Priddy's Store

While visiting Margie for the weekend, we went to Danbury, NC to visit Margie and Bill's daughter and her family. One of my favorite things about fall is the festivals and harvest time gatherings.

Priddy's Store is a general store that Bill (my uncle's) uncle owned. His daughter runs it now. Her name's Jane. I met her along with another of his daughters. Such a lovely gathering - it was called "Pickin at Priddy's Store," and included pinto beans cooked over a fire in an iron pot, pumpkin and ginger breads, homemade potato wedges cooked outside the store, bluegrass and old time music. Oh we had fun! It was very chilly and damp outside, but that didn't dampen the gathering too much. The crowd was down, which just left more food and fun for the rest of us.

We met a family from Eastern NC camping in Hanging Rock Park nearby. The couple had six children who are home-schooled. The wife was an artist - nature journaling. It was so interesting talking to her and having folks admire my sketchbook.

This sketch is of the old doors to the side of the building. The door handles and the begonia underneath really drew my attention. Margie said, "she paints the oddest things." That's part of the artistic eye, I told her. We see things differently than the average person. Artists find beauty in things that most people overlook - ordinary things, and it's our job to draw their attention to that beauty.

One other interesting note: About 2 weeks ago, two small boys, ages 3 and 4, drowned in the Dan River. It was a huge story in the news and oh so tragic. We passed by the very place where the boys were found. The community had set up a memorial on the guardrail on the banks of the river - stuffed animals, signs, and flowers. It was so heart-wrenching. 

Saturday morning 10-7-06 at Aunt Margie's kitchen table. One of my favorite places in the world. Oh how I love that woman! A Godly mentor, a great nurturer, a beautiful person - inside and out. So glad she's part of MY family. This is a little view of her beautiful geranium growing outside the bay window on the deck. 

This too is from a photo in Country Living. I love teapots and teacups. I love tea too for that matter.

I notice I'm drawn to more earthy tones lately - must be the autumn breeze... 

CenturyTeapot10_5_06

Did this little sketch from a photo in Country Living magazine. This teapot is valued at $320 according to the note in magazine. Wow! I can't imagine paying that for a teapot. 

I picked up an oak leaf on my walk at work during break. I did a leaf rubbing using a Derwent Aquatone pencil then used a Niji waterbrush to wet the back ground leaving the leaf itself fairly dry. I went back in with pencil and Prismacolors to define it. I like the way this turned out.

Autumn... oh how I love Autumn. October is my favorite month of the year. It seems a reflective time, a time to slow down and soak in all the beautiful colors. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! 

My Snack at Work

Did this in my Moleskine using Inktense pencils. I just love this little sketchbook. I didn't eat the bananas after I painted them. The next day they were too ripe, so I gave them to my boss. I like them almost "crunchy" :-) 

This is a re-do of an earlier post from July. I did this originally on July 27, but added the background wash and touched up the entire sketch on 9/29. It bothered me with the white background originally. I did it first in Caran d'Ache Neocolor II with a Niji waterbrush. It looked like a very amateur crayon drawing somehow and I wasn't satisfied with it. So now here's the new version. What do you think? 

Zinnia in Cobalt Bottle 9_29_06

This sketch was done at work Friday afternoon using a pencil and Yarka w/c palette. The journaling on the left was about the autumn collage on the previous page.

I have so enjoyed my zinnias this summer and never want to go through another summer without planting a zinnia garden. Their brilliant colors and shape give me endless inspiration. I have taken lots of photographs so hopefully I can enjoy them all winter as well. 

This was done Friday at work. I used a Dark Umber Prismacolor Marker to sketch in the zinnias and then used Yarka Professional Watercolors to paint this sketch in my Aquabee. I added the collage pieces yesterday 9/30 at home in my studio. 

AutumnCollageinAquabee Sketchbook9/30/06-10/1/06

This is a collage I began Saturday morning 9/30 while Grace watched My Dog Skip. Then we got ready and went to the Lord's Acre Sale in Felts Park in Galax. This is a sort of festival where all the area churches gather and have tents or booths and sell crafts and other homemade goods - there were tons of people and it was a gorgeous fall day. The churches had pumpkins; homemade jams, jellies and applebutter; crafts; lots of delicious food; one booth was making homemade apple cider on site. It was a wonderful time! Fall is my FAVORITE time of year. There is just something about slowing down and really appreciating the beauty of nature and the harvest and realizing that all we have is a blessing from our loving Heavenly Father. The Creator who gave us so much beauty in the fall leaves and the brilliant blue skies. I love the colors of fall. It's a time to CELEBRATE!!