A Drawing A Day

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Carla Saunders

I’ve joined a public group on Facebook, A drawing A Day. This morning Mark Andres chose my sketch to update the group photo. Yesterday I took a walk along the water in Tiburon, California. My friend and I parked our cars near Blackie’s Pasture. For 28 years a swaybacked horse named Blackie stood in the same place near the road that goes into Tiburon and Belvedere. We all knew Blackie. Our children grew up seeing Blackie standing in the same spot. After he died, the corner grassy field looked like a very lonely place. Then, one day another horse arrived. Anthony Connell created a life size bronze statue of Blackie, so now the spot is filled with joy again. I said goodbye to my friend, got into my car and sat, looking out the window. Reaching for my sketchbook I drew the dogs circling the huge horse, running, barking and sniffing. Good! I have my drawing for one day.

Liu Chin – Guizhou China

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Carla Saunders

Carla's Blog

Liu Chin

Liu Chin with your lazy eye, thumb on a cell phone, standing in the shadow of a man.

Where did you get the green arboretum tee shirt tucked in with a long black belt cinching your slender waist? Where did you get the gold band on your finger? Your skin

is like buffed candle wax compared to mine. Arrival, Departure, you keep us on track, gathering passports, collecting airport tax, riding baggage carts around the bend.

Liu Chin with the lazy eye, thumb on a cell phone, standing in the shadow of a man.

You, smart but young with mischief in your eyes, to us you are a banker, a teacher,

a concierge, a keeper of harmony who caters to our every wish. In the distance

you skip stones over the clear river water, reflections of weeping trees juggle for postion.

Coming from the mountains thick with vegetation,

View original post 149 more words

A Drawing A Day

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Carla Saunders

IMG_0948 (1).jpg At the last minute we decided to go to L’Orangerie. It was too cold to wait in line so we went across the street to Maxim’s and had lunch. Fun menu to draw on..

Sailing the Windward Islands – Caribbean Sea

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Carla Saunders

Captain Cosy and Brad have a few minutes of quiet after a stormy day of sailing. It was great to sketch live models, friends who stayed in one place and didn’t get up and walk away never to be seen again, which happens when I sketch in a city cafe.

SCN_0001 What is interesting to me is just recently I saw this photograph of Megan taken a month ago. My son-in-law must have taken it when I was drawing her, although in my sketch she was listening to music on her cell phone.

Captain Cosy Sailing the Windward Islands

Tidepooling on the Big Island

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Carla Saunders

View From My Chair mixed media 5″x 5″

Black lava meets sand

Warm water around my feet

The green turtle sleeps

Making Art in Puako

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Carla Saunders

copper ccoin

The Palm Tree

Walking out into fresh morning air

I feel the quiet

But, no, a bird sings

And, then I hear a full chorus

Sung by birds I cannot see

I listen and hear

What my heart would love to see.

copper ccoin

Champion: An Opera in Jazz

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Carla Saunders

Terence Blanchard’s ‘Champion: An Opera in Jazz’

A groundbreaking work combining the disciplines of opera and jazz,Terence Blanchard’s Champion: An Opera in Jazz tells the real-life story of world champion boxer Emile Griffith, a man haunted by memories of his past who struggled to reconcile his sexuality in a hyper-macho world. Produced by SFJAZZ in conjunction with San Francisco’s Opera Parallèle,Champion is a visually stunning production features elaborate staging and video elements with a jazz trio, orchestra and chorus, bringing out the full glory of Blanchard’s soulful score as it illuminates a tragic story that remains acutely relevant today. Tormented by the death of opponent Benny Paret following their 1962 bout for the welterweight title, Griffith spent his life questioning himself and a society that would accept his accidental killing of a fellow athlete, but not his sexuality. The opera features a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael Cristofer and features renowned bass Arthur Woodley reprising his role as the title character. Far more than one of jazz’s most prodigious trumpeters, Blanchard has carved out a brilliant career as an A-list composer. He premiered Champion at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 2013, and has substantially re-worked the piece for this exclusive string of performances on the Miner Auditorium stage, the first since the premiere. (Excerpt taken from a piece written for the SFJSZZ Center.)