October Sketches - the first half.

 The days run into each other...and suddenly it is the beginning of another month. Today is election day and I am trying to stay busy. I do not want my reptilian brain responding to 'Breaking News' - those little computer or smartphone beeps that insist that I look right away. So, I'll spend my time posting the first half of the October sketches.

Cheese or Wine - Each month begins with an either-or choice. I usually sketch them both.  Bubble Bath - I love the look of old tubs. At my age, I dare not try to get in or out of one, however. As to how these are related... soaking in this bathtub with a little wine and cheese...

Waterfall - I went to my picture file and found images of a trip to Yosemite - lots of waterfalls there. Smile - It's a tough time right now to see any smiles. We are all wearing masks. How I miss smiles! Maybe these go together to remind me to get outside and social distance so I can take off a mask.

Lipstick (plant) - I added the plant part because I didn't think a lipstick was very interesting. Spider - I looked up spiders and was really grossed out. Just going for 8 legs. Maybe she is ready to make a web on the lipstick plant.

Earthworm- When I saw this word it took me back to high school biology and how interesting it was to disect a worm. (Weird associations, I admit)  Hedge Hog - cute little guy. He actually looked cuddly in some of the pictures that I saw. I guess they both live on/under the earth.

Heavy - I don't know exactly what is on these scales, but it sure is heavy. Scarecrow -  This was fun to do. He's out in some sort of field. These two may be opposites. I always think of scarecrows as being light. They are made of straw after all.

Road - I wanted to make this a little more interesting by trying to make it a hilly road. Chicken - I first thought of a live chicken, but thought it would be easier to sketch a roasted one. I was picturing lemon-rosemary. Okay, I have a road and a chicken. It sounds like the beginning of a riddle...'Why did the chicken cross the road?'

Llama - I think the most interesting part of the llama is his upright neck and head. They do have cute expressions. Stranger - The handshake makes us more like friends than strangers...and it is missing today. The virus compels us to not touch. Hmmm, I can't imagine shaking hands with a llama, but I guess you could make friends with one.

Martini - Sort of speaks for itself... my husband likes olives or a twist of lemon. Telephone - Today's youth will not recognize this! Anyone remember talking to the operator and telling her the number? There was a time in my life that I made a drink at 5:00 and called a friend to check-in and talk about our days.

That's the first half of the month and enough for now... as 'they' say, "Stay tuned!" I think we may have several days of 'Breaking News' post-election results to avoid. 

More September sketches...

 Taking some time this morning to finish up posting the September sketches. Beginning where I left off - September 17th.

Silhouette and Pot Plant - This silhouette is a sketch of one of my grandmother's sisters. It was given to me by her daughter who told me how it was done. Apparently, ladies and gentlemen of the time would sit before an artist who would cut out their likeness from a piece of black paper! It was framed in an oval frame. When I first saw Pot Plant - pot is what I thought of...but I am sure it could be any plant in a pot - I would call that a potted plant.  As to how these two images might be related...I can't imagine Great Aunt Mary smoking pot...but she probably had house plants

Odd and Empty - I took the easy way out with Odd... odd-numbered balloons. I had fun with Empty. I tried to take pictures of my hands holding something and emptying it. Not easy to hold something and take a picture at the same time! Throughout all this sketching, I have been pushing myself to learn more about drawing hands.  Comment about these two - it does seem odd to pour out a gallon paint!

Skeleton and Crocodile - I had done a skeleton for something else so it wasn't too exciting. The crocodile sent me to google to find out the difference between gators and crocs. (I knew all that once...) As I now look a the sketches, I see I unconsciously faced the croc away from the skeleton... I must have already been planning how they go together...or not!

Ancient and Rhinoceros - I love ancient trees. Their twisted limbs are amazing. I always imagine that each tree has so much history to share - stories to tell. The rhinoceros always seems like its old...walking in a plundering way. It probably dates back quite a ways...would it have stories, too?

Thirsty and Blob - I tried to think of all the things that I like to drink so I won't be thirsty. Blob really could be anything, but I imagined that someone knocked over a full glass of red wine on a white tablecloth - the dinner party nightmare! It wasn't me - I don't drink red...

Similar and Zigzag - I did a lot of thinking about similar. If I look in the mirror, my image is similar, but reversed... Tiny sketches of faces are not my thing, but I was challenging myself with this one. Zigzag could have just been a back and forth line, but I wanted to play with color a little. I have no idea how these two go together!

This is the last page of the month... one of my favorites!

Yoyo and Quack - Yes, working on hands again. The perspective on the yoyo is a little off, but once the ink is there, I'm stuck with it. Quack takes me back to many very giggly times. I can't remember just when Pringles came on the market, but my children and I (and more recently some 'grown-ups) had such fun making duck faces with the Pringles! QUACK!  Both these sketches bring back memories of play...or if you went public with the duck face, someone might call you a 'yoyo.'

I'm well into October...plodding along daily...

September sketches - half of them today

 And, another month has passed! I feel like I am a little more organized right now...at least I have all the September sketches in one place... but, there are quite a few so I am beginning today with the first half of the month.

As in past months, I am entertaining myself with trying to figure out how the two sketches on each page can possibly be related. It really is quite random - I don't pick the word prompts and yet, there they are appearing together.

Actually, I learned something on September 1st. Each month begins with two words - an 'either-or.'

Less or Fewer: I confess, I looked it up. Less has to do with a quantity that is not easily measured. I sketched a glass of wine and a bottle of wine. The glass has less wine in it. Fewer has to do with things you can count. I did several pots of flowers with lots of flowers in each pot (you can easily count them) and then I did two pots (fewer) with fewer flowers.

Hummingbird: they come around all summer to feed at our feeder...but I guess they could feed on the flowers in the pots. It's now September and they have gone for the winter. We will be seeing them less.

Squirrel and Eagle: There are squirrels everywhere around our house and in the garden. I think the eagle is keeping an eye on them and maybe even assist in population control...

Spade and Torn: I sketched two spades - one from a deck of cards and one to use in the garden. Torn could be the shirt worn by the hard-working gardener!

Dragonfly and Ladybird: I had fun drawing the dragonfly. I love those fragile-looking wings. I had to look up Ladybird. I had no idea that it was the same thing as a Ladybug! (all I could think of was Lady Byrd Johnson who planted wildflowers all around the highways! - I am aging myself) So, I am thinking that the dragonfly and ladybird can both be seen in the garden with the spade and the gardener with the torn shirt. How nice that these two opposing pages go together so well.

Dandelion and Kudu: Thank goodness that this dandelion is not in my garden and spreading its seeds! As for this Kudu ...I had no idea what that was. He is an interesting looking animal with amazing curling antlers and white stripes on his back. I have no idea how these two things go together...

Books and Camera: I love sketching books...and reading books. I also enjoy reading on my tablet, but there is something about holding a real book. My husband is a photographer and has MANY cameras. The one I like the most is the large format camera made of cherry with brass fittings. He says it's difficult to use - it's heavy and there are a lot of things to remember, but it takes lovely photographs and is a beautiful piece of woodwork. Old fashioned books and cameras easily go together - and bring lots of pleasure.

On the Shelf and In the Cupboard: Both of these were fun to draw. I had to decide just what I wanted to put On the Shelf ...look in my closet or make it up - you guess. In the Cupboard presented the same dilemma... you decide where these things came from. These two ideas do go together ...storing things.

Sherlock Holmes and Squeak: The first things that came to mind for Sherlock Holmes were, of course, his hat and his pipe. And then, there's Squeak... I thought of a pig, a squeaky door, a stair tread... then I remembered the Tin Man who needed an oil can! I would sketch an oil can to fix the squeak! I am sure Sherlock would have solved the way these things go together...

This gets me halfway through the month and enough for now... thank you if you persevered and read this far!

I'll post the rest of September next week... one of my favorites is at the end of the month...

"Meditation"

Over this past summer, our local art museum sent out weekly emails. Each week there was a word prompt - theme for the week. One week the word was "Meditation." A good challenge so I got out my sketchbook...pencils, pens, brushes, and paints...

I do not consider myself a true 'meditator,' but I am inspired by nature and music and can ‘lose myself’ in certain special places.

I began thinking about a lot of different things... The slow oscillating sprinkler. It’s gentle back and forth spray is mesmerizing.

Water is important to me in so many ways... 

There’s the birdbath... I love to watch the small fountain and the antics of the birds.

 When weather permits, I try to swim every day. I love being in the water...

..and on the water. One of my fondest memories is of canoeing on Wisconsin lakes in the summer.

Some of my quietest times have been just sitting on our deck and looking at the water. It’s a very healing place.

Of course, my garden is also a place for thinking and healing. When the deer are not eating all my plants, it’s a peaceful place.

We live surrounded by tall trees...black cheery, locusts, maples, oaks, and tall pines. There is something special about forests.

In the winter, we are forced to be inside more, but there is nothing like being in front of a blazing fire ...

...or just sitting in front of a glowing candle.

And, the other thing I depend on is music. It transports me to peaceful places. Unfortunately, this sketch went onto two pages so there is a crease in the middle. 

Having a suggested theme was helpful. It got me thinking about possibilities. 

More sketches to come from another week's theme...

 

Sketch a day from August!

 Another month has flown by....somehow, even in 'lockdown', time continues!

So, here I am again posting more quick sketches and trying to make up stories about each page. 

As you may recall, each month has begun with two words.  In August, it was Train or Plane - 

We had wonderful old Lionel trains growing up. My brothers and I and friends spent hours being engineers.

When my father retired from his business he wanted to learn to fly. He got his pilot's license and bought a Piper Tri pacer. I couldn't help putting it's number on the plane N9833D. I loved listening to him calling the airport towers "N9833Delta"

Breakfast and Suitcase - Well. if you are going to take a trip you should definitely have a good breakfast before you go. However, we live far from the airport and take early flights, so we usually grab something to eat after we get through the security checkpoint.

Kilt and Castle - This is an easy one.. you could certainly wear your kilt when visiting the Scottish castle.

               

Anchor and Octopus - Another easy page for relationships... found in the ocean!

Coast and Harbor -  Now I am thinking this is too easy. Am I being lulled into smugness? Coast and Harbor are naturals!

           

Lighthouse and Planet - Well, lighthouse should have gone with coast and harbor... I guess I should have looked ahead...I already sketched a lighthouse! This lighthouse belongs to the Chesapeake Bay. I love it's different look. Planet seems kind of random.  Maybe UFOs would be looking for directions and see the lighthouse...that's a stretch!

Stars and Alien - Stars seemed too simple... I had this little guy seeing stars. And then here comes the alien. That would relate to the UFO story on the page before.

Spaceship and Robot - Seems like something got started with that planet back there a few days ago. Now it's a spaceship and robot... of course, they could go together...and then there is that alien, too!

Sleep and Memory - Sleep may imply dreams (that would explain all the weird space stuff). Some people remember their dreams. Me, not so much. In fact, I use post it notes to remember a lot of stuff!

         

Stretch and Cherry - Now, there's a challenge.... these words 'stretch' my imagination to come up with a way to connect them. Maybe after your workout you go to the health bar and order a cherry smoothie!

Abandoned and Thinking - I loved drawing the old wooden door. It reminded me of walks in the woods and discovering abandoned buildings - always interesting and great places to sketch. When I sketched 'thinking' the thinking bubble remained empty... sometimes my thoughts abandon me!

          

Poodle and Panda - Two cuddly animals that begin with a 'P'. I think they both look cute, but understand that poodles are not easy pets (our neighbor had one that ran away a lot and never listened) and pandas just look cute...they are not pets!

Pig and Fly - Obvious, they are both three letter words! But really... If the pig were rolling around in the mud and yuck, it might be covered with flies. And then there is also that wonderful saying..."...when pigs fly!"

                

Late and Stink - On my, we are always worried we are going to be late putting out the garbage! If we miss trash pick-up, that would surely stink!

Messy and Gorilla - Hmmm, my desk is already messy...BUT, if I let a gorilla in that room it would be even worse! I guess a gorilla could make a mess anywhere. It was fun to paint!

                  

Whale and Polar Bear - I loved sketching both of these guys... I looked at a lot of whale and bear pictures before I sketched. I have always been fascinated by whales breaching - 'jumping' out of the water. Amazing that a creature that big can do that! I used to take my children to the Baltimore zoo. The polar bear there was always a favorite.

There is sadness as I look at both of these magnificent animals. What climate change is doing to their habitats - or do I say, what WE are doing to their habitats... 

That's the end of another month! Stay tuned, we are a good way into September!

Stay masked, stay safe!

The Turkey Challenge

Several weeks ago and artist friend sent a very strange drawing around to several other artists with this challenge...

Color Me Beautiful Challenge:

Tinting Tom Turkey

The Challenge

 

1.      Attached you will find a black and white sketch of a male turkey head.  Enlarge this elegant fowl and print on an 8.5x11 sheet.  You might also consider a composition of multiple heads which must conform to the 8.5x11 size.

2.     Entries may be colored with any medium desired.

3.   The entries should reflect the artistic style and personality of the artist.

Here's the turkey head.....

When I first saw it, I thought..."you've got to be kidding!" 

I tried to picture it various ways... then I re-read the challenge and saw a possibility of multiple heads...

Hmmm,  I printed out lots of small heads, cut them apart and began to arrange them.

Maybe a flower... and leaves...

I did some more arranging, took away a few petals and reversed the leaf on the right. I took a photo and then printed it out on watercolor paper. There was no way I was going to draw NINE ugly turkey heads! 

I googled turkeys to see about color...

I got out my watercolors and it looked like this.

I think this is fun, but also very busy and in your face. I was going for a more subtle look. I washed off the blue, and toned it down, trying to keep the beak. I really liked the subtle beak on the leaves. 

"Nine Turkeys"

I sent in my completed challenge and was informed this morning that my entry came in SECOND in the contest!

It was a weird/fun challenge during a very challenging time! Thanks, Lee!