Got rabbit?

A page from my sketchbook ... quick sketches of sweet Teetang.

The house is very quiet tonight, except for some coqui frogs and crickets outside. It's a bit cool out but not cold enough for a jacket. Kanoe comes up for a pet from time to time. It's a perfect night to sit with my thoughts and read a bit.

I'm reading The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery ... again. :) I love this book. It gets me thinking each time I read it ...

"As the little prince dropped off to sleep, I took him in my arms and set out walking once more. I felt deeply moved, and stirred. It seemed to me that I was carrying a very fragile treasure. It seemed to me, even, that there was nothing more fragile on all the Earth. In the moonlight I looked at his pale forehead, his closed eyes, his locks of hair that trembled in the wind, and I said to myself: 'What I see here is nothing but a shell. What is most important is invisible ...'"

Night Owl ... Early Bird

This doodle ended up being one whacky owl. I was thinking of a friend, a self-avowed night owl who is desperately trying to be an early bird. Hang in there girl!

Friend and the aborted Magnolia

Ever notice that the most fun doodles are those you do while in good company? My good friend Jennifer was over this morning and I drew this while we chatted over some coffee before work. It's an aborted seedpod from a Magnolia. Magnolia is actually an ancient plant and in a botanical sense, relatively simple. Just like great friendships.

She's a botanist

I've attempted to grow my own green onions and two kinds of chives in these clay pots I found. Unfortunately, my thin-leaved chives aren't doing so well. In fact, if you must know, I tend to kill every plant I have so I don't give these plants much time ...

I will point out the irony that I'm a botanist.

I suppose it is the ability to laugh at oneself that makes life worth living. *GRIN*

EDM #70 - What I'm afraid of

When I thought of doing this Everyday Matters Challenge, I could think of only one thing that I'm most afraid of ... it's having to use this Epipen. This little doohicky is suppose to save my life if I accidentally eat crab, lobster, or shrimp and go into anaphylactic shock. The thought of having to jab myself in my thigh, as a needle shoots out a dose of epinephrine, is only slightly less scary than not being able to breathe. Thankfully, I've never had to use it yet! :)

Bougainvillea (EDM #76 - Flowers)

This bougainvillea is the most tenacious pest in my yard. It is the ultimate weed: it grow inches by the day (well, that's what it seems to me), it has a root system that grows in rock so it grows just about anywhere, it has thorns that grab me as I walk by, no amount of cutting or herbicide has killed the plant ... and it is so beautiful, I feel a pang of guilt every time I cut it back. So I decided if I can't kill it, I'll draw it!

Friends for life

This post is for my friends and family that knew Lokahi ... and for my new blog friends that understand how a dog can be a best friend. I found this drawing of Lokahi crashed on the floor that I did in 1992 (I was a closet sketcher fer real!). Lokahi has been gone a couple years now but I still miss her.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself." - Josh Billings

Hey, wouldn't it be great if everyone posted drawings of their sleeping pet? If you have a pet, I am pretty sure you have one like this. I got the idea to post this drawing when I saw Kate's drawing of Sunshine ...

EDM Challenge #51 - TV and favorite show

"Flower: Dedicated dominant female of Whiskers, Flower's no pushover. In her four years as the dominant meerkat, Flower has proved herself to be one of the most successful leaders at the Manor."

It is possible for me to sit through episodes after episode of Meerkat Manor, on Animal Planet. What will happen to Flower's pups? Will the dangit arched rival, the Luzuli, attack again? The suspense kills me!

Posers

I keep walking past a cluster of Aloe vera plants on my way to the mailbox and have been meaning to draw their very cool shape. They are plants that always seem to be posing. I did this quick sketch when I got home. Simple ... but that's the kind of plant they are.

Leleiwi

I didn't feel like heading home right after work so I drove down to Keaukaha to clear my head. In high school, we used to say, you can do one of four things in our town at night ... 1. go to the movies, 2. eat at Ken's Pancake House, 3. drink and party, and 4. drive the drag at Keaukaha.

I stopped to listen to the waves at Leleiwi Beach Park and luckily, I had my trusty sketchbook with me so I drew some. The waves were crashing loudly and salt spray filled the air. The setting sun lit the mist in a way that made the distant trees seem farther away than they really were. It was a really relaxing time of day.

Stuff

... Just stuff ...

EDM #24 - Piece of fruit

I love papayas! They grow on trees in my front yard although I bought these particular ones at the local Farmer's Market yesterday. These are wonderfully sweet and very appropriately called "Food of the Angels." I'm off to have my papaya snack!

EDM Challenge #16 Favorite Tool (2)

I broke down and got myself a drill! I used to have one of those dinky battery-charged ones but it was wimpy! With this one, I can rev that engine and do some serious work! :)

Misc. sketches

These are a couple of sketches I did today. The car is my baby ... well, this drawing is pretty wonky and it's actually a foot longer on the front end (I should have used pencil guides. Heh). It really is cooler than what I've drawn here. I mean, come on, how can it not be cool!?! ... a scoop AND two, yes I said TWO spoilers! ... well, yeah, ok, it's a station wagon. Say no more.

If you want to see cars done right, check this out! France B. rocks!

The guy reflects exactly how I felt today ... Like he needs to chill out big time.

Crazy tyrant

I loved the marble sculptures in the new Greek and Roman wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY! There were artists there scattered in various rooms, drawing from the original ... wish I had the time to join them. I imagine that to be pure joy ... sitting for hours in the Met copying the masters and taking in all of that beauty.

I did this quick sketch of Caligula from a photo I took, before heading to bed last night. Of course, Caligula, as the 3rd Roman emperor, was known as quite the tyrant and probably a bit off his rocker ... but the carving was gorgeous and worthy of a sketch. I did the guy a favor tho' and reduced the height of his forehead, which I thought gave him a freaky look. Now, he just looks like the guy next door. Heh!

Boy and his dog

While riding the bus in Manhattan, I saw this guy and his dog hanging out outside a store. It was a scene that made me laugh for some reason, so I quickly took a photo. I think it was the image of the guy, so absorbed in his ipod, with his dog so interested in something else that made me take notice. So, I painted my first non-EDM-challenge, non-sketch watercolor painting from the photo! Fun! Fun!

Misc. sketches

NY is a fabulous place and I could have spent weeks exploring the city. These are miscellaneous sketches I made during my NY trip or from pics I took. I'm working on a watercolor from my favorite image from my trip so will be posting that as soon as I finish. With the hurricane coming in a couple hours, I'm catching up on some painting before the electricity goes out. :)

In case you heard about the 5.3 earthquake we had last night, we had no damage. Just some pics that fell off the shelf and my tool box that crashed to the floor. Thanks for your well wishes!

FYI - The barrel is from Pier 17, where they have free tango classes; the lion is outside the entrance of the police station in Little Italy. And the sextant is from the airport lounge display ... well, I only drew it because I liked the word sextant. LOL. I have no clue what a sextant is.

Bag of my sketching supplies

Admittedly and embarassingly, I usually carry my sketch supplies in a ziploc bag. Just a couple pencils, a few pens, an eraser, a pencil sharpener and some postcard sized stock that fit nicely in a quart-sized bag and being clear, I can find everything I need. Of course, I run the risk of looking like an art nerd ... a ziploc bag is sort of the equivalent to pocket protectors, don't you think? Since I knew I would be out in public this afternoon, I stuffed my things in a cloth bag, which served its purpose very well. I even had room for my watercolor supplies! I think this bag will do from now on. :)

Bicentennial Rock Garden

I took Kanoe for a walk at Liliuokalani Park this afternoon, hoping to catch some sun before the big storm heading this way. We found a nice spot in the shade next to the Bicentennial Rock Garden and spent a relaxing couple hours taking in the sights and sounds, where I drew to my heart's content. I took along my new travel watercolors to give this drawing a wash before heading home. I'm trying to decide whether or not to work on it some more. What do you think?

The gift

I found something today that totally humbles me, changing my long-held perspectives. I'm writing through tear-filled eyes, happy and sad at being given what I consider a gift.

Just yesterday, I wrote a friend describing why I quit drawing as a child. As a youngster, I recall showing my mom a drawing I was particularly proud of but because she didn't provide any encouragement whatsoever, I figured I wasn't very good at all and hung up my pencils and never picked it up again until adulthood. But my love for art continued and something that couldn't be squelched. I've always loved book illustrations and would spend hours just looking at drawings, wishing I could draw as well as the illustrators.

But this morning, I felt compelled for some reason to look through some old folders and found this drawing, included with a set of others my mother kept in storage, that I didn't know existed. They are drawings I made in elementary school. I did this one at the age of 6 (of Ferdinand the Bull eating grass). Others were from a later time. Seeing these, I realize that my mom actually treasured these! My mom kept my drawings! How long do we as adults keep our resentments of our parents, only to find that they had no substance at all? I'm a bit embarrassed and humbled and realize that lots of forgiveness is in order. But mostly I'm grateful for whatever reason drew me to look through the folder. Thanks for the gift Mom! :)

Mindless plane sketches

These are two more drawings I made while on the plane.

Hey, I didn't tell you that I met THE Samantha Brown, goddess of the Travel Channel, at Starbucks on Tuesday! Don't get me wrong, I'm not the oogling, "omg, can I have your autograph and please, please take a picture with me" kind of gal. I may raise an eyebrow to celebrities and they might even elicit a nod from me at the very most (we get a lot of them in HI ... celebrities, not nods) but cutie pie Samantha is definitely worthy of an introduction. We chatted a bit and I found her to be as sweet and bubbly as on television. That was definitely a NY highlight.

Ok, back to the drawings. The one on the bottom was drawn with my trusty micron pen ... and the other with my 2B pencil and I think some 6B for the darker shading. Unfortunately, I used my watercolor paper, which is really rough so I couldn't manage the pencil as well as I like. But, it was still a fun challenge.

Skymall Lions

You too can own a wonderful pair of stone lions for the unbelievable price of $350 or thereabouts through Delta's skymall catalog! They are actually more lifelike than the closeup shown here so don't base your decision to have these incredible replicas front your estate entrance on my drawings. I did mention that I had trouble drawing cats, didn't I? :)

Bed at the Pod Hotel

I suspect this image of a bed is the most welcome sight for visitors to NY. If they are anything like us, they spent two crazy days maneuvering through crowds to visit the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island; reminiscing at Ground Zero; eating their way through Little Italy; looking through wares in Chinatown; craning necks to see the homes of the rich and famous; wasting way too much film in Times Square ... and dragging their butts around Manhattan to find the best hotdog. A comfy bed is a much needed reprieve.

I didn't actually have much time to draw the first two days at the International Conference for World Peace but I found time to doodle here and there ... after our crazy whirlwind daily jaunts. I wish I had more drawings of the sights around the city but instead found ourselves zipping from place to place, which made drawing next to impossible.

This is my bed at the Pod Hotel on E. 51st, between 2nd and 3rd Ave. If you are hip, cool, and oh so young, that is the place to stay! (Of course if you use terms like "hip" and "cool" you are neither and not very young either). But I loved it! It's set up like a hostel but waaaay cooler ... chrome, funky music, and retro designs. Need I say more?

Tickly

These local peaches are ripening on the tree. They're a bit fuzzy but wonderfully flavorful. Their tart sweet flesh tickle my throat as I swallow. They are both beautiful AND tasty. Oh, I drew the flowers in previous posts (Pink on Orange), (Perfection) if you'd like to take a look.

P.S. I'm packing for my trip rather belatedly. I realize I must be seriously addicted to drawing because the first things that made it into my suitcase were my pens and pad. :).

Quiet but sweet

I have a very quiet but sweet addition to the family. I've "sort of" adopted T-tang, a dwarf rabbit from two great friends, Gina and Tash and their boys. I say sorta because I'm basically T-tangs guardian when Gina and Tash aren't around. I guess you could say we have a dual family arrangement.