So I led a mini-workshop/tutorial yesterday on using a sgraffito technique (scratching through the top layer of color) with colored pencils and oil pastels, I got the idea from an article in a recent "Color" magazine issue. In fact, that's the technique I used to create my 2018 Christmas greetings. Well, the results of the efforts of those in the class were quite mixed. Pat Bell's was the best -- she used a dime to scratch away the top layer of oil pastel. Don is please

I started a new drawing before we traveled to Columbia for Don's doctors' appointments earlier this month. Usually I rush through a drawing/painting, but this time I kept my urges in check (pretty much) and planned ahead for what I wanted the final version to be. In the middle, it seemed as though I was doing a "paint by number" image because although I sketched in the entire composition, I worked on it a bit at a time. In my reference photo the light shining through our di