Thumbs Up!

A month ago I inflamed a joint in my right thumb (who knows how!) and have been wearing a catcher's mitt size brace immobilizing said thumb. That has made sketching, and many other things (opposable thumb and all that) problematic. During the month  I managed to hold the pencil and brush between the knuckles of my fingers. Not the most comfortable solution but it did help me work on loosening up my sketch style. Below are sketches from Laurie Wighma's workshop in the Sierras, the chickens at Berkeley's Edible Schoolyard, Flower Piano at SF Botanical Garden and The Ukulele Jam at Yerba Buena Gardens. Brace is now off and the thumb feels fine. (Fingers crossed!) I think I will incorporated some of the mew techniques into future sketches. — Cathy McAuliffe