Categories
Gardening Sketchbook Pages

Hydrangeas again – hello, goodbye

Hydrangeas new

Well, the hydrangeas I drew and wrote about last week sadly didn’t survive being uprooted and stuck in the ground with maybe a wee bit too much fertilizer (Marsha read the instructions too quickly and poured in about 1 cup of fertilizer but what the box really said was 1 cup for an area 3 feet by 3 feet and the hole was only 1 foot by 1 foot).

Hydrangea dead

So I tossed ’em and bought 3 shiny new ones. The garden store guy said to dig out the overly-fertilized soil and toss it too…onto some other worthy plants in the garden that could use a little fertilizer…and then add back some nice new soil. So the new hydrangeas are all tucked into their cozy beds with new soil and water and the old ones are in the green recyling bin, awaiting their next life as compost. Birth, death, dirt, birth….it’s one big circle and appropriate thoughts on this day, my BIRTHDAY!!!!

Categories
Drawing Life in general Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Father’s Day Brunch at Michael’s

FathersDay

Michael made a delicious Father's Day brunch with the help of Nora, Kevin and Maeve. The orange scented pancakes and oatmeal/cherry scones with cherry jam were heavenly. What joy to sit around the table and learn from the wit and wisdom of his offspring, to talk about music and art and to see them blooming and succeeding on their chosen paths. 

Categories
Watercolor Wet Canvas

Big Duck is his name – Wet Canvas WDE

BigDuck smaller

The photos for the Weekend Drawing Event on Wet Canvas this weekend came from a "smallholding" (a small farm) in Newfoundland, Canada. I've been doing a lot of loose and free sketching lately so it was fun to focus on the details of the crenulations around his bill. They call him B.D. for Big Duck and he's a Muscovy. It's so much fun having a different person post pictures from their life from different parts of the world each week, and then seeing the paintings the members of the group have made from the photos they've chosen. In just the past few weeks we've had photos from the Netherlands, the Virgin Islands, a farm in North Dakota, and now Newfoundland. I've heard of armchair travel books where you just READ about traveling…I guess this is armchair painting!

Categories
Drawing Illustration Friday Life in general Watercolor

Illustration Friday: Dance (for the polar bears)

Polar Bears Dancing

Polar Bears: Dancing on Thin Ice

Polar Bears are at risk of extinction due to global warming-related starvation (they can’t get to their food all spring and summer as the ice retreats). If the current rate of ice shrinkage and related weight loss continues, bears may become so thin by 2012 (SIX YEARS FROM NOW!) that they may no longer be able to reproduce. “Once the population stops reproducing, that’s pretty much the end of it,” said Dr. Lara Hansen, chief scientist, World Wildlife Fund. Click here for some surprisingly easy and simple things that individuals can do to make a difference (on the “Inconvenient Truth” Climate Crisis website). Let’s do what we can before it’s too late!

Categories
Drawing Life in general Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Yippee! I’m on vacation

Vacation-trikes

Today was my last day of work until July 5! I'm really happy to have wonderful weather, good health again at last, and more than two weeks of time to just wallow in Jana's world, enjoying painting, relaxing and playing. After dinner I looked out my window saw that the sweet kids next door had their tricycles lined up in my driveway. Before I could draw the third one the little girl rode off on it. So there's only two in my sketch. Yippee anyway! (Micron pen, watercolor pencils in Moleskine watercolor notebook.)

Categories
Drawing Life in general Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Lunchtime stroll by Snow Park in Oakland

Oaklandman-chair

I met my photographer friend Mike for lunch today and we took our cameras for a walk near Lake Merritt and Snow Park. He was teaching me how to take pictures without looking at the camera, just holding it at our waists and shooting, trying to get our subject in the lens–it's really hard to do! I took a picture (using normal method) of this fellow wearing 3 hats and knickers, carrying a chair and a conversation with himself. I liked the contrast with the guys in suits in the background. I did this drawing in my sketchbook at home from the photo with ink and watercolor. I think I'll make a full-sized watercolor painting of it later.

Categories
Drawing Dreams Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Jennifer Aniston’s life-jacket party outfit

I dreamt Jennifer Aniston was giving a party dressed in a life jacket and matching mini-skirt–another new fashion trend seen first in my dreams? First Bling Bling suspenders, now life-jacket party wear. Meanwhile, my blind neighbor sent her German Shepherd out for a chicken sandwich. (I don't have a blind neighbor.) Amazing what those guide dogs can do! I have no idea what this dream means (other than don't eat popcorn at bedtime).Dream of Jen

Categories
Gardening Sketchbook Pages

Marsha and Jana Plant a Hydrangea

Marsha was cleaning up her garden and had a couple hydrangeas she didn’t want anymore so she brought them over and we planted them in my barren side yard.

Hydrangea-cartoon

Once we got them planted I decided to sit and draw one even though it was very wilted and shaggy looking and the sun was setting.

Hydrangea2

Hopefully they’ll like their new home and will make pretty blue popcorn ball flowers for me. I used to think hydrangeas were plants for old ladies but now I think they’re cool!….uh oh…are they cool or am I just turning into an old lady?

Categories
Drawing Life in general Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Busby’s Sunday Nap

Busby-nap

Busby taking a Sunday afternoon nap on the studio window seat and giving off that addictive kitty-sleep aura that always makes me want to snuggle in and take a nap too. (Quick sketch–Ink & watercolor in Moleskine watercolor notebook).

Categories
Drawing Sketchbook Pages Watercolor Wet Canvas

Oregon Lake – Wet Canvas WDE

Oregon-lake

Here's this week's Wet Canvas Weekend Drawing Event post. The original photos available for painting this weekend all had that grey sky look that I'm so familiar with here in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's been winter again in my neighborhood for days–nothing but gray foggy skies and constant wind blowing in from the Bay.