So happy to have had a visit from loved one Lani aka Foo and a chance to draw them rocking a peak Berlin look!

We got to sit outside our local pub and chat delightfully. When I’m strong enough to spend IRL time with a friend it invigorates me profoundly! And what a joy to revisit Lani as a portrait sitter. Previous drawing of them two years ago here! This was the first in-person drawing I have done since this one of my husband back in September! I have switched back to toned papers, and sort of resolved one of the concerns I have about using them.

Artwork on toned papers tends to have its value range badly flattened out by our scanner.

However, the editing program I use for my crude, simple edits, Pixlr, now has two auto settings that help a lot. The scan below uses the “auto pop” setting, and restores the greyed-out scan to closer to what the naked eye or camera eye sees of these mixed media drawings. A quick adjust to brightness and color temperature helps too. The hottest whites are still lost, but it’s much better, and the resolution beats our ancient ipad. Cool, right?

I’m so grateful to my Patrons on Patreon, whose monthly financial support makes it possible for me to keep working as an artist, to share my art for free, and to document Queer Berlin!