Sketch 83 [EXCLUSIVE]

Well on my last night in Borrego Springs I decided to resketch M 83 because it seemed the sky was even more transparent. It looked like I could see more mottling and more evidence of spiral structure. For this image I decided to wait until I could scan it rather than use a cell phone camera as I did on June 21st. The only thing I did for this scan was clean up the stars. I like this one better and I think it represents more realistically just what I saw at the eyepiece. Subtle and softly revealing some of its structure for this modest aperture in this beautiful dark sky.

Sketch 83

Thank you Michael, Tom and Migue. I really find working with a dim red light very tough going and this certainly ads to the challenge of deep sky sketching. How do you handle your lighting? I'd love to hear what other people do...

Thanks Pete! Yeah it's interesting to do a second sketch to kind of see how your eye-brain connection works. Deep sky sketching is tough when all you can use in the way of illumination is a dim red light...But wow what a difference a dark sky makes. It's tough to come back to a light polluted sky, but really what's even tougher is coming back to night after night of cloudy weather!!! You can work with light pollution by picking your targets, but you can't do zilch when the sky is thick with low clouds...

Yes, it can be very tough--even a red light will affect your night vision. I have a dimmable red light but also use another light when I'm sketching, the lens of which I painted several layers of red nail polish over to dim the light and diffuse it to eliminate the bright bulls eye.

Probably the most effective thing I do is use an eye patch. I put the patch over my non-observing eye to lessen eyestrain and I move it over to cover my observing eye before I turn on the red light to add to the sketch. It might sound a little awkward but I soon get into the rhythm of it. And my observing eye stays dark adapted.

I have been very busy with ideas for Holiday classes and Christmas plans. So here is the sketch share for this week. I used the Photopolymer stamp set Flower Patch from page 156. And of course the bundle savings is the best way to put all the goodies to good use.

Watercolor sketch of dense gray-white clouds towering over a mountain range painted by 22 year old Edward Herzbaum in late May 1942 in Blagoveshchenskoye, Soviet Union, (now Blagoveshenka (Kyrgyzstan.] Edward was with the Polish Armed Forces of the East, later the 2nd Polish Corps, traveling south toward British territory in Iraq. Edward was with the Polish Armed Forces of the East, later the 2nd Polish Corps, traveling south toward British territory in Iraq. Edward, age 19, left Łódź, Poland, shortly after Nazi Germany occupied the country in September 1939 to stay with family in Soviet controlled Lvov. In June 1940, Edward was arrested by Soviet security police and exiled to a forced labor camp. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Edward was released as part of an amnesty granted to Polish prisoners. He headed south to join the voluntary Polish Army of the East, newly formed and known as Anders Army. In August 1942, the unit left Soviet territory and became the 2nd Polish Corps, British Army. In February 1944, they deployed to join the 8th British Army in the Italian Campaign. The Corps fought its way north and was honored for heroism in the 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino. They were in Italy on May 7, 1945, when the war ended. Edward learned that his mother had died in the Łódź Ghetto in 1943. He studied architecture in Rome until the British decided to allow Polish Corps veterans to immigrate to England in October 1946. He then served in the Polish Resettlement Corps for two years and completed his degree.

Watercolor sketch of a fields and mountains beneath an abstract sky painted by 22 year old Edward Herzbaum in August 1942 in Khanaqin, Iraq. Edward had traveled south with the Polish Armed Forces of the East, soon to be the 2nd Polish Corps, from the Soviet Union to British territory in Iraq. They met British forces at the large base and field hospital near this Iraqi border town where many died after the long, arduous march from Russia. There were oil fields near the city and it was also along a major Muslim pilgrimage route. Edward, 19, left Łódź, Poland, shortly after Nazi Germany occupied the country in September 1939 to stay with family in Soviet controlled Lvov. In June 1940, Edward was arrested by Soviet security police and exiled to a forced labor camp. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Edward was released as part of an amnesty granted to Polish prisoners. He joined the Polish Army of the East, a newly formed volunteer Polish force known as Anders Army. In August 1942, the unit left Soviet territory and became the 2nd Polish Corps in the British Army. In February 1944, they deployed to join the 8th British Army in the Italian Campaign. The Corps fought its way north and was honored for heroism in the 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino. They were in Italy on May 7, 1945, when the war ended. Edward learned that his mother had died in the Łódź Ghetto in 1943. He studied architecture in Rome until the British decided to allow Polish Corps veterans to immigrate to England in October 1946. He then served in the Polish Resettlement Corps for two years and completed his degree.

Ink portrait sketch of a young man in a cap created by 22 year old Edward Herzbaum circa 1942 in Uzbekistan. Edward was a soldier in the 2nd Polish Corps, now attached to the British Army. The Corps was next stationed near Habbiniya, Iraq, from March-September 1943 receiving artillery and other military training. Edward, age 19, left Łódź, Poland, shortly after Nazi Germany occupied the country in September 1939. He went to stay with family in Soviet controlled Lvov. In June 1940, Edward was arrested by Soviet security police and exiled to a forced labor camp. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Edward was released as part of an amnesty granted to Polish forced laborers. He headed south to join Anders Army, a Polish military unit formed by General Anders per agreement with Stalin. In August 1942, the unit left Soviet territory and became the 2nd Polish Corps in the British Army. In February 1944, they deployed to join the 8th British Army in the Italian Campaign. They fought their way north and were in Italy in May 1945 when the war ended. Edward learned that his mother had died in the Łódź Ghetto in 1943. He resumed the study of architecture in Rome until the British decided to allow Polish Corps veterans to immigrate to England in October 1946. He studied architecture in Rome until the British decided to allow Polish Corps veterans to immigrate to England in October 1946. He then served in the Polish Resettlement Corps for two years and completed his degree.

Portrait sketch of a young man created by 23 year old Edward Herzbaum in January 1943 in Iraq. Edward was a soldier in the Polish Army of the East which had marched south from the Soviet Union to join the British Army in Iraq. They journeyed to Kanaqin where the British had a large military base and field hospital where many died after the long, arduous march from Russia. The Corps next went to Habbiniya where from March-September 1943 they received artillery and other military training. Edward, age 19, left Łódź, Poland, shortly after Nazi Germany occupied the country in September 1939. He went to stay with family in Soviet controlled Lvov. In June 1940, Edward was arrested by Soviet security police and exiled to a forced labor camp. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Edward was released as part of an amnesty granted to Polish prisoners. He headed south to join Anders Army, a Polish military unit formed by General Anders per agreement with Stalin. In August 1942, the unit left Soviet territory and became the 2nd Polish Corps in the British Army. In February 1944, they deployed to join the 8th British Army in the Italian Campaign. The Corps fought its way north and was honored for their bravery in the May 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino. They were in Italy on May 7, 1945, when the war ended. Edward learned that his mother had died in the Łódź Ghetto in 1943. He studied architecture in Rome until the British decided to allow Polish Corps veterans to immigrate to England in October 1946. He then served in the Polish Resettlement Corps for two years and completed his degree.

Self portrait pencil sketch created by 24 year old Edward Herzbaum circa 1943-1944 when, as a soldier in the 5th Kresowa, 2nd Polish Corps, he was training with the British Army in the Middle East. Edward was a soldier in the Polish Army of the East which had marched south in 1941-1942 from the Soviet Union to join the British Army in Iraq. They journeyed to the border town of Kanaqin where the British had a large military base and field hospital where many died after the long, arduous march from Russia. There were oil fields near the city and it was also along a major Muslim pilgrimage route. The Corps next went to Habbiniya where from March-September 1943 they received artillery and other military training. Edward, age 19, left Łódź, Poland, shortly after Nazi Germany occupied the country in September 1939. He went to stay with family in Soviet controlled Lvov. In June 1940, Edward was arrested by Soviet security police and exiled to a forced labor camp. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Edward was released as part of an amnesty granted to Polish prisoners. He headed south to join Anders Army, a Polish military unit formed by General Anders per agreement with Stalin. In August 1942, the unit left Soviet territory and became the 2nd Polish Corps in the British Army. In February 1944, they deployed to join the 8th British Army in the Italian Campaign. The Corps fought its way north and was honored for their bravery in the May 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino. They were in Italy on May 7, 1945, when the war ended. Edward learned that his mother had died in the Łódź Ghetto in 1943. He studied architecture in Rome until the British decided to allow Polish Corps veterans to immigrate to England in October 1946. He then served in the Polish Resettlement Corps for two years and completed his degree. 041b061a72