Sketch With Me 11th Event - Favorite

This weekend is the 11th Sketch with Me event initiated by Cathy Johnson.  Theme being "Favorite".

There are many things I would consider favorite but right off the top of my head, it has to be what's included on this journal page:

Coffee is #1 with the mug being special because it was gifted to me by my brother-in-law several years ago.  It's a Texas mug with Texas colors and on the opposite side of this cup is blue with the white star that represents Texas.

Mini bears and dog (Opal, Cinnamon, and Jake), which I often use as sketching models. 

Lamy pen - Funny thing about this pen is the fact I didn't like them at first due to the shape of the barrel.  However, now they are one of my favorites.

Latest hand-sewn journal.  This one in particular is my favorite as it's the first one I tried making with a two-toned cover structure........part cloth and part paper. 

HSFab01 / Lamy Safari with Urban Grey ink / QoR watercolors

Tufted Titmouse in Graphite

It's been awhile since I've worked in graphite, so tonight I decided to do so only using an HB. 

I chose the Staedtler Mars Lumograph HB simply because it doesn't smudge as easily as the softer grades and I wanted to see how far I could push the value on this paper.  Paper used is Stillman and Birn Zeta.

For weeks we didn't see the Black Cap Chickadee or the Tufted Titmouse and they both have started coming back around.  Another bird I haven't seen in ages is the Red Bellied Woodpecker and I actually saw one up in the palm tree.  He never came down to the feeders though.  At least I know they are still around.

First Bloom on New Potted Plant

We have several different varieties of Hibiscus growing around our house.......from the standard orange, double blossom peach, double blossom pink/red, Hawaiian Tropical, and the Peach Lion's Tail.

Two winters ago, the freezing weather that hit Florida took out our Lion's Tail but has been trying to come back from the roots......although quite weedy and scraggly looking.  Not knowing if we could successfully start new plants from cuttings, I ordered a small Lion's Tail plant online, which came in a small pot.  We transplanted it immediately upon arrival into a larger pot and it's already blooming.  Since then we've succeeded in starting new plants from stem cuttings from the weedy one in the yard .... several in water loaded with water beads and several in a pot of soil.  They are doing well except inviting snails that like to feed on the bark of the young shoots.

The Lion's Tail is a unique Hibiscus with flower within flower.  It's also known as Pom Pom Poodle Tail Hibiscus.  Being this is the first flower off the new plant, I had to attempt sketching it. 

HSFab01 / Lamy Safari with Document Dark Red ink / QoR watercolors.  For the peachy orange color, I mixed both Raw Sienna with Aliz Crimson and Raw Sienna with Quin Magenta.  The red is Pyrrole Red Light layered over Aliz Crimson.

American Redstart

Still combing through photos, I came across several of this bird bathing in our algae stained mushroom shaped water fountain.  This is from my favorite photo where she sat still long enough to get a really clear picture of her.  Loved how her tail feathers were fanned out.

I had to look this bird up and believe it's a female American Restart.  The photo was taken in August of 2017 and I haven't seen any like her since.....although I now sit in the front of the house rather than in the back where I used to sit looking out at the fountain.

What I really like about this bird is the multiple colors seen in the wings.  Her head is more gray and the feathers range from an olive brown/green to black with splashes of yellow.  It was a challenge to capture the colors in my sketch but I think I came close.

HSFab01 sketchbook / Lamy Vista with Document Brown ink / QoR watercolors

Nature Photo Walk

Anytime I go out, I take photos I can go back to for sketching ideas when something in front of my face doesn't appeal to me.

Last night I decided to go on a "nature photo walk" going through photos to see if anything jumped out at me.  One such photo included a particular tree I saw when out on the pontoon and the other is a lizard we don't see too often.

It was storming with Miya reacting so I was up till wee hours of the morning sketching until the storms passed and we could finally go to bed.

Stillman and Birn Zeta / Lamy Safari w/Urban Grey ink / QoR watercolors

Black Caps Coming Back Around

It's been awhile (earlier in the year) since we've seen Black Caps and Tufted Titmice around the bird feeders.  They've started coming back around joining in with the other birds that are normally seen every day.

HSFab01 sketchbook / Lamy Safari w/Urban Grey ink / QoR watercolors

 

Hummingbirds Still Coming Around

Capturing the hummer(s) while they happen to be in the area and coming around the feeders.  This shows three positions of the hummer's head as he/she kept checking what was around and taking a drink. 

These are from photos at two different times of the day.  Looking closely, they appear to be two different hummers.  The top and middle illustration is the same hummer whereas the bottom (later in the day)  has different markings under the chin and coloring on top of head.

HSFab01 sketchbook / Lamy Safari with Urban Grey ink / QoR watercolors

New Chair

Trying another chair hoping it's more body friendly than the ones I've been sitting in.

After the first day, I thought I'd be passing this new chair off on to another family member as it was causing me issues.  Rather than being too quick to pass it on, I added a memory foam cushion to see if that might help and so far, so good.

HSFab01 sketchbook / Lamy Vista with Urban Grey ink / QoR watercolors

A Bit of Nature

This first one is from a new Hibiscus we purchased and still sitting in a pot.  We have several type of Hibiscus growing around the house..........from single flower (orange), double (peach), Lion's Tail (peach), and exotic (yellow and red).  This one is a double with very large red flowers.......so large that the weight causes them to hang down from the stem.  They remind me of little ballerinas dancing.

HSFab01 sketchbook / QoR watercolors / Lamy pens with DeAtramentis Document inks - Dark Red and Dark green.

Glad I purchased the color inks for subjects like this.  I like the line work results better than when using black or brown inks.

This next one is from re-visiting photos I've taken.  It's a female Great Crested Flycatcher that came to our feeders last year.....along with her mate.  Haven't seen any Flycatchers this year so I'm very thankful I took the photos when they came around in June of last year.

Stillman and Birn Zeta sketchbook / Pilot VP with Document Urban Grey in / Holbein watercolors

Worked one more in the hand sewn sketchbook of a bunny outside my window where I sit all the time through the day.

DeAtramentis Document Brown ink / Lamy Vista / Holbein watercolors / HSFab01

Update:  Worked on this late at night into morning hours and finished this morning (Aug 7th).  Thought I'd add to this post since it is mentioned on the above page with the bunny.

I can still see the hummingbird in my head that hovered at my window as if looking in and wanted to record that in my journal.  HSFab01 / Lamy Vista with Doc Brown ink / Holbein watercolors.

Monthly Challenge and Daily Sketching

Can you believe it's August already??!!!  Where on earth does the time go?

So far I've started the new month sketching each day (or during the night as I often do to help keep from sitting up eating all night long)...

My friend and I had taken a break from the monthly challenges June and July but started back up as of the beginning of this month.  It was my turn to decide the challenge and I chose "Objects that hold other things together."

Stillman and Birn Beta journal / Pilot VP fountain pen / DeAtramentis Document Urban Grey ink / Holbein watercolors.

Terry was outside with Miya when our neighbor came out with cookie for Miya and clipped a small stem with two roses........one almost fully open and the other a closed bud.  This sketch is of bud as it was starting to open.

HSFab01 journal / Lamy Vista / DeAtramentis Document Brown ink / Holbein and QoR watercolors

This is of a Beanie Baby sock monkey I have sitting in a cup in my bedroom.  It is actually camo green but I chose to go with a different color scheme.  I chose the Florida Gators team colors of blue, orange, and green.  

HSFab01 sketchbook / Lamy Vista / Doc Brown ink / QoR watercolors

One of the Bubble Shooter games I play at night called Primitive Bubble.  

HSFab01 sketchbook / Lamy Vista and Lamy Safari pens / DeAtramentis Document Brown, Dark Red, Dark Green, and Fog Grey (Blue) / QoR watercolors.

Berry Color Changes on Pine Yew

Along either side of our house are Pine Yews or what we've also been told are called Japanese Plum Yews.  The leaves have a soft feel and the female plants produce fruit that are eatable.  We have neighbors who like to make jam out of the fruit if lucky enough to get them before the birds do.

One thing I noticed after I worked this page is that there is one other color stage and that's a green as the blue teal color changes before yellow.  I have the limb in water and is still alive days after the clipping.  At first clipping, I didn't see the green.

Lamy Vista w DA Doc Brown ink / QoR watercolors / HSFab01 hand sewn journal