Continuing with Monthly Theme - My Diet

Lately I have been craving fruit and fortunately, it's the time of the year when some of our favorites are in season.  

Rainier Cherries are a favorite and they show up in Publix for only a very limited time.  I limit myself to only five a day.  

Another favorite is the Golden Kiss Melon.  It's the sweetest of the cantaloupe type melons.  Then there is the Watermelon and fortunately the season lasts for awhile.  Both of these I weigh in at around 50 gr each a day however, I will eat up to 100 gr of watermelon if that is all we have on hand.

Normally I would get Strawberries about now but we haven't had a lot of luck purchasing sweet strawberries or with any real flavor to them.  We feel we waste money on them more often than not.  This is one fruit I can eat more of when I do get lucky enough to purchase a good batch.

Gala Apples are my go to apple variety and I get them regularly throughout the year.  I only eat a quarter of an apple each day with just a little peanut butter for added flavor.  They are normally an evening snack for me.

Taking notice of the low amounts I eat, I have to watch my sugar and carb intake so rather than do without, I allow myself small quantities just so I don't feel deprived.

And besides zucchini, kale, cauliflower, and broccoli, which I eat regularly, I've been in the mood for tomatoes.  Our favorite being the ones sold still on the vine.  Even though technically tomatoes are considered fruit, I view them as vegetables.  

I like eating sliced tomato in a wrap or between bread with salt and pepper with a little mayo as it mixes wonderfully with the juice making a wonderful dressing.  

Page worked in the handsewn journal made with old stock of Fabriano Hot Press watercolor paper using the TWSBI 580 fountain pen with #41 Brown ink.

Grapefruit Buds and Early Formation of Fruit

For ink and watercolor this month, I chose to do these two pages first showing the initial buds and early fruit on our grapefruit tree.

Worked in handsewn journal using old stock of Fabriano Hot Press 140 watercolor paper, TWSBI 580 with new EF nib and #41 Brown.  I decided to use other than Sap Green for my greens...all Daniel Smith pigments.

Note about the TWSBI 580:  After working with the 580 and a F nib for a while, I purchased the EF replacement nib and definitely prefer the EF nib.  The TWSBIs I have all feed wet compared to other pens and the F nibs were feeding ink that took too long to dry.  With one sketch I worked even after 20 minutes smudged when I went to erase the pencil lines.  

Immature Ruby Red Grapefruit - Digital Drawing

This digital drawing has taken me quite a bit of time as I played trying to decide what to include and what not to include.  I would upload to my computer to analyze on a larger screen and from there would add or remove as I saw fit on my Ipad using Procreate. 

It was originally sketched as seen to include a weed stalk with thorns growing to one side (not showing as I removed it).  Point of view was looking down with only the ground showing and not the fence that stands behind the tree.

Originally the greens I was using were too much the same (to my eyes) so I made some subtle changes for a little variation but trying to stay close to how they truly look.

After I worked the progress sheet (I can refer back to), I made a couple more subtle changes to include adding a hint of a reddish tone to the ground and lightening the front grapefruit just a bit on the right side as I thought the color saturation was too strong hiding some of the texture I wanted to show.

Size of the fruit at this point are larger than a golf ball but smaller than a baseball.  They will continue to grow changing color and be ripe around the end of Fall into Winter.  The longer these stay on the tree, the sweeter they will be.  Once picked, they do not continue to ripen.  

 

Premature Grapefruit in Graphite

It's been a couple of weeks since I've done any sketching.  Instead I have been taking a little break I evidently needed until the desire hit to pick up my sketchbook.

Terry had brought in a premature grapefruit he had to pull as it was putting too much stress on a limb causing fear it might snap from the weight.  We were supposed to remove ALL fruit this year allowing the energy to go into the tree itself.  He pulled all but about 12.  As I was sitting here looking at this particular one, I had the itch to sketch it...showing the size relative to my hand.  

Alpha sketchbook with mechanical pencil and .7 lead.

Two Different Fruit Growing - Two Different Methods

Attempting again to work in my journal, I managed this page of lemons at their early stage of growth.  I worked this thinking and writing about Terry and Travis as they headed to Key Largo for the first time.

Timing was evening before the sun set so there were no real shadows to capture.

Fabriano Artistico / TWSBI 580R w/#Urban Grey ink

This is the stage of our first grapefruit tree, which is a Ruby Red.  It was planted two years ago and I thought I'd do this before Terry pulls all the fruit off in order for the energy to feed the tree itself.  We read it's best to do this the first two years of growth.  Terry did say he might leave a few on the tree but hasn't made up his mind yet.

Procreate using the Gouache brush tool

This is early afternoon in very bright sun showing strong shadows from over-hanging leaves (as seen in top left leaf) and from the fruit itself on the leaves.

One of the positive attributes of working digital is the ability to render color pretty true to life.  Unlike fighting with paint trying to mix the right color and with me seldom hitting the right combination or mix.  The other major plus for me with digital is the blending attribute.  I can't say it enough how much I love blending.  You can take your time without fear of paint drying too fast as you try to blend your colors.

Although I do not plan on giving up on pen and ink and watercolor, I honestly feel I've found my niche in digital art.  Unlike other mediums that have both advantages and disadvantages, I have yet to find any disadvantage I can state with digital.  If there is a disadvantage to it, it's in how people (particularly traditional artists) might view it as an art form.  To me it's just another medium we have in being creative with its own set of techniques and challenges.  

For me, I feel so much more relaxed while at the same time challenged with selection of brush tools and how best to apply them for various textures and results I'm hoping for.  There is no fear of messing up and having to start over again (which I don't handle very well and often just say forget it).  You are free to experiment along the way without having to start fresh with each trial and error....just create a new layer and if it works, keep it and if it doesn't, delete the layers.  There's no rush trying to beat drying time for various techniques to work properly.  There's no long wait for paint to dry before being able to move to the next step.  And there's no frustration with color mixing to get the right color nor fear of mixing mud.  It does take more time (at least for me) in working these sketches/drawings versus using watercolor (as an example) but that's a positive for me.  There's no major set-up involved or space requirement for a work area...plus no clean-up afterwards.  You can work anywhere.

And as much as I love graphite, even rendering graphite digitally is a positive over traditional because there's no fear of smudging like traditional graphite.  I tend to often work right to left (which may sound strange to most people as I'm right handed) and I'm always dealing with smudges and having to clean up afterwards.  Then have to spray the page which can have mixed results depending on the spray I use.  I am very sensitive to smells/fumes, etc. and always have trouble even if spraying outside.  And here in Florida, spraying outside you might find a bug stuck to the page as it dries.  

So, yeah.........I'm finding I am leaning more towards grabbing the Ipad and Apple Pencil before pencil, pen, and brush on paper.

Various Fruit Blossoms Budding

Right now we have lemon and orange blossoms showing on our trees.  We discovered our young grapefruit has also developed buds nearly two years after being planted.  The grapefruit we will not allow to fruit this year but look forward to next year when we can allow it to do so.

Another discovery is the avocado tree that sprouted near the one we had to remove due to a disease it developed soon after moving here has sprouted buds.  

Daniel Smith Watercolors - Fr Ultra Hansa Yellow plus Cad Yell, Bt Sienna, Bt Umber, Cer Blue

TWSBI 580ALR with Lexington Grey ink

Fabriano Old Stock in handmade journal by Fay

Using the same sketchbook and pen and watercolors plus Quin Rose.

Although not flashy like the buds and flowers of other fruit trees, it's a big deal for us being this is the first budding and flowering of our Avocado tree.  Flowers are a whitish/Green and very tiny.  The only color that stands out is the yellow in the centers.  These little flowers do stand out against the green of the huge leaves but chose not to include in sketch.  I was primarily recording the new buds and flowers that have developed.

Same sketchbook, pen and watercolors as mentioned in previous journal sketches.

Honeybell Oranges

One of the sweetest oranges we've ever tasted and by far the juiciest is the Honeybell.  It's surprising the time of the year they are ready to harvest starting around the end of December / beginning of January.  And even after a couple freeze warnings we've had, they are still going strong.  What is left remain inside the tree canopy and they are huge and very orange.  

We have several neighbors we share these with so not to go to waste.  One lady uses them in her fruit cakes, which is the best we have ever had.  Terry bags several for Madison's bus driver and neighbors who are unable to come pick their own, Terry will bag and take to them. 

Honeybells are a cross hybrid of tangerine and grapefruit.  They are very easy to peel and only have minimum seeds.   The one tree we have is very productive and here soon fruit will be replaced with an abundance of flowers.

QoR Watercolors / TWSBI 580ALR w/Lexington Grey ink / 6x8 Journal with old stock of Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper.

A Fruit I Doubt I'll Ever Try

Terry brought inside a Guava fruit he found on a small tree along the property line between our neighbor and ourselves.  This particular one was probably beyond ripe as it was feeling rather soft.  When he brought it in, he made a comment it smelled like RAID Ant and Roach spray.  I didn't have to get close to it as I could smell it as soon as he came into the house.  To me it smelled like a strong onion and citrus combination.  We didn't keep it inside as the odor/fragrance was so strong, you could smell it from the back room of the house.  I took pictures of it quickly and decided to work from photos rather than it sitting on my table.

According to what I've read, it's very nutritious.....seeds and all.  It's suppose to be a very sweet fruit with a unique flavor between a strawberry and pear.  All I know is that the smell alone puts us off from even wanting to try one.

After taking the photos of the one, we walked outside and I took several photos of the fruit growing which are all still green ranging from small to medium in growth.  We couldn't find another ripe one hanging from the tree.

Worked in my 7 x 5.5 journal with Fabriano Hotpress paper / Metropolitan with #41 Brown ink (for wording) and Daniel Smith watercolors.

Loaded Loquat March 2020

This year our Loquat tree is loaded with fruit.  Best it's been in the six years we've lived here.  Trying one yesterday, I found it sweet and tangy whereas when I tried them before, I thought they were rather sour.  So it seems this year has produced a nicer crop all the way around.

I love the leaves and overall shape of the canopy.  With it loaded with the bright yellow/orange fruit, it's really pretty looking.

Journal with Fabriano Hotpress / Metropolitan fountain pen with #41 Brown / DS watercolors (New Gamboge, Quin Rose, touch of Aliz, Sap Green, Ultramarine Blue, Warm Sepia, Paynes Grey)

Steps photographed along the way:

Final with this being a scan of the sketch.

Loquat Fruit - Stage as of Feb 24th

It's a beautiful sunny morning with temperatures low 60s.  Took notice of how loaded our Loquat tree is with fruit this year.  A few had already ripened but quickly disappeared from what we suspect are birds feasting as the fruit turns orange/yellow.

I've yet to try one that wasn't tart but a lot depends on the variety from what I've read.  Some varieties are sweeter than others.  Might be I'm still unsure when they are at their best/ripe stage.  And I might be pleasantly surprised should I get it right in trying one this time and not be so tart.

Our neighbors love these for making jam :-)

FIbook75x75 / Stonehenge Aqua / Metropolitan pen with Noodlers #41 Brown / DS watercolors

Lemon Buds and Flowers

After six years living in Florida, it still amazes me the number of various plants and shrubs budding and flowering this time of year.

Spent some time outside enjoying the cool weather (60 plus degrees) soaking in the sun.  I walked around looking at all the flowers going strong here in February.  We still have oranges and lemons hanging from the trees with new buds and flowers already forming.  Terry spent the day yesterday clearing off the fruit so that the trees' energy could concentrate on the new growth.  We have three lemon trees and two orange trees and they are such prolific fruit producers that we and our neighbors can only make a dent in what's out there.

This is from the Lemon tree in our back yard.

Journal with Arches watercolor paper / DS watercolors / Metropolitan with #41 Brown.

I actually mixed my greens with Phthalo Blue (RS) and New Gamboge.  I still prefer just using a tube green adding other colors to it but decided to do something a little different.  Where so many artists like the variation with blues and yellows taking precedence in different areas of the green, I prefer working with a more predictable green base.  But that's just me :-)

Watercolor first and then the line work with pen and ink

Time to Sketch - Star Fruit

When I reach the point my inner critic starts picking things apart in what I do....feeling the need to change things... it's time to return to sketching.

This is a star fruit (or starfruit - not sure on the spelling) our neighbor gave us.  I had never seen nor heard of it before so I was looking forward to trying something new.

One itsy bitsy bite was all it took to realize it was not for me!  What a horrible taste it left and I couldn't wait to eat something to mask or remove that taste!!

After doing some research, I learned this fruit has lots of nutritional value; however, can be toxic to some people.  Those with kidney disease should not eat it.  Those on medication should talk to a physician first as it's like grapefruit with negative interactions with some meds.  AND, for some people can cause neurological problems resulting in seizures, confusion, and even death.  Not exactly something I liked learning and actually thankful I don't like it.


FIbook75x75 sketchbook / Daniel Smith and QoR watercolors / Platinum Carbon Pen with Noodlers #41 Brown ink.

Yesterday's Walk Around the Yard

Here it is towards the end of September and we are still dealing with 90 degree weather.  One nice change has been the nights......actually dropping below 70s (at least for a few nights).

Being a rather pleasant day, thought I would take a walk around the yard...taking photos to be sketched recording what's going on right now this time of year.

Our Loquat tree is flowering as it gets close to producing its fruit; oranges are green and about the size of baseballs; lemons are mostly green but some are turning yellow; Azaleas are showing new growth from trimming; and Camellias just now forming buds to flower during the Winter.   Bougainvilleas, Vincas, and Hibiscus are still going strong.  Our Curcumas and Caladiums are starting to fade.

Here are a couple of pages, so far....

Stillman and Birn Zeta sketchbook / Pilot Falcon pen with Lexy Grey ink / QoR watercolors

HSFab01 sketchbook / Lamy pens with Dark Red and Dark Green ink / 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

Japanese Yew

This shrub is growing as a natural fence along the border between us and our neighbor.  Our neighbor calls them Japanese Plum Yews.  He told Terry that all parts of the shrub are poisonous except the actual fruit.  That there is a lady who collects them and makes jam out of the fruit.  However, according to Floridata, even the fruit is mildly toxic and should not be eaten.

The shrub has long flat needle like leaves but soft to the touch.  Not so prickly as other yews/pines can be.

Worked in the Stillman & Birn Beta journal using W&N Indigo and New Gamboge for the greens; DS Cerulean Blue and Sap Green for the seed; and W&N Scarlet Red, Aliz Crimson, and Indigo for the fruit bulb

With this one I decided not to use pen and ink.

Trying to Regain Motivation to Sketch and Paint

It's been a trying month for family so haven't had much motivation to do a great deal of sketching or painting.  This post basically catches me up with what I've managed to do in the last few days.  I'm trying to push forward even though my heart's still not quite into it yet.

After several weeks and finally getting the inks and fountain pens I wanted to fill with my new inks, I worked this page in the Fabriano Venezia sketchbook.  I figured stippling was a good way to start back into sketching.

 This is of a flycatcher I've seen for the first time outside our living room window.  He and a female showed up the end of May and continue showing up in our palm and our feeders.  Worked in the Fabriano Venezia sketchbook with a .7 mechanical pencil.

Testing out the new inks and making a more formal chart in the Strathmore Visual WC journal.

Color coordinating color of inks to color of pen barrels the best I could.  Ended up getting four Lamy Vistas with the clear bodies for some of he colors plus one Al Astar for the gray ink.

This is finally getting my May Challenge completed that a friend of mine and I set for each other each month.  May was tools of some kind.  Worked in the Stillman & Birn Beta journal.

It's a Start - Banana

It's been a busy time this past month or so trying to finalize the sale of our house in West Virginia (with one obstacle after another along the way) and then preparing for my eldest son and his family to come live with us for awhile as they find jobs and a place of their own.

We are one big happy family of eight - 6 adults and 2 children plus 4 dogs and 2 cats trying to adjust to living in limited space with various eating and sleeping/waking schedules.  I think we're doing pretty good too :-)

With this going on plus the digital filing organization and giving my 13 year old website a face lift, I just haven't felt much like sketching or painting.  FINALLY this morning I worked this little sketch after two sons and my granddaughters left (before daylight) to go fishing.

We have a banana tree in the back we thought was on it's way out.  Terry gave it some TLC last year and it helped perk the tree up and this year producing bananas.  I've never seen how bananas grow so this is a new learning experience for me.

This is just a little pen and ink sketch of how each banana has this little flower at the tip.  As the banana grows, this flower fades and drops off.

Worked in a square format Hand.book with a Lamy Safari pen and Lexington Gray Ink

Finishing (FINALLY) my Handmade Fabriano Spiral Journal

I made this spiral journal years ago using Fabriano 140lb CP watercolor paper.  Because I have so many journals going at the same time, it's easy to go for some time before picking up particular journals to work in.  This is one of them.

Here are pages I've done to close this one out.  Some pages are just messing around with little thought and others planned out to some degree.

Final Page using my miniature Bear - Opal

By the way......the QoR watercolors scan beautifully!!!  Really shows the vibrancy of these pigments.  The more I work with them, the more I'm liking them.  I'm even adjusting to the staining properties of these pigments.

My First Acorn Squash

In all my years, I've never tried butternut or acorn squash until recent.  A few weeks ago I first tried the butternut and really liked it.  Then this past weekend we picked up an acorn squash to try.

Of course I had to sketch it first before cutting into it.

This is my first sketch using an HB pencil only.in the generic sketchbook.  I started out with an irregular circle very lightly drawn and then working clockwise, started top right lightly shaping the edges and sections.  Using the side of the pencil lead, I worked all the shading and then the point for definition.  I used a tortillion to blend and shade the graphite.  Then went back with a putty eraser pressing in some areas to lift some tone out and then shaping into a wedge for the lighter areas (I did leave some areas pure white while sketching). 

With tonight's journal entry, I first sketched the general form and added some dark lines knowing I was going to use a stump to blend it all out.  Then I used the side of the pencil and started putting in darks.  At this point I wasn't sure where I was going with it.

An idea hit me to try so I went digging in my boxes for a pastel pencil set I bought many years ago but hadn't really used.  Because I was going to add some color, I took my putty eraser and lifted back out the darker shading done.  I started adding color.......orange, yellow to brighten in areas, and two of the lighter greens.  Then used the dark green in those areas I had originally shaded dark with graphite.  I would blend with the stump and then lift areas with putty eraser until I was satisfied with the overall look.  Then took the eraser and softened some of the edges.

I'm sure I didn't work the pastels correctly and should probably do some reading on techniques.  But overall, I'm happy with the results.  This is definitely new territory for me and enjoyed the experiment using something different.

NOTE:  As I sit here and study the results, I see something I need to work on.  The results look like this was cut with my sketching only the top half sitting on the surface.  It 'should' look like a whole squash and more rounded rather than flat.  Of course I didn't have to tell on myself but I hope by sharing this it might help someone else not make the same mistake.  ;-))

Holly Leaves Pen and Ink plus Watercolor

While out with my daughter-in-law doing house inspections for her job, I came across this holly tree at one of the houses we went to.  I took several pictures and from those pictures I came up with this page arrangement.

Pen and Ink in Moleskine Watercolor sketchbook
Pilot Prera with Lexington Gray ink using the stippling effect for shading.
Watercolors Used:  Daniel Smith - Fr Ultramarine, Sap Green, Aureolin, Perm Aliz, Quint Bt Orange, and Winsor & Newton Skarlet Red.

I used Sap Green as a green mixing base adding the yellow and/or blue to give me different greens.  Also added Perm Aliz to darken one of the mixes for the deepest greens.

The berries were worked in such a way where the left bunch is more vibrant for the focal area.  Then slightly lighter to the right and blue glazed over the red in the back three berries to help push them back.  Notice I placed the lightest more vibrant greens near my focal area.