Antique sewing box

I have zero ability when it comes to sewing.  I'm not saying that I can't turn drapes into a wardrobe for the entire family a la Maria Von Trapp in the Sound of Music. I'm saying that one time I attempted to hem a pair of pants and ended up with a huge hole in the thigh.

Despite that, I love all the accoutrements that go with sewing.  I love the idea of creating something beautiful.  I love the feel of gorgeous fabrics.  My sister is a quilter and she makes the most wonderful handmade creations.  I see old fashioned sewing machines and I'm filled with a sense of nostalgia (I have no idea why...  I don't remember my mother or grandmother ever sewing either).

I found this antique sewing box at an estate sale several years ago.  Initially, I didn't even know that it was a sewing box.  I just loved its simple elegance.  Of course, in my house, it holds nothing related to sewing... Instead, it's filled with little things that I have found over the years that have captured my attention, although I don't always understand why.  Maybe one day, I'll draw the things inside as well...

This was a quick sketch done with a Rotring pen with water soluble ink. I used my waterbrush to blur the edges a bit.  I liked the watery, black and white technique to represent the old-fashioned feel of this piece.  (And, I was quite proud of myself for resisting the urge to use any color!)

Linking to Paint Party Friday!

Summer of Color2-- Wild and Reckless

This week's theme colors for Summer of Color2 were Wild and Reckless!  Now doesn't that sound fun?  Do not ask me why I thought a proper tea pot and tea cup would best depict that... perhaps I was in an ironic mood.  Or maybe it was because the tea supply is a brand called Stash.  You have to wonder what the medicinal value of that tea might be... and just how wild and reckless you might get after drinking it. 

Can't believe the Summer of Color is almost over...  Just one week to go!  This has been fun. 

I also did some mindless doodling with the wild and reckless colors in mind:

I did this while being completely mesmerized by the men's semi-finals and finals at Wimbledon this past weekend! 

RIP Nora Ephron

I have to admit... I'm not much of a 'rom-com' person.  I think even the term sounds silly.  In fact, I make fun of my sweetie for loving sappy movies like Love Actually, The Holiday, P.S. I Love You, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 

HOWEVER, pretty much anything that Nora Ephron touched was the exception to the rule for me.  I'm not sure why... maybe because her characters always seemed a little more quirky than the one-dimensional characters found in most formulaic romantic comedies.  Maybe because all her films-- even though they were set in modern day-- had a nostalgic feel to them.  Whatever the reason, I rooted for Harry and Sally to get together. I was devasted when The Shop Around the Corner closed because the big, bad Fox Books moved in.  I was sure that in some small hotel in the midwest, Michael the Archangel was adjusting his wings, drinking his milk right from the cereal bowl and smelling like cookies.

I was saddened to hear that Nora Ephron passed away this week.  I will miss her and her charming characters.  There was no one quite like her.  RIP.

Linking up with Paint Party Friday-- always a great place to find lots of inspiration!

Summer of Color Continues

As I mentioned last week, Kristin at Twinkle, Twinkle is hosting a fun challenge focused on the colors of summer.  This year's theme is ice cream colors-- with different ice cream colors each week. Now I ask you:  What's better inspiration than ice cream, especially on these hot summer days?  There were almost 115 artists who linked up last week!  It was so much fun to see how everyone interpreted the rainbow sherbet theme using different mediums and color palettes.

This week's colors are mint chocolate chip (another of my favorite flavors!) and since I spent some time at the beach over the last few weeks, I decided to do a quick sketch of the beach, complete with the resort's mint green beach umbrellas!  (Wasn't that lucky?  Well, maybe they were a bit more lime green, but I took some creative license.)

This was an attempt to loosen up and put something down on paper very quickly. I tried to use fairly broad strokes and then fill in the color quickly with just hints of color.  It's a style I love seeing when I look at the art of urban sketchers who capture the essence of outdoor scenes so quickly and seemingly effortlessly.  I need to allow myself to be more free and loose.  That's something I'm going to keep working on as opportunities arise. In the meantime, here is my mint chocolate chip beach scene:

Rainbow Sherbet Daisy Days

I am excited about participating in the Summer of Color Love Challenge this summer hosted by Kristin at Twinkle, Twinkle. For this first week, the challenge colors/favors are Rainbow Sherbet. What a great, colorful way to kick things off, with pinks, oranges, yellows and white. Look for this weeks Linky Widget at the link above and come join in the fun! I started in simple pen and ink, which I kinda liked for its simplicity: But in keeping with the theme, I used my Inktense pencils in my favorite oranges, pinks and yellows to bring some summery colors to the scene. Of course, I couldn't put it away without adding some lettering, which I think ended up being a bit too heavy handed for daisies. But, another great learning moment. Here's the end result: Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

Making the world go round

My sweetie says it does make the world go round, but I'm not so sure.  I think it takes a lot of ingredients to keep this big blue marble spinning.  But, love is definitely what makes it fun! Linking to Paint Party Friday! Check out what everyone's been up to this week... And don't forget to sign up for Kat Sloma's Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap! Have a great weekend!

Happy birthday!

This week, my wonderful sweetie, turned 40 and we had a grand old time celebrating his youth! He definitely helps keep me young... And this quote seems very apt this week! Although it's late in the day, I'm linking up to Paint Party Friday and can't wait to see what everyone's been up to this week!

Daffy days in Dallas

I've been traveling this week and have not had a whole lot of time to create. Couldn't even find a really decent art store that would cause me to need an extra suitcase for the trip home. Just this one little drawing. My big accomplishment this week was FINALLY figuring out how to upload images from my iPad. This has been plaguing me for months. Sometimes it's the little things that make life good. Life will be truly grand when I get back home to my sweetie tomorrow!

Hope everyone on this side of the pond, well, at least within the U.S., has a great holiday weekend... And a great regular weekend to everyone else. And don't forget to check out Paint Party Friday!

Happy Mother's Day

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

For some great inspiration, check out what else is happening at Sunday Sketches!