A Rainy Cold Late October Day

Perfect Day for a Hot Steaming Cuppa

Spiced Chai, or Coffee, or a Latte, or Hot Chocolate or… what’s your favorite hot beverage for a cold, rainy day?

This is a small 4” x 6” drawing using the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and colored pencil.

Saturday Evening Sketching Trip

Late yesterday afternoon, I took a drive - with the sole purpose of sketching.  I filled up a clean watercolor palette with colors like cobalt violet, brown madder, naples yellow, vermilion - fall colors.

I drove the backroads just drinking in the beauty of the sky, the leaves, the mountains - breathtaking!  Then I'd find a spot and pull over and sketch.  The sketch below was done before I went home to get a decent brush, a water container and the palette with fresh paints.  The Niji waterbrush used below frustrated me so bad!  I find that it clogs and I have to squeeze and squeeze and still can't get enough water out to even wet the bristles.  I used the needle to clean it out, but apparently not well enough.  I think the problem is I leave water in it all the time and rarely use it, so it clogs.  Anyway I don't like it. 

But the sketching trip is something I want to do again and again.  Terrific therapy and the perfect way to spend some time alone with my art - although some company would have been great too!

Creative Chronicles # 2

Creative chaos!! Love it.

 I started out just sketching the bottle of flowers on the right in colored pencil, then added watercolor.  I didn't like the background, so I gessoed over it, let it dry and went in with more watercolor washes. Then I added watercolor, watercolor pencils, and more colored pencils, and I think some white gouache. Oh, before I did all that, I glued the page to the page behind it for more support. 

I like the effect of the gesso, the way it makes the background look sort of mottled...an interesting texture. 

And lastly I leave you with a beautiful closeup of my supplies.

The first of my creative chronicles...

This will be the first of several posts updating you on this creative surge I'm on and I hope it continues!  In my previous post (earlier today) I told you about an expo we had at church that got my creative juices flowing freely again.  And I've felt like I'm fully and completely ALIVE ever since.  All my nerve endings feel like they're awake and alive and completely energized, taking in all the colors of fall and all the inspiration that this season brings!




The first project I tackled was a cover to my prayer journal, which is just a plain old 20-cent notebook from Wal-Mart, transformed!



as is our life - with prayer !

Work as Worship

Sunday, October 9 during Sunday School at our church we had what was termed an “Expo”. It was set up similar to a fair or as the term suggests expo. One gentleman had his drag racing hobby displayed and he demonstrated and revved up his engine, showed his trailer; one man had his gun hobby as his display. Then inside the fellowship hall, a lady discussed how she crochets baby blankets and prays for the baby before she gives the blanket to the new mother – this is her ministry. I had my art on display, my journals mostly and some of my small paintings. All of these were examples of how our hobbies and talents can be used in ministry to other people. This event lit a fire under me!!! I had become rather stale in my passion and in my art, just needed a good dose of inspiration. And this was it! Since then I have had the creative juices flowing and my engine has been revved  I will share more in subsequent posts about the results of all this inspiration. Please check back soon…

This Week's Sketches

I finally purchased the Pentel Pocket Brush pen that Roz uses in many of her sketches. And I agree that it is great!  The first colors of autumn are starting to show their display and I captured them quickly at lunch last week in watercolor and colored pencil.