Sunday, September 18, 2011

Books - They're Not Just for Reading























Libraries are a great place to spend a rainy afternoon--especially if you're looking for a new subject to sketch. While wandering through the stacks, I discovered that the library contains a good share of old and obscure books. Luckily, those make for very some interesting sketching. Kindlers Literatur Lexicon is an encyclopedia of world literature that I'm sure would be very helpful--if you can read German.







































The angle is a bit off, but here's how the books looked on the shelf.




I also came across this beauty titled Gleanings for the Curious from the Harvest Fields of Literature by Charles Carroll Bombaugh published in 1875. I count myself among the curious, so this seemed like a book for me. Apparently Bombaugh was enthralled with language so he compiled a book filled with "miscellanea of the omnium-gatherum sort." 

What sort of miscellanea might you find in this book? Well, things like odd and uncommon epigrams, facetious drolleries, whimsical mottoes, and merry tales and fables. There are chapter headings such as alphabetical whims, palindromes, macaronic verse, emblematic poetry, paronomesia, and puritan peculiarities.

I don't know what most of these words mean, but they are certainly curious and so much fun to say!


 

A little online research tells me that this book might not be as obscure as I initially thought. However, C.C. Bombaugh remains a bit of a mystery since I could find very little information about the man who has aroused my curiosity about whims, drolleries and peculiarities.  Is there anyone out there familiar with this book or its author?

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Quiet Places to Sketch






















The last few weeks have been pretty hectic, so it's nice to get away once in a while and find a nice, quiet place to sketch. I'm still working towards my goal of learning urban sketching, so outdoor scenes are especially good practice. This little area is a popular lunch spot at work.























This spot is hidden away in the far corner of an outdoor reading garden. It's another great place to enjoy lunch and sketching.

















I sat on my front steps and sketched this one evening while waiting for my husband to come home from work. It's a view of the driveway and neighbor's house and one that I've seen countless times over the nearly 30 years that we've lived in our house. I love the fact that this view is now preserved in my sketchbook forever.






















Sometimes you have to find a quiet indoor spot when the weather doesn't allow for outdoor sketching. I think all sketching is good practice no matter the place or subject matter. I hope to enjoy more lunchtime sketching for as long as I can before the weather keeps me indoors for good.