This is just a little artcard that I started last night and finished this evening. It is only 2.5" x 3.5" so just the right amount of effort I can deal with after a long day at work. Thanks everyone for your well wishes for my birthday! I dedicate this little piece of nature to my dear friend France Van Stone (Wagonized) who was also born on April 14!
For some reason, my once color-accurate scanner has now morphed into some weird color-mixing machine since I switched to a mac. I think it is because it is as perimenopausal as I am! My marigolds are blooming nicely and are producing their own seeds now ... so I will be sharing them with friends as Kate has shared them with me. I'll be passing on the Rietz legacy. :) I just had to take the opportunity to draw my little flowers because their little bursts of color light up my morning when I sit amongst them and drink my coffee.
I've been drawing, really! : ) Hope this little teaser post finds you all well. I'm in the middle of drawing some marigolds that I've grown from seeds (feeling like an adoring mama). I love their splash of color *smile* !
Sorry I haven't been drawing much these days. But if you stand by ... I have a drawing to share soon ... But for now, you're stuck with this. When I was in college, I owned a bubble-eyed goldfish. You know the ones that have transparent water balloons for eyes? (Stay with me, this is going somewhere). Well, I needed a backdrop for my aquarium and because I was a struggling student, I created my own with my number 2 pencil and some typing paper. So, this is the drawing I did for my goldfish, Bubbles. May he/she rest in peace. (PS: Can you believe I still have this? I amaze myself sometime).
Hmmm ... what to choose. I'm in a bit of a quandry. If you felt that you deserved a valentine gift and you know no one is going to buy it for you, would you choose a Hovabator incubator (for chicken eggs and mind you, it comes with an egg turner AND is air-circulated!) or a new light blue satchel that will go so so so well with my dress? Or maybe a bright red umbrella (because it is dumping right now and I need a proper one)? I doodled tonight as I contemplated. I still haven't decided.
I have this pretty planter in my living room, which stands about a meter tall and am still looking for the perfect plant to put in it. Being a lazy Saturday, it was really nice to bust open my moleskine this morning and break the drawing block I've been struggling with the past several months. In the meantime, I've been getting outside and enjoying the blue skies and warm weather we've been having ... which has been pretty rare lately.
Dragon fruit ... sounds and looks like famine food that is roasted over open flames and eaten by medieval beasts doesn't it? But on the contrary, dragon fruits are sweet, succulent fruit that tastes a cross between strawberries and prickly pears! No wonder they are called Strawberry pears in some parts of the world. They are so juicy, the nectar drips down my chin every time I eat it. I found these at the local farmer's market and they are still in season. Dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus of Cactaceae or Cactus Family, for those botanists out there), were probably imported from Taiwan so no, not medieval at all. : )
I felt inclined to add its scientific name here to justify the honor of being included in Top 100 Botany Blogs in the Online College Blogs. I'm down there at #76 in case you're looking. It really is an honor since I'm a botanist and well, the resources they list are great : )!
Ever have one of those days that you just need to plop your butt under a tree and watch the clouds float by?
I live on the "Orchid Isle". At least that's what the tourism authority says. To tell you the truth, there are only three native orchids in Hawaii and all of them are pretty rare and not very showy. So, I suspect we're called that because orchids from all over the world grow really well here.
I was feeling a bit nostalgic tonight. This type of cymbidium flowers grew in the front lawn of a house I rented in Volcano and they always take me back to a simple time. What better medium to capture their simplicity than a plain ole pencil.
More cymbidiums here.
I am still learning ... and still making mistakes. I posted a snippet of this painting a little earlier to hide my embarrassing mistakes with perspective and probably a few other things. But I'm sharing this entire painting as a lesson to myself that developing skill involves trying, making mistakes, and improving. There's no embarrassment in that! : )
I had been "rooting" around the pantry for some tea (sorry, couldn't help myself) and found some ginger and decided to make some ginger tea. For some reason, it settles my stomach and after two weeks of holiday feasting, I really need it! Plus, it is supposed to be good for motion sickness and to ward off colds.
If you'd like to make your own tea, just slice up an inch or so of ginger root and boil it in a couple cups of water. I drink mine plain but you could add honey and lemon to taste.
This is my pen and ink tribute to my favorite cure-all.
Tonight, I celebrate my almost-completed chicken coop (stay tuned for pics) by getting back to my drawing! It feels so good to have my pencils between my fingers again! So this evening, I busted out my colored pencils and took a stab at creating shadows using complementary colors. Mheh, it's okay, I guess. Gotta love goofy shaped peppers!
Very talented and utterly amazing artist Sigrid Frensen tagged me and asked me to share 7 facts about myself. If you don't know Sigrid's work, you MUST check her botanical drawings, which make me totally envious!
Ok, these are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog
2. Share 7 interesting/random facts about yourself on your blog
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post, leaving their names as well as links to their blog
4. Leave a comment on each of their blogs to let them know they've been tagged!
1. I was born on Easter Sunday. That has always made me feel special.
2. I suffer from shortness. I'm only 5'2" so I wear heels to compensate.
3. I wish I could design and build houses (hence the "chicken house"). When I was in grade school, I designed a 4-story home with an indoor pool and all the amenities a young girl would want. I probably would have painted all the rooms pink if it came to fruition.
4. I don't like being hot. I've actually plan where I live to ensure cool breezes year round.
5. I am grouchy on only three occasions, when I have not had my morning coffee, when I'm hungry, and on occasion, when I'm PMSing. Other times, I'm rather pleasant to be around.
6. I am studying Greek language at the moment (Yay, Rosetta Stone!). I totally realize that Spanish is a more practical language to learn but ... I still have dreams of backpacking through Greece.
7. When I sit with my little fluffy chickens they make me so happy that I worry I'll be one of those "chicken people" that call their hens "girls" and talk incessantly about them. (It's already happening! Yikes!)
This is a little artcard that I drew earlier and is now in the possession of a dear friend, Mariana Musa, in France.
This is one of my favorite drawings, which I did last year. I love it because it's just a little glimpse of things I saw while on one of my weekend walks, reminding to stop from time to time and enjoy the simple things around me. I'm posting this again in honor of Kate Rietz who celebrates her birthday today. This drawing is one of Kate's favorites too. Happy Birthday gurl!!! *party horns blasting* *confetti thrown about* *balloons and streamers floating around*
I've been decidedly absent from the blogging world recently, not because I haven't been wanting, needing to draw, but because I've been needing to take care of my recently acquired additions of two little hens. So, if you're a spoiled hen in my household, what do you need? A spiffed out, two-story condo complete with nesting boxes, roosts, and a flower box! I've been tempted to add a sound system but that would be overdoing it, yeah?
The coop will be raised on legs with a little ladder going down to the lower fenced "yard" where they can lounge on grass and sip MaiTais. The roof is removable to make the coop light enough to move around in case the chickens need a change of scenery. As you can see, I have a lot more work to do, including painting and adding trim and of course, the roof. Maybe I'll add a sun roof ... Hmmm ... Whatever I decide, I'm hoping the good life will inspire my hens to lay lots and lots of eggs!
If you want to see pics of the coop in its development and pictures of my hens, check out the coop construction page on Backyard Chickens.
Ok, I really didn't mean for this to be a sarcastic post at all. Despite the fact that I missed my Thanksgiving lunch with family and my Thanksgiving dinner with friends and despite lying in bed all day with a terrible cold, I am thankful. I am grateful to God for giving me life and for blessing me each day with all that I need. I am thankful for my friends who bring me joy every day and who love me despite my faults. I am thankful for my family; my brothers and their families who are so dear to me. I am thankful to have a job in this difficult economic times. I am thankful for a roof over my head and food in the fridge. I am thankful for Robutussin DM and Ricola and Theraflu and for the other medical and natural wonders that are getting me through this cold. I am thankful to those I meet everyday on my blog and in person and for those I've yet to meet. Thank you all for being a part of my life! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I added to my menagerie this weekend! Lily, a white Japanese Silkie Bantam chick, is just over 3 mos old and already showing off her spiffy doo! Isn't she beautiful, ... in a Solid Gold dancer kind of way?!
Mom and Dad's Beef Stew Recipe
1 lb beef stew meat
2-3 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
3-4 russet potatoes
3 celery whatchamacallits
3 carrots
2 small cans tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
optional: 2 beef bullion
salt, pepper to taste
sugar to offset acidity of the tomato sauce
2 T flour
Brown meat with smooshed garlic. Add chopped carrots and celery and cook a little but not too much. Add onions and cook some more. Add water to 3/4 to top of stuff in the pot and bring to boil, cover, and simmer for an 1 hr 30 min. Sometime along the way, add the potatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, beef bullion cubes and cook a bit longer, say, for 30 min. Make a paste and slurry with the flour by adding water. Add to the stew to thicken. Dat's it!
Hmmm ... can you guess what I made for dinner last night? It's not quite done but I think you might be able to guess what it is. I'm drawing this for friends of mine who tried to make it themselves but felt they didn't quite get it right. So, when I finish this drawing, I'll include the recipe for them ... and for you. :)
Ernie was just lying around the house today. My Godson was over and I found this on the living room floor, under a chair and figured what the heck, I'll draw it as is.
Thank you everyone for all your visits. I'm having a glass of wine to celebrate my 50,000th visitor. Whoever you are, thank you! This one's for you.
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