Art Tourist meets Photo Tourist at Como Conservatory

The Petunias in progress at Como Conservatory. Photo by Patrick O'Reilly, who kindly emailed it my way.

When I lived in the South (and yes, folks, Florida is the South), an open sketchbook was an invitation for people to come and talk to me. I enjoyed that, but I've found Minnesotans are more reserved, more cautious, more apt to think they're going to disturb me.

So, when asked nicely whether I would mind having my hands photographed while I worked, I readily agreed, and only asked if the photographer would email me a few of the shots. Which he did, when he got home; he's not from Minnesota, either.

This isn't posed. I was lightly sketching in pastel pencil, then going over that with the Micron pen (in my left hand, in the photo at top), to make the final lines. When that was done I erased the pencil and broke out the watercolors, and you've already seen the result:

 

I expect to be back at Como Park tomorrow morning for a while. You'll probably find me near the carousel, sketching horses.  Say hello if you're out there. If I wanted solitude, well -- I have a studio for that.