Captain Whidbey Inn

On the Deck at the Captain Whidbey Inn

Ok.  Could this afternoon have been more perfect?  Don't think so.  Sketching, sipping chardonnay, sun, million dollar view of Penn Cove & Mt. Baker from the lower deck at the Captain Whidbey Inn, great girlfriends, lots of stories, laughing, and gabbing.  Perfection in my book. 


Ali sketching w/ Penn Cove in the background.

Snow Berries on Penn Cove

This sketch is a composite of images from my walk along Penn Cove near our house in Coupeville. I've tried to capture the brilliant whites of distant Mt. Baker and the snow berries in the hedgerow.

Captain Whidbey: Wind Storm Be Damned

The big wind storm appeared to be much ado about very little, so we decided to make the trip up to the Captain Whidbey Inn after all and had a most enjoyable afternoon of good company and sketching.

Our Lisbeth

Captain Whidbey Lobby

Sherman Farm Pumpkins

For my birthday, I gave myself a full day (and evening) of sketching.  And who deserves it more than me? :-) This was my best of sketch of the day.

Did you know that Sherman Farm is the only commercial grower of heirloom Sugar Hubbard Squash in the country?  AND that they supply all the Puget Sound area Whole Foods Markets with cut Sugar Hubbard Squash? Well, now you do.

Sketching Around Ebey's Prairie

I've been wanting to sketch out at the fabulous Sherman Farm - pumpkin and hubbard squash capital of the world, in my book!  Yesterday was a sunny, warm, perfect Fall day to head out to Ebey's Prairie for sketching. 



Old tractor at Sherman Farm

Quick stop at the new Coupeville Coffee & Bistro

Lovely Afternoon in Coupeville

It was nice to tackle something simple for a change. This charming scarecrow was standing against the window at Tea & Treasures in Coupeville. It was a very congenial sketching venue, complete with complimentary shortbread from the owner and a view of the very charming Coupeville High School homecoming parade on Front Street.

Next stop, Toby's, for a bite to eat and a glass of wine. These gentlemen sat at a nearby booth.

Big Buffalo

After a civilized afternoon of drinking English tea, listening to classical music and sketching a zen garden it was time to move across the street to sketch something much bolder and wilder.

Coupeville Arts Festival 2011

Crowds galore at our annual Coupeville Arts Festival.  What a wonderful two days here in my town.

I was super excited to have my piece "Oh No!" (below right) accepted into the festival's juried gallery show.  Whoohoo!  And to top it all off, it sold! 

 

Coupeville Races

I managed to make it to Coupeville, but it was Monday.  The boats were sailing up and down the center of Penn Cove, kids were playing in the muck on the beach and the tide was what I call a super minus.

Racing up and down

But Where Were the Boats?

Last year the Whidbey Island Sketchers gathered at the end of the Coupeville Wharf to sketch the sailboat races during Whidbey Island Race Week.  Hundreds of boats raced right by the wharf all afternoon.

So yesterday, again we gathered.  After watching the races from my office window on Monday and Tuesday, I couldn't believe my eyes when I arrived at the wharf.  Yesterday they raced the Saratoga Passage course waaay over by Camano Island.  From the wharf, they were just specks on the horizon.

So here is a rare view of Race Week from the Coupeville wharf - without any boats!  Alas.

Around Whidbey

Tucked next to the Iskreme store in Coupeville are a collection of colorful birdhouses painted by local children

A Weekend in the Garden

FINALLY a sunny, warm weekend.  Lots of gardening tasks completed.  Heavenly to be outside in my garden.  Today I finished with a sketch on the front porch (left) while sipping bubbly & celebrating gardening chores completed. 

Yesterday, I sketched the driftwood bench on our back patio (below) while hubby bar-b-qued after a day of gardening.  What a great summer weekend outside in Coupeville!

Another Sketch Rally Challenge

This week's Rural Whidbey Sketch Rally challenge had us looking for/sketching:
----Something Rusty
----Something with 2 Eyes and a Tail
----Something Odd (no self portraits!)

Fun stuff.  So here go my submissions:

Something Rusty  (old farm equipment at Sherman Farms) just outside Coupeville

Something with 2 eyes & a tail (bear chainsaw art in Greenbank)

Something odd (the great yard art in Roger Sherman's yard - made from old metal parts & farm implements) just outside Coupeville above Ebey's Prairie

And after the Sketch Rally, we sketchers gathered at China City in Freeland to compare our results.  I sketched folks at the bar during our Happy Hour.