What's Bugging You?

Recently a friend of ours, Cynthia Brady Speece, took some close-up pictures of some cool looking grasshoppers that just had to be sketched! I usually don't like bugs much, but when you look closely, they are pretty amazing! 

Revisiting Italy

I went back to revisit and finish filling my Italy travel journal of our trip to Tuscany in 2017 yesterday.  I did it as part of our Urban Sketchers virtual get-together. Since we still can't gather together because of Covid, we were to choose a photo of a favorite past vacation, or a place we would love to visit. Italy was both for me.
It was fun, going through my pictures to choose a reference photo while listening to Andrea Bocelli and eating linguine and pesto imported from Italy!  We would love to return to Italy again.  It was an amazing place and so beautiful! This sketch is from a photo of the countryside from our bus window. 

Snowdrop

My latest Watercolor lesson is the Snowdrop flower.  I learn more with every tutorial and appreciate the pointers I get from posting my work on Anna's school website. It was fun to do a flower this time and learn to paint white petals on a white background.  I also keep learning that I need to stop the video to let my paint dry and to take my time so I will quit transferring paint from the side of my hand to the white background.  Ack!

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Pea Pod

I just finished my 4th class with Anna Mason.  This time I painted a pea pod.  I am having to learn to slow down and look at all the details and subtle color changes.  I am enjoying my classes very much.  

 

Pumpkin

This seems like the wrong time of year to be painting a pumpkin, but really, who knows what day or month is is any more?  I am so glad to have these classes to keep me occupied during these days of  "sheltering in place", quarantine.  This week's tutorial was the mighty pumpkin.....

 I like all the texture I was able to get.  I hope you will enjoy seeing my homework for awhile. I am enjoying these classes so much!

Mushrooms

In the Anna Mason School, we can pick and choose the tutorials we would like to do or, there is a prescribed order to learn in, from beginner to advanced.  I decided that to get the most out of the school, I would go in the recommended order.  The second tutorial was the mushrooms, below:

There were many colorful tutorials I would rather have completed, but I learned about texture and blending and spotting subtle color changes, things I might have missed if I had not taken this tutorial. 

I'm So Excited!

While we are stuck in place, I decided I wanted to learn more about painting with watercolor.  I found an online teacher that I really like (Her lovely British accent and soft spoken manner don't hurt!)  Her name is Anna Mason, and her school is at:  https://www.annamasonart.com/.

I am excited and I want to show off my first project!  I don't have all the exact colors she uses, so while she is mixing paints at a leisurely pace on her palette, I am madly mixing a little of this and a little of that on mine trying to come up with a hue to match hers as closely as possible.  I was going to go ahead and buy all the paints she uses, but I actually think I will learn more about mixing paint this way.  So, without further ado, this is my William's Pear from the Anna Mason School tutorial......

Wings like Eagles

The last time I went to visit my Dad,  I sat and sketched the wheelchair he had recently been using, while he was sleeping.  He passed away later that night.  After his Memorial service, I jotted down the verse we used,  Isaiah 40:31, but I didn't know how, or if, or when I would ever finish that page or the one facing it.  The night before last,  I was going through my sketchbook wanting to finish anything left undone before starting a new book, when I came to that page from two years ago.  It suddenly seemed right to paint an eagle across both pages.   

Christmas Shoes

          Wayne bought me the cutest shoes for Christmas and they just begged to be sketched!

Drum Roll.....

Here it is....the last in the series.....

Boot #12

Nine and Counting!

Here is my ninth sketch of my 12 boot Challenge!

Day 8 Boot Challenge

Here is my sketch of Day 8 of the 12 Days of Boots Giveaway at PioneerWoman.com.

And here it is.....

# 7 in my own challenge to sketch all 12 pairs of boots given away by the Pioneer Woman this year....

On to # 8!

Days 3 and 4

Here are my sketches of days 3 and 4 of the Pioneer Woman's  boot giveaway!

Twelve Days of Boots

Ree Drummond,  the Pioneer Woman,  has a giveaway just before Christmas every year where she gives away a pair of boots every day for 12 days.  I love cowboy boots,  and I love to draw them even more.  During the past few years I have picked out a few boots to draw but this year I challenged myself to draw all 12.  We'll see how it goes. 

Fall Leaves

For one reason or another,  I skipped a few pages here and there throughout my sketchbook.  I am eager to start a new journal but before I do,  I am making myself completely fill this one. 

We normally don't have many trees that turn bright colors here but this year we were blessed with a few days of beautiful color!  Gus was very happy to help, so we took walks around the neighborhood and picked up the prettiest leaves we could find and I came home and painted them into my sketchbook.  I found the perfect empty page across from berries I had painted last month.

November Urban Sketching

This month, USK/DFW went to Grapevine, TX.  It was chilly, but a beautiful day and Main Street was fully decorated for Christmas.  I headed to the Vitro Glassblowing Studio where it was nice and warm....and full of beautiful glass.

There were people in the studio learning to make their own Christmas ornaments.  The process is fascinating!  They were very smart to graciously allow me to sit and sketch, because now I want to go back and learn the art of glassblowing!

I only had time to do an ink sketch and add a bit of color before it was time to meet back with the group for the throwdown.  So, I finished my sketches at home.

My sketches.....

Our group.....

VA Hospital

This week,  while Wayne was having surgery to remove a non-malignant skin cancer, I had 2 hours in the waiting room overlooking the center atrium at the VA Hospital in Dallas.   The hospital is all angles and I wanted to try to convey that on paper.  I'm not sure I even came close,  but this is the result.

Wayne is recovering well.  He will be happy to have those itchy stitches removed in a few days!

Another Face

I decided to do a serious face for a change....

Fall!

Yesterday,  I was thinking how disappointing it was that I couldn't find any Fall color here in our part of Texas.  I cut a tiny branch filled with berries from a bush in our yard so that I could paint something that looks like Fall in my sketchbook.

Then this morning, as I drove into the church parking lot where I attend Bible Study Fellowship, I was met by this gorgeous sight.....

God is such a loving Father and knows how much I love the changing leaves, he provided this just for me.....
and several hundred other people who were there this morning : )