Baby Dragon Hatchling

Can't believe it's been over a month since I last did anything and shared on my blog.  I'm just going through one of my low tides, it seems.  Hopefully that lack of motivation will turn around soon.

Anyways.......a few days ago I received a baby dragon shelf ornament and I actually felt that "itch" to sketch it.  Days passed and this morning finally got around to it.

I was on hold with our utility department to ask a few questions with 11 people ahead of me.  I knew it was going to be awhile as I tried a few days earlier and gave up after close to 30 minutes.  It took 40 minutes this call before I was able to actually talk to someone and during that waiting time, I decided to sketch and paint this little fellow.

Strathmore Visual Watercolor Sketchbook
Platinum Carbon Desk Pen
W&N Watercolors

Blue Heron on the Dead River

Today I decided to bring out my Noodler's Creaper flex pen and work this sketch of a Blue Heron along the Dead River.

Working with this flex pen was a reminder it's one of my least favorite pens.  I've really tried to like it but it has a wetter feed than what I really like to work with (and that's without trying to flex the nib).  Using the same ink I normally use (Lexington Grey), it didn't dry very quickly on the paper and I would end up picking up ink on the side of my hand and transferring it back onto the paper as I sketched.  That for me is a frustrating aspect of some fountain pens, nibs, and ink.

Even with that bit of frustration, I still managed to finish this watercolor sketch.  Worked in the Strathmore Visual Watercolor journal.

NOTE:  Same paper I use the same ink with other pens and don't always have this problem with slow drying ink.

My Mother After Last Year's Long Recovery

Last year on Easter Day, my mother ended up in the hospital for months.  I was there the first three weeks just waiting for first signs of life and then for her to be strong enough to sit up and be moved to a step up recovery facility.

She couldn't eat for many weeks and relied on tubes to feed her.  She had to go through physical therapy just to swallow first liquids on her own and then food.  Otherwise it went straight to her lungs.  She also had to go through physical therapy to walk again (with help).  Mom had absolutely no energy to lift an arm let alone do anything else for many weeks.  She suffered Sepsis, Kidney failure, Respiratory failure, and Congestive Heart failure.

Mom was in the hospital or care facility until June 30th.  My brother had taken a photo of her after all those weeks when a hair dresser went to the care facility and fixed her hair.  The photo Gary took is priceless to me as it represents the battle she went through and won and returning to normal ..... smiles and all.

Yesterday I tried my hand at capturing her in graphite.  Bristol 6x6 paper, 2B, 4B, and 8B pencils, rubber eraser for lifting, and tortillion for blending.

Line and Wash - Another Type of Survivor

Our neighbor, Thomas, gave us a cutting from his desert rose plant he's had for some time.  The mother plant is over 30 years old but not looking so good.  He had taken cuttings off the mother plant and replanted which is growing beautifully and loaded with flowers.......white in center with a red edging.

The cutting given to us is a V shape with two stalks.  Not knowing if the stalks will "balloon" out at the base or not, I ordered another via an online nursery.  This particular desert rose should be opposite with mainly red flowers edged in white.

The order came quickly but was horrified at the shape of the box when it arrived.  It was crushed in on one side with the rest of the box bent and corners crumpled and the box had also torn open from the damage.  It was either crushed by other packages or someone could have actually stepped on it.  All I know is the package was mishandled and I was horribly disappointed.

We opened the box fearing the worse.  Fortunately the plant was intact but leaves were mashed up against the base or body of the plant.  A couple of the leaves were broken and fell off.  Dirt spilled out everywhere as we unpacked the plant.

Well so far, it seems to be hanging in there.  The remaining leaves are slowly perking up.  Now if I can just keep it alive.

Strathmore Visual Journal - Bristol paper and Falcon with Lexy Gray ink.

Side note:  The perspective on that pot is WAY off............LOL  Those who know me understand that perspective and I don't quite connect.  :-)

Pen and Ink - Cancer Survivor

Not too long ago my cousin's daughter posted a few pictures where her son and my cousin (grandson and grandma) were both celebrating Cancer Survivor Day/Week.  Both were fighting cancer at the same time and almost five years ago were told their prognosis was not in their favor.  Kaedyn was only a toddler when he was diagnosed with Leukemia and my cousin diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.  Today they are both cancer free. 

One of the photos posted just hit home with me............remembering how he spent all that time in the hospital while other kids were home and playing.  All those days/weeks/months he was hooked up to tubes and dealing with needles and having to wear a mask.  This photo is him being free of all of that and enjoying life like other healthy kids.  And he caught fish this day with his grandpa :-)

Strathmore Visual Journal - Bristol paper and Pilot Falcon pen with Lexington Gray ink.

Early Morning Sketching

Worked these this morning...........the bird while everyone else was asleep and then sat outside after the sun came up for the other page.  Although really not feeling it with regards to doing much (especially artwork), I did manage these two pages.

Both using my Pilot Falcon pen in the Strathmore Visual Journal (Bristol paper).

Not real happy with my scanner either.  Settings have been messed with and I can't seem to get it back scanning close to the actual color saturation.  A bit on the contrasty side.

Cypress Tree Sketch - Pen and Ink

Had that itch to sketch today so I worked this cypress tree in the Strathmore Visual Journal - Bristol Smooth paper.

Decided to use a different fountain pen as well..........my Platinum Carbon Desk pen with Platinum Carbon black ink.

When I added watercolor to it, I thought about adding in a background.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I was in one of those "hmmmm, I don't know" moods so I went with the "if in doubt, do nothing" decision and left it out.

As far as I can remember (which some days I question), I have not tried watercolor on a Bristol paper surface.  I was quite surprised and pleased with how well the paper handled it.  Normally I save Bristol for graphite work.  I wasn't even sure how well the fountain pen would work on it.  Would it smear as I worked?  But no it didn't.........at least not with this pen or the ink in it.

Stonegate Community Landmark

Each time I've passed this over the last two years, I've wanted to sketch it.  I've finally managed to do so.

The left page is my main sketch but as I worked, I decided to carry it over onto the right page.  It's worked in the hand.book journal using my Pilot Falcon fountain pen and mixed brand of watercolors.

Spooky Tree in Graphite

A couple weeks ago while out on the river near where we live, I took a lot of photos.  Besides wildlife, I enjoy taking pictures of trees because of their unique shapes and patterns.  This one particular tree grabbed my attention because of it's unique shape, holes, and because of the nest on top.

Going through my photos and coming across this tree, I saw something totally different tonight from what I saw the day I took the photograph.  To my mind's eyes, I saw what resembles an old wizard, wearing a robe of sorts, and holding a wand.  I have put to paper what stands out to me the most using a mechanical pencil in the Strathmore Visual Journal (watercolor paper).  .

This was fun.........so much so that I sat up all night working on it :-)

Sitting Outside The Last Two Mornings

Earlier this week, I've spent quite a bit of time outside with the temperatures mid to upper 80s and low humidity.  But all good things eventually come to an end.  The 90s have returned with it hitting mid to upper 90s..........a bit warm for me although I'm slowly adapting.

Yesterday, because I knew the day was going to be a hot one, I was up before 6 a.m. :-O and enjoyed being outside until it started heating up.  I sat taking in all the sounds around me and wrote those sounds down in my hand.book journal.......along with a mini sketch of a new bird feeder we put up Monday.

Falcon fountain pen with Lexington Grey ink and mixed brand of watercolors and waterbrush.

This morning I was up early once again and sat for a couple of hours before it got too hot watching three squirrels forage the ground for food and chasing one another up and down this tree as seen on left page.

The bungee feeder we put up has been ignored except when we draped the corn across the picnic table.  One squirrel found it yesterday and went to town.  We then let it hang again hoping to see some fun action.

As of early morning when I started journaling on the left page, the corn was being ignored.  Instead, the squirrels fed below the bird feeders.  After sketching on the left page adding my notes and ready to go back inside, one squirrel finally spotted the hanging corn.  He actually tried for it but the bungee action made him jump and move away.  He did attempt it a couple more times until another squirrel caught his attention and he decided he wanted to play.

Handbook, Falcon fountain pen, and mixed brand watercolor using a waterbrush.

Bird Doodling in Pen and Ink

This is just a page in my hand.book square journal doodling a couple of birds.

One following John Muir Laws article on simplifying bird plumage and the cardinal head from watching cardinals out at our feeder.  With the top bird, I chose to go with more......not less........of the plumage.

For his article, please follow this link:  http://www.johnmuirlaws.com/art-and-drawing/simplifying-bird-plumage

I added the cardinal to fill the page where I was sitting outside.  I chose to work pen and ink only as continued practice getting comfortable using ink only.  (I still have a ways to go before feeling comfy.)

Caladium Flower in Graphite

I find whenever I might have something weighing heavy on my mind, graphite tends to be my medium of choice to work with.  For me it's the most relaxing medium to use helping me to lose myself in what I'm doing (forgetting for a time what was on my mind when starting).

This is a caladium flower that came up with a small clump of pale green caladium leaves edged in dark green.  The flower was white.

Behind the caladium is a large reddish violet impatiens plant and with this drawing, I tried to only suggest them using a putty eraser to lift some shapes.

This was worked in a Strathmore Visual Bristol journal using a 5.6mm cluth pencil with 4B lead and a 2mm mechanical pencil with a 4B lead.

I love the blending of graphite and lifting with a putty eraser.

Sometimes It Works and Sometimes It Doesn't

This is one of those times when "I" didn't feel things turned out.  I've never really liked working anything black on a large scale so it was my intent to only color the background and leave the bird in pen and ink only.  Unfortunately I had a bit of a mishap dabbing a few areas with white acrylic marker pen as the pen decided to unload a large pool of white.  When scanned, the acrylic covered area showed up in a blue tint.  So that changed my plans leaving the bird pen and ink only and went ahead trying to paint him.

With my first attempt at painting the vulture and scanning it, the page looked flat..........all the same values.  I didn't want to go too dark with my blacks so I tried scrubbing out some of the background color.  I managed to remove some color but I was also using staining pigments.  Thank goodness for heavy paper.

Already feeling I had messed up this page, I thought, "what the heck," I'll go a darker and see what happens.  It took three layers to achieve this and I'm still not thrilled with the results.  BUT, as a reminder to myself, I'm not after perfection.  I'm not planning to frame this page nor enter it into a competition.  This is about journaling an experience and that I did achieve with this page :-)

Hand.book homemade heavy weight watercolor journal, W&N watercolors, #8 Round, and Falcon fountain pen for sketching and brown Micron for wording.

Playing Catch-Up

We acquired a new toy the end of May, just in time for the Memorial Day Weekend............a pontoon boat.  Needless to say, we've spent quite a bit of time out on it ....in and out of the water (ha ha).... weather permitted.

We were able to get the pontoon before my Nephew returned home after being with us for three weeks.  Our first day out Terry took the boys out on Lake Eustis.  Next he took myself, Cristy, and the girls out circling an area of the lake while Ron worked on his bass boat dealing with engine issues.

Once Ron and his family left, Terry and I did a little sight seeing traveling down the Dead River that connects Lake Eustis with Lake Harris.  My favorite has to be the Dead River as it's quiet, beautiful with the cypress trees, and lots of wildlife along the banks.  Dead River is not very wide compared to other rivers I've been on.  Just so peaceful!

While out on Lake Harris, there was this opening between pine trees where these three palms sat.  They just sing out to be noticed.

Pen and Ink in the handbook.

Along the Dead River on either side were Anhingas sitting with wings stretched wide as they sun bathed drying off after diving for food.  This guy had finished drying and I caught him just as he commenced to fly off.

Strathmore Visual Watercolor journal, Pilot Falcon fountain pen and QoR watercolors.

These other two watercolor sketches are from other outings weeks/months earlier from photos.  Both worked in the Strathmore Visual Watercolor journal.  The flowers using a ballpoint pen and the bench and door using the Pilot Falcon fountain pen.  Both using QoR watercolors.

Mini Mechanical Pencil

I've seen mini brushes and mini pens so I went searching to see if anyone made a mini mechanical pencil.  Sure enough!!!

This is a Pilot Mini Mechanical pencil that came in a four pack with extra erasers and extra lead.  The lead grade is .07 that came with the set.

Perfect for small traveling palette setups like this.....

My Orchid in Graphite

This is a graphite drawing of an orchid plant I've managed to keep alive for almost two years.  A couple of the leaves are becoming soft and wilting causing a bit of concern but I'm thrilled it's lasted this long.  Not only is it still alive but has bloomed three times for me (which includes the blooming when I purchased it).  When purchased, it had two stalks with flowers but reblooms have only been on one stalk.

Worked in a Strathmore Visual Journal with Bristol paper using a Staedtler Mars mechanical pencil with 2mm - 4B lead.  Love this pencil and love this 4B lead.  On the Bristol paper, it just seems to glide across the surface.  Blending with a tortillon is so much fun for me.  I love how a kneaded eraser can easily lift highlights.  Graphite is definitely one of my top favorite mediums to work with.

Quick Palm Sketches Different Mediums

These are two little sketches worked in the square Handbook journal playing with two different techniques and mediums.  More doodling than anything........just to do something.

Lamantin Beach Pen and Ink Sketch

I have a very dear friend of 12 years whom I met through PaintDoodles forum.  Hany travels quite a bit for his job and shares his adventures and photos with me, as well as his sketches, drawings, and paintings.

Often with his photos and stories behind them, I'll feel intrigued to sketch from them (with his Blessings) and this is one.

The photo shows a lot more but this is what stood out to me.  It's a guard house or guard like structure along the beach a guard will stand in.  That part in the foreground is a straw umbrella that had blown over evidently during a storm.  In other photos they show many more blown over or snapped at the poles.

PaperBlank journal and Platinum Carbon Desk pen.

Update on Exercise for Myself and My Granddaughter

I've been meaning to post this but it's been a crazy several days for the family with a lot going on.

Here is the original post:  http://sbwatercolors.blogspot.com/2016/05/exercise-for-my-granddaughter.html

And here is what Madison did last week:

She's working in one of my hand sewn journals I made that she carries everywhere with her in her purse.

We haven't had a chance to move forward sharing videos on hatching and cross hatching for her to add form with hatching and cross hatching.

Quick Sketch Using Koh I Noor Artists' Leads - Medium Brown

I shared a value chart a few posts back and last night thought I'd do this quick sketch using the medium brown.

This was working in the Handbook journal that has a vellum like feel to the paper.  I really like how this chalky lead feels.  Love the blending quality.