Drawn the Road Again

Author: Chandler O’Leary

  • Deck the halls

    Deck the halls

    We’re away for the holidays this year (sketches to come, I’m sure), so instead of a tree at our house, I’ll have to settle for a picture of one. But I tell you what: there are few things more lovely than sitting for hours by the tree, basking in its glow and sketching every ornament,…

  • Tinsel tunes

    Tinsel tunes

    The Tailor and I have a fairly massive collection of vintage holiday music on vinyl. Some of these are great (Bing! Burl!), and some are terrible (it’s not my fault we own a Lawrence Welk album!), but what they have in common is some seriously fabulous mid-century graphic design and typography. So while the Tailor…

  • Santa stockpile

    Santa stockpile

    You know…just in case the big guy wonders where all the toys are kept.

  • Star light, star bright

    Star light, star bright

    Now, I have a thing for mid-century Christmas decorations anyway. But a 160-foot star that’s been glowing in all its 4300-bulb glory for over fifty years running? Well, that’s a holiday tradition I can get behind.

  • Topsy turvy tannenbaum

    Topsy turvy tannenbaum

    This is by far the best use of a chandelier fixture I’ve ever seen. Now if only I could convince the Tailor to let me hang our tree upside-down…

  • Time travel

    Time travel

    Okay, I just have to say it: I usually have mixed feelings about historical reenactments—even the best ones. While I love the idea of immersing myself in a time and place, costumed interpreters (for all their talents and lovely enthusiasm) tend to bug the heck out of me. I don’t know what it is, but…

  • Mad science

    Mad science

    The Tailor and I had completely different reasons for wanting to visit Thomas Edison’s laboratory. For my part, they had me at “National Park”—and it didn’t hurt that there existed a hilarious song about the place (which, let me tell you, played on repeat in my head for a good month afterward). But the Tailor’s…

  • Treasures through time

    Treasures through time

    Last week’s Nature Lab post put me in an “educational” frame of mind this weekend—so I thought I’d devote this week to museum sketches. First up are some brand new ones from just a couple of days ago, when I finally had the chance to see the spectacular exhibit of Peruvian art and artifacts at…

  • Life (or death) drawing

    Life (or death) drawing

    Speaking of taxidermy, Wednesday’s post reminded me of my trip back to Providence a couple of years ago, to show the Tailor around my old city and my alma mater. He was politely interested in my tour of the campus, but I knew he’d completely freak out (and I was right, he did) when I…

  • Dig in your heels

    Dig in your heels

    The Nelson is a small museum—small enough that I thought the short visit we had time for would be plenty, sketching included. And then I discovered the wall of antique cowboy spurs, just as we were about to leave. Needless to say, if I had been wearing spurs at the time, the Tailor never would…