Plein Air Drawings

This series of Tom's drawings are all done plein air, and are all the same basic size of 8.5 inches X 5 inches. Some are portrait and some are landscape in orientation, depending on subject matter. Most were drawn with an HB automatic pencil. A few in the early 1990's were drawn with a rapidograph ink pen.

Emerald Bay

July 9, 2014

I sketched Lake Tahoe’s magnificent Emerald Bay from a rock outcropping. The boats coming into the bay and circling the island seemed like part of a choreographed dance.

Elephant Rock

October 27, 2013

This is the most zoomorphic rock formation I have ever sketched. It is not huge, but is probably a bit larger than the extinct woolly mammoths of the Pleistocene era.

Chicago Bean

June 9, 2013

It was great fun sketching Anish Kapoor’s “Bean” in Chicago’s Millennium Park. I think it is a beautiful piece, and one of the most engaging and joyful public sculptures in the world.

Sand Harbor

October 10, 2012

The huge rounded boulders of Sand Harbor, on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe, look like they were piled up by giants. The water is crystal clear amongst the rockpiles.

Lift Bridge Hancock

September 2, 2012

The venerable lift bridge connnects Hancock and Houghton, Michigan. The Quincy Mine ruins appear on the bluff behind.

Quincy Mine Train

September 11, 2011

This steam locomotive once hauled copper ore from the Quincy Mine.

Vikingsholm Castle

June 3, 2011

This unique Scandinavian inspired castle lies on the shore of Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe. A chipmunk kept trying to climb into my pants pockets as I sketched, looking for a snack.

Bodie, California is the largest and spookiest ghost town I have ever seen. It was really windy, near freezing, with snow flurries as I sketched at the 9,000 foot elevation. I froze my butt, but it was well worth it.

Fallingwater

October 14, 2010

I sketched this amazing Frank LLoyd Wright house in the rain. I managed to sit under trees under a large umbrella to keep my paper dry. The deluxe tour of the building was most enjoyable. Fallingwater is a world architectural treasure.

Quincy Hoist

May 1, 2010

The hoist building is one of the most interesting buildings in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Though a completely functional structure, housing the largest mine steam hoist in the world, it is beautifully proportioned and in surprisingly good condition.