Snowy Night

The enamel coffee pot hisses and bubbles on the wood stove.  Outside, snow, ice & rain fall in a chilling mix.  Indoors, we bask in the radiance of burning oak logs --- Yin-yang.

A Quiet Sunday Morning

This morning the washer chugs away at a load of towels from last night's swim party.  Eight teacups of baked custard cool on a rack.  A mushroom & onion omelet and a steaming cup of tea sit before me.  Now I can settle down to drawing - Chubby's, ear, his mouth when he turns his face up to let me scratch his chin, little glimpses.  I dine & sketch as the house slumbers on.

Now I stretch out in the wide reading chair that Chubby has claimed as his perch  He curls, purring on the low back.  I pet & scratch -- chin, behind ears, down his spine, all the while looking for an angle to draw -- an ear, his closed eyes & nose, one open eye from the side.  All frustration as Chubby turns this way & that to shift just the right place on his chin to my working fingers.  I look in his eye, feel the connection, see his beauty, sense the light of love radiating one creature to another.  The sight of his tongue sticking out from his closed mouth touches me -- I sense the way he has given himself over fully to simple bliss.  Suddenly, the whole world calls out to be drawn -- stones, dead basil stalks, a solitary tree on the far hill, the fig leaves by the south windows.

Chubby

Looking outside to the south.

Kate's Orchid ready to bloom.

Still Life with David

Drawing serves as meditation. After a busy day, I took 20 minutes before bed to sketch some Granny Smith apples I had just bought at the local farm market.  David sat across from me, reading, and I couldn't help but include his handsome face in my journal.

Granny Smith Apples on an old barn wood bench.  (Colored pencil)

Pencil and white colored pencil sketch on craft paper journal.

Upcycled Valentines Coloring Book

I had a snowy afternoon, a Sharpie and some scrap paper.  Here's the result of the day:

I took 4 sheets of legal-sized paper, printed on one side, and folded them, printed side in.  I arranged the pages so that the fold was on the right, then placed the pages in a folded craft paper cover, and punched holes on the left side of the stack. I inserted grommets to bind the book, and then added decorative silver embroidery floss.
That left a blank book with 8 pages to fill. Add black Sharpie, and ...

Book cover

page 1

Last page

Happy New Year!

May 2019 be filled with new creative ventures for you!

A watercolor sketch of my neighbors' fields towards sunset tonight. I used a Sakura pocket watercolor set.

My barn loft art studio creating with Dr. P.H. Martin's Liquid Watercolors.

Upcycled Journals

I discovered this delicious gluten-free pasta made from garbanzo beans, and was taken by the beauty of the packaging.  Following the instructions on Gwen Diehn's blog Real Life Journals under the title Butter Box Tutorial.  I used a box of old computer paper with the spindle holes and perforations still on it -- something I had found long ago at a yard sale for 25 cents.

I gave the books to my dear friend Robin, who has been a life-long journal-keeper.  Write on!

 

I added a Velcro clasp on one of the journals. You could also use a button and string method to close the journal.

Small journals made from cereal box cardboard and 8 1/2" x 11" paper folded in half. I used a glue stick to glue decorative paper to the spines and the inside covers (to cover up the cereal box design).  These would make great travel journals.

 A Glass of Wine & A Sleepy Cat

After a busy spell of working, David and I had a day off, and celebrated with a relaxed evening, glass of wine, books to read, and sketching time.  Here's Chubby, our big, gray and white cat:

Catching up on my journal, here are some recent outdoor entries: