Fruits

I have not been very good about scanning my doodles and drawings and getting them posted lately.  In the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the holidays, dealing with some family health issues, readying a property for rental and finishing out the school year with my daughter and the work year for my sweetie and I~ I have completely let my bloggy world go.  Fortunately, I have continued to doodle and draw into the evenings as a way to keep my sanity in the midst of the craziness. 

I love fruit-- almost all kinds of fruit.  I love the sweet, natural, juiciness of it. I love how it can be used as a snack on the go or as part of a meal.  I love that different kinds of fruit are evocative of the different seasons.  What kind of July 4th would it be without watermelon?  What would a springtime field trip be without the first cherries of the season?  Peaches, one of my favorites, although sadly they often signify the end of my beloved summer.   Crisp apples-- in all their wonderful varieties-- are delicious in so many ways and, while I eat them year round, they always seem particular apt during that first crisp, coolness of fall.  The cloying sweet mushiness of bananas makes them impossible for me to eat on their own, but 1/2 of one cut up is the perfect addition to a bowl of cereal.  Strawberries, ahh strawberies--  whether covered in chocolate, as part of a shortcake or dipped in champagne-- they are a truly decadent delight.

But there's something to be said for the pear.  It's not a pretty fruit.  Kind of lopsided and lumpy.  If you want to really put a dagger through the heart of  woman, tell her she's pear-shaped!  They tend to be most popular in the cold months (not my favorite time of year).  All in all, not all that appealing sounding.  This week, we bought our first pears of the season.  They were rock hard and I worried that they would end up sitting in the fruit bowl, ripening without our taking notice until, finally brown and mushy, we'd end up tossing them. 

Yesterday, I took one out and brought it to my drawing area.   I started sketching it and noticed it wasn't just green or just yellow.  It was both, in different places and depending on how it caught the light.  Along the bottom, there was a beautiful tinge of pinkish red.  The brown stem and a few small brown imperfections gave it some character.  Despite it lopsided wonkiness, it stood on its own.  When placed on its side, its bumpiness and imperfect planes helped it to stay in place.  After some very quick and rudimentary sketching, I pulled out my watercolors to try to capture some of its color.  When all was said and done, I'm not sure that I captured that pear very well at all. 

What I do know is that after drawing and painting for about ten minutes,  I took a bite.  The pear's sweet graininess was more delicious than I'd remembered.  With each bite, it seemed to get juicier.  It was a filling snack and provided me with the energy I needed to get through the rest of the afternoon.  I'm not sure I'll draw the rest of those pears before eating them, but I am appreciative of how much I noticed about them when I really took the time to look at and taste them!

Linking up with Sophia's Sunday Sketches.  If you have a few moments, take some time and look at what the other linkers have created this week. It will be worth your while!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Another year bites the dust...

Today, as I hit the 15th anniversary of my 29th birthday, these words from Lucille Ball made me giggle... The true secret to staying young.

I have to admit, this saying sort of resonates as well...

This is the first time I've tried posting directly from my iPad and have struggled with how to upload a photo. I ended up having to go back to my laptop to get the scans uploaded.  If anyone routinely uploads their photos from their iPad and has some suggestions, I'd love to hear from you about how you make it work! Thanks!

Sunday Sketches

I spread out a little with this sketch, working in canson's 11x14 mixed media sketchbook.  Unfortunately, i don't have a scanner that will scan something that large so I've taken a quick photo with my iPad, which is not a very accurate reflection of the colors and it's lost some of its crispness.  nonetheless, i am posting as part of sophia's sunday sketches. click on over there to view some wonderful artistry!

Happy Thanksgiving

Doodling the day away...

Positive Thoughts

It's a rainy day here in my neck of the woods and the beautiful leaves that I was loving so much last week are almost completely gone.  My sweetie is off traveling for work and I am missing him.  So, this week I have been thinking positive thoughts to will him back home safely-- and also to ensure that I don't kill our daughter while he's gone! (Just kidding! :-D)

Don't forget to linky link on over to Show and Tell Saturday at Artists in Blogland  as well as Just Journals for plenty of amazing inspiration!

Cartoonish watercolors

Several weeks ago, I attempted a sketch in just pen and ink and, while i clearly have a lot to learn, I managed to stop myself from going to the next step and applying color.  last weekend, I tried again in simple black and white.  Unfortunately, I couldn't stop myself and today, I decided to pull out the old watercolors in an attempt to give it more life. 

For some reason, I seem incapable of adding color without making it look like a cartoon sketch.   I just love, love, love lots of color.  Maybe I just need to steer clear of trying to paint realistic landscapes with color.  Hmmm...  I'm so envious of people who can carry their sketchbooks with them and recreate the world around them so effortlessly. 

Don't forget to head over to paint part Friday for brilliant inspiration

Over too soon...

Dontcha just hate how no matter how long it feels like you're waiting for the weekend to roll around, it's always over way too soon. 

Enjoyed a great one with more running around than art work involved, but I did manage to get a little sketching done. 

Here is the beautiful harbor of my hometown... I have not done it justice, by any stretch, but it is a sweet reminder for me of how much I love home!

Head on over to Sunday Sketches to see what others have been up to this weekend!

Writing on the Wall

Well, I don't know about everyone else but I've had a hectic, hectic week and I am doing a little happy dance now that the weekend has arrived!

I am excited about the fact that I signed up for the Sketchbook Project 2012 about 6 weeks ago and, about 3 weeks ago, received my blank sketchbook.  I have to admit, though, I've been a bit of a deer in the headlights when it comes to the blank pages.  I have a lot of ideas but I'm afraid I will just ruin things if I actually make a mark in this blank book!  So, I've been putting some ideas down on 'scrap paper' instead of just diving in. 

Anyway, the category I've signed up for is "Writing on the Wall" and I've created this little illustration as a cover for the journal. 

I'm looking forward to seing what others have created for Paint Party Friday this week.

wowza!

i was sitting in my office today, looking out over the back deck and was completely taken by the amazing colors of the foliage right behind my house.  it's like the world caught on fire.  these photos, taken quickly with my iphone, don't do the view justice!

if i saw these vivid colors in a painting, i'd think that the artist had overdone it a little!   just goes to show, nature is the most beautiful canvas!

Magic Monday

Mondays tend to be very busy days for me and I usually don't get much of a chance to do any doodling.  But, I was inspired by an invitation by Carol at a creative harbor to join her magic monday bloghop.  it's taken me until now to doodle some magic so i could participate, but here it is:

alas, i did not have my magic dictionary while i was doodling away, so my spelling my be more creative than my art! :-)

Relaxing weekend...

Spent a relaxing evening watching movies with my sweetie and doodling away...  I had no idea where this was going when i started it, but this is where it ended up.  These fishies were speaking to me and I think they may have more to say.  :-)

Head on over to Sunday Sketches to see how others are spending their weekend.  Hope everyone has had a great one so far!

Sunny Saturday

it's been a week of catching up and i have not done much more than some doodling while watching movies late in the evening.  very late last night (well, actually, in the wee hours of this morning),  i relaxed by drawing these friendly flowers. 

i've been in a friendly flower mood lately.  maybe i need to switch to something more wintry... or at least more autumnal.  it's getting chilly out there!

be sure to click on over to show and tell saturday to see what all those great artists are up to this week.

A Brightened Day...

admittedly, i've had a bit of a hard time getting my cheer on this week.  although it has been great to get home after traveling last week, i brought home a bothersome cold with me and i've been stuffed up and sniffling and feeling as though my head were about to explode.  i've been busy, busy, busy trying to catch up on all the things that slid a bit last week while i was away and i'm getting ready for my sweetie to be traveling for work for next week.  nothing earth-shattering, certainly, but enough to make me want to just crawl back beneath those covers and pull them over my stuffed up head. 

well, yesterday evening, as i was snuggling under those covers with my trusty iPad in tow, i discovered an email and post from dear Tracey Fletcher King letting me know that i was among the lucky ones she chose for her 'getting to know you award.'  it should go without saying that each time i read tracey's blogs, she brings a smile to my face with her lovely art work and her too too funny stories about steve/phantom.  she always offers a wonderful little peek into her day-to-day life that is just delightful.  but yesterday, she brought a big grin to my face because her award was just exactly what i needed!  thank you, tracey!

in the spirit of this award, i need to provide 7 little known tidbits of information about me, which i doodled out during a series of conference calls today (sssshhh!). 

a very cool thing about this award is that i get to pick 15 people to pass it onto.  i would certainly like to pass it back to tracey, but that may not make sense given the nature of the award and the fact that she's already named her 7 things.  there are so many others who inspire and encourage me so it will be hard to pick just 15!  but here goes... (in no particular order!)

1.  Miraculous Mosquito
2. Andrea Joseph
3. Martha Lever
4. Eden at Draw Doodle and Decorate
5. Lori at Elvie Studio
6. Jean at PushingtheEnvelopes
7. Diana Evans
8. Sophia at Blue Chair Diary
9. Joni at Pop Art Minis
10. Heather at Rose Hill Designs
11. Linda at Serendipity
12. Melisa at Toad in a Boat
13. Carol at Share the Creative Journey
14. Kristin Dudish (Art & Stuff)
15. Chris at Pear Shaped Crafting

Saturday... and I'm headed home!

It's been a productive and fun week in Atlanta but I'm ready to head home now.  Last night as my insomnia was at a fever pitch (and speaking of fever pitch-- how 'bout those Cardinals?!?!?!--what a season!), I spent some time just doodling away. 

and now, trying to upload it before i hit the road, i've run into a few snags.  this week, i've been stuck with just taking pictures with my cell phone and sending themselves to myself to get them uploaded.  how do most of you upload your visuals of your art work?  Do you scan it?  Do you photograph it?  Do you do any editing before uploading?  Interested in any and all comments on the subject!

And don't forget to head over to Just Journals and Show and Tell Saturday and see what those amazing artists are doing this week! 

Enjoy the weekend!!

My Garden of Luuuuve...

Too many days and nights away from my sweetie this week and this gray day here in Atlanta is just making me more ready to head home.  Doodled through meetings today with thoughts of home...

Looks like the freeze warning at home is going to make snuggling up with my sweetie and a cup of hot chocolate the perfect homecoming! 

Don't forget to check out what everyone is doing at Paint Party Friday!!

TGIF!

Atlanta

Traveling for business this week so even less time then usual to doodle.  Atlanta is a fun city, though.  Wish I had more time to explore this time...

Hope everyone's having a happy hump day!!

front porch weather

what a gorgeous weekend we've had!  the weather has been perfect.  this is definitely porch-sitting weather!

I'm really trying to focus on making my sketches look more realistic and less cartoony so this week I tried to focus on perspective a bit more, something that's a real challenge for me.  also, i love seeing how others add such vibrancy to their sketches with color, but i think that i need to focus on the drawing first and not ruin it with too much color. so, although i've had to practically sit on my hands to keep myself from whipping out my watercolors and brush... i'm going to leave this one alone as just a pen sketch...  at least for now.  :-)

check out what others are doing this week over at sunday sketches!

Weekend!

No matter how busy my weekends shape up to be, they are always the highlight of the week.  Staying up later, sleeping in, running errands, working on whatever projects strike my fancy and date nights with my sweetie.  Does it get any better than that? 

I tried to capture some of the excitement and vibrancy I feel on the weekends in this journal page. 

I will also be checking out what others are doing this weekend at Just Journals and at Show and Tell Saturday.  Be sure to check them out!!

Fall is here...

I have to say, I'm absolutely loving fall this year. In past years, I've dreaded it. I've viewed it as the death of my beloved summer and the onset of the winter blahs. This year, though, the cool, crisp temperatures are drawing me outside more than ever and the vibrant colors are practically a religious experience. I just can't seem to get enough. I may have a new favorite season.

I've been using my Doc Martin watercolors to try to capture some of the amazing colors out there...

head on over to paint party friday to see what others are painting this week.  

Sketching

i have several friends who are urban sketchers and i am in awe of their talent.  the fact that these artists can plop themselves down on a street and, with the mere flick of micron pen and a splash of watercolor, render the most beautiful scenes in no time at all, is just astonishing to me.  i can look at a scene and recognize the beauty of the architecture, the glory of the natural setting, the vibrancy of the people, but ask me to capture that in anything that looks like more than a 1st grader's refrigerator sketch and i'm lost.  nevertheless, i so WANT to be able to do that... so, i'm going to work on it.  i post this here as what i hope will someday be my 'before' sketch. :-)

Art store finds

is there anything better than just meandering through your favorite art store, finding new things that you can't possibly live without?  i must admit, most of my friends can wander through clothes stores or shoe stores until they can barely stand.  i don't have the patience for that.  but put me in a good bookstore (preferably, with a hot cup of coffee in hand) or an art store, filled with all those heady, artsy smells, and I can easily while away an afternoon-- or even a full day!

this past weekend, as i was meandering through one of my favorite local art stores, i came upon these itsy bitsy, teeny weeny visual journals from strathmore in three different types:  90 lb watercolor, 100 lb bristol-vellum and 140 lb watercolor.  these tiny little gems are only 3.5" x 5" and were on sale for $2.50 each!  i have to say, i'm loving them.

i don't know what it is about me but i am having a very hard time working in what seems to be everyone's favorite sketchbook-- the ~8x5" moleskin.  while i love the idea of them, i find the size all wrong. it's as if it's not big enough to really spread out and get my doodle on and not small enough to force me to mentally restrict myself.  I end up feeling like i don't have enough room.  and the larger moleskin journals have paper that's just too thin for me to work on.

as counter-intuitive as it sounds, i rather like the teeny weeny 3x5 format of these little journals.  they seem to make me less inhibited, since how much can you really screw up on something the size of a small index card??  and at 2.50 for a whole 'pad' full of watercolor pages, i don't mind screwing up a little anyway.  as a result, i've had lots of fun just doodling to my heart's content and then playing with the bold colors of my dr. ph martin's watercolors. this one was done on the 90 lb. watercolor paper.

i also splurged on some pan pastels, which i've seen lori vleigen mention before in some of her lovely art. (i may need to stop looking at her posts-- she's far too inspiring!)  i bought a set of only 5 and have played with them a little but must admit i like the vibrancy of my watercolors better.  but, i think i might just need to experiment some more to figure out how to better blend with them. 

i do like the fact that you can erase them... and create some interesting effects that way!  definitely something i'll keep playing with! 

hope everyone's having a great week. happy hump day!

Autumn planting- Sunday Sketches

what beautiful autumn weather we've been having lately!  perfect, cool days, with a glorious breeze.  the leaves changing, creating a landscape so fabulous it looks painted on... and with that comes fall planting.  i absolutely love those first signs of spring, when the daffodils and tulips start peeking up through the soil made damp by traditional april showers... and in order to ensure we have plenty of those friendly little suckers sprouting come spring, it's bulb-planting time now!

this week, i found a fabulous group of folks who are artists across all types of media and have linked up with them at Sunday Sketches.

I believe...

i love collecting quotes... in part, because of their wisdom, or their humor, or their brutal look at the some truth or another.  in part, i love quotes because they're far more interesting than just writing the alphabet over and over again! :-)

sometimes the best quotes come from the unlikeliest of sources.  although I've always been a big fan of audrey hepburn, i just recently came across this quote and it really resonated.  i believe, too!

A View of the World

The death of Steve Jobs last week has left the whole world talking.  He had such an amazing impact on the world of technology, but also provided a wonderfully creative outlook with virtually everything he touched.   It's always sad to see someone's life cut short.  My thoughts have been and continue to be with Steve's family, friends, coworkers and the millions of people whose lives he touched with his technology, his creativity, his philanthropy, his humor, his perseverence... 

TGIF!

spent a wonderful day with my BT today... and am thankful the weekend has arrived. have had lots of inspirational ideas floating through my head this past week but not a lot of time to act on them... am excited at the prospect of taking a few classes... love the idea of learning new things! 

hope everyone has a great weekend!

Monday Monday...

Can't trust that day...

Got some disappointing news today.  Trying not to let it get me down.  I'm a firm believer in the fact that things happen for a reason and when something doesn't happen as you want, it's just because something better is around the corner...  here's hoping I'm not just a cock-eyed optimist.

Black and white

Just doodling with words today... maybe it will lead to some creativity, imagination and colorful dreams! :-)

Hawaii or bust!

for about 8 years, i spent about a month of the year in hawaii...  one of my favorite places on earth.  for the last few years, schedules haven't permitted but it's high on my list of things to get back to!!!  in the meantime, i'll just doodle about it...

Monday's musings

In keeping with living the life I imagined...  i must admit that many of my thoughts recently have entailed just picking up and sailing off into a beautiful sunset...  Sometimes, it's hard to remember what anchors us to a specific place.  Hopefully, it won't be too long before we're able to pick up and go with much more freedom...  First step, hoisting the sails!

Where did the weekend go?

what a lovely anniversary weekend with my handsome boy toy who knows just what to get me to make my heart pitter patter...  a beautiful namiki falcon pen, a light desk, a complete set of peerless watercolors and many more wonderful art supplies.  i have been thoroughly enjoying myself all weekend with them.

and while i know that i don't have the natural talent of so many of these amazing artists i've found here, i enjoy my little creations, they steal away my hours in a way that makes me smile and, every once in a while, i create something that i just kinda like a little.  most of the time, though, they're more about a little self-expression and a lot of taking myself back to grade school and my favorite coloring classes!  :-)  

so, i am concentrating on living the life i imagined... and making sure i'm imagining a life i want to live.  

More on those imaginings as the days and weeks progress!

And, we're on to Monday, everyone... enjoy it!

Busy, busy busy...

crazy, busy week but it's been a great one!

You've Got Mail

i'm not usually a fan of silly romantic comedies, but i could watch this movie a million times...  and i think i may have... it always makes me smile!

Dancing in the Rain

I recently read an article about the fact that the world is falling apart-- global wars, economic crises, lack of environmental sustainability--  it's enough to make anyone lock themselves away just to avoid it all...  but the upshot of the article was that, despite all these things, or perhaps because of them, we need to actively get out their and find the joy in our every day lives...  so get going... it's the weekend... let's have some fun!!

Is it Friday yet?

every so often i have a day where i wish i'd just stayed beneath the covers all day...

i did this on scrap paper first and then in my moleskin journal... for some reason, the scrap paper version always looks better to me... maybe it's the stark white of the paper instead of the moleskin... or maybe it's that i have more room on the scrap paper... or maybe it's just that i feel freer there...  i guess i'll have to work on that...  or get a larger moleskin journal... 

Happy Hump Day...

some days i just need to remind myself to slow down and BE...  and there are so many things i aspire to be... i'd like to think the characteristics that first come to mind for me are built in to my character, but every so often, having a reminder can't hurt!

also, i am sooo inspired by this video about my friend, tommy kane, a well-traveled urban sketcher who hales from NYC.  his art is amazing and this video allows a peek into his creative process.  absolutely worth a look! enjoy!

Rainy days and Mondays...

i hate it when i have so many great ideas and can't seem to execute on any of them.  i look at others blogs and their artwork looks so polished, so professional... and mine looks like something my mom would have hung on the fridge when i was in 3rd grade.

i need to not get discouraged and just remember that today's posts will allow me to look back and see all the progress i've made in the future.  well, at least, here's hoping...  

i have so many questions about how others do things from the big creative projects down to putting a simple copyright on their pictures.  maybe one day this week i'll blog just a long list of my questions!

well, my creative friends (i'm sure you're out there somewhere)...  one day down... here's to tuesday!

Just can't ignore the inspiration any longer...

Well, it’s official… I’m going to give this blogging a try.  recently, my teenage daughter described me as ‘artsy’ and i guess she’s right.  i’ve always been amazed at the creativity of people who can just sit down and sketch whatever inspires them.  i will admit, as much as i’d love to be, i’m not much of a sketcher.  as a result, many years ago, I took up calligraphy and discovered rubber stamps as a way to embellish my lettering arts.

Somewhere along the line, life got in the way and I put my pens and watercolors aside and I realized lately that I’ve missed having that outlet in my life.  so… after having spent the last several weeks snooping around the internet and finding some AMAZINGLY talented artists with blogs that detail their imagination, their creativity and their journey, i’ve decided that it’s time for me to jump in with both feet. 

i have a lot of catching up to do to get my fingers, my hands and my mind to remember all that i’ve forgotten but i hope to be able to chronicle that here.  hopefully, i’ll see a lot of improvement in my work, i’ll make some ‘artsy’ friends along the way… but no matter what happens, i know i’ll have some fun!