This was the year he took a bunch of classes in bike mechanics. He came home and immediately started building a wheel from scratch. So that's what we ended up sending to the magazine. * ¡Finalmente lo encontré! En este año, Chris tomó unos clases de la mechánica de bicicletas. Cuando regresó a la casa, empezó a construir una rueda a partir de cero. Es ésto que enviamos a la revista. 

Edited to add: My most recent sketch of Chris is from a very muddy bike race this past November.
Editado para añadir: El bosquejo más receiente de Chris es de una carrera de bicicletas con mucho lodo, el noviembre pasado. 

Fruit Bats

Winter at the Oregon Zoo. On a cold and rainy day, the cave-like structure of the fruit bat habitat can not only give you protection from the wind and rain, but give you tons of delight, too. * Oregon Zoo en el invierno. La cueva artificial del hábitat para murciélagos frugívoros nos da protección de la lluvia y el viento, y también nos da tanta diversión.

Watercolor and ballpoint pen. * Acuarela y bolígrafo.

Even when the bats are still wrapped in their wings, not wanting to face the cold, they are delightful. And the complex layers of wings and legs all bundled up for warmth is a fancy puzzle! Bat origami. * Aun cuando los murcielagos están aún envueltos en sus alas, no queriendo meterse en el frío del día ya, me encantan. ¡Las capas complejas de alas y piernas que están envueltos para conservar el calor hace un rompecabezas interesante! Origami con murciélagos.

 "He's like a sloth! He's a really fast sloth." * ¡Es como un perezoso--pero muy rápido!

Baby Elephant

I am happy to report that the 16-day-old baby elephant at the Oregon Zoo is exactly as cute as you would expect. * Tengo placer en declarar que el elefante que se nació hace 16 dias en el Oregon Zoo es increíblemente precioso.

She runs around a lot but also trips over her own feet sometimes. * Ella corre con alegría, pero es muy joven y por supuesto se caye de vez en cuando.

And when she had explored for a little while, she runs back to tuck herself in the safe shelter of her massive mom. * Despues de explorar un poco, suele correr a la albergarse cerca de su mamá enorme.

The difference in shape between a full-grown adult (above) and a baby elephant (below) is very interesting! * ¡La diferencia del forma de un elefante adulto (arriba) y un elefante bebé (abajo) es muy interesante!

The Big Float

A couple weeks ago I participated in "The Big Float," an event where more than a thousand people cross the Willamette River in downtown Portland on inner tubes and other silly floaty things. * Hace un par de semanas, yo participé en un evento llamado “The Big Float.” Más de mil personas cruzaban el río Willamette en el centro de Portland, usando cámaras de rueda y otras cosas absurdos que flotan.

I packed my waterproof sketchbook so I could draw people in their fun costumes before I splashed across the river myself. The waterproof paper held up beautifully to being soaked. I just wish I'd been able to capture the colors of the pool toys and the life vests! * Llevaba mi libro de dibujar hidrófugo para poder dibujar las disfraces de la gente antes de cruzar el río en mi cámara. El papel especial sobrevivió la adventura mojada perfectamente bien. La única cosa triste es que no capturé los colores vivos de todos los jugetes de piscina.


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