Blue glass mataki

This is a mataki or charm that I picked up at a shop in Greece. It is supposed to ward off the evil eye and it must work cuz I haven't seen one recently.

EDM Challenge #153 - Something in a plastic wrapper

I am excitedly awaiting tomorrow's dinner of fish tacos with green, yellow, and red peppers. I figured I better draw them before they are no more. :)

EDM Challenge #29 - Something architectural

I visited this church on the island of Andros, Greece in 1994. I distinctly remember walking down this path and looking back to see this white church against a perfectly blue sky and thinking that it looked so unreal beautiful, like a watercolor. The architectural features in shadows are what tempted me to paint this from my photos after 13 years.

Post-post post (heh): PLEASE feel free to give me critical feedback. I wasn't going to post this for various reasons ... but figured I learn by creating and maybe the next one won't be so muddied and I won't try so hard to force transparent watercolors to do what they really don't want to do. Really, I value critiques immensely. :)

R for Rain ... and Reprieve

We got a reprieve from the rain today long enough to draw some rain drops still clinging to leaves of my Surinam cherry plant. I drew this with a 2B and 6B Faber-Castell graphite pencil on Strathmore Bristol Vellum paper.

Happy Valentine's Day my lovelies!

Thanks Jennifer for such a beautiful award (and thanks Emila for creating it). I'd like to pass this on to my valentine day lovelies ... You all warm my heart with your support. I love you THIS much!

Kate /Andrea / France / Mariana / DRB / Ryan / Tracy / Juj / Suzanne / Serena / Anita / Steve /Jennifer (yes, I'm giving it to you too!) / Susan / Sharon / Mellanie / Lin / Sherry

And thank you to everyone that visits my blog! I am so grateful and want to wish you all a splendid Valentine's Day! *hugs* to you all!

1. If you get tagged (and want to play along), write a post with links to blogs that you love,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

Beaufort tree

When I walk past a tree with interesting bark or form, it will stop me in my tracks (blame the botanist in me) ... and of course I have to take a picture. This really cool tree grew in the back yard of the house I stayed at in Beaufort, NC, where my friend Karen got married in November. I have no clue what kind of tree it is tho' (Anyone know?). I drew this mostly with a .005 Pigma micron pen and some .03 for shading. I'm pretty happy with it, thanks to Kate who provided valuable feedback as I neared the end.

Mmmmmmm .... (EDM #43 - China or ceramic)

Sometimes, a person needs color to brighten up a rather gloomy and rainy day. So I busted out my watercolors this morning to paint a cup of Japanese green tea and cookies. Admittedly, this was painted from a photo `cuz the cookies have long been eaten (so de-lish!). If you would like to know what kind they are, I drew the package here. The colors are a little more intense than the original but I quite like the result.

My lesson today is to trust my eyes. I drew out the general outlines in pencil initially and was quite pleased with the shapes. Then just before finishing, I changed the shape of the lip of the china cup `cuz it looked wonky ... only to find out that it was fine ... and it ended up misshapen! Ack! I'm learning ...

Thanks for the You Make My Day Award!

Thanks Jennifer (JC's Coffeehouse) for honoring me with the You Make My Day Award! This quick sketch is dedicated to you, a new friend and fellow blogger who believes, as I do, that the movie Outbreak is a wonderfully touching love story. It's a must-see this Valentines Day! : )

There are a few creative and wonderful bloggers that make my day each and every day and I'd like to pass this award to them! And they can pass the award along to others if they'd like:
Kate (Kathleen Rietz - Artist) who inspires me and makes me smile every day.
Ryan (Bone and Shadow) whose skull mysteries keep me entertained for hours (really!). Plus, he's a cool guy.
Juj (Hey Juj) whose quirky illustrations make my brain do double takes and always crack me up. "Whaaaaa?"
Karen (Karen Blados, Artist and Designer) whose daily musings, stories about her family, and colorful sketches brighten my day.
Susan (Susan's Scribbles) who challenges herself creatively every day. I wanna be like her.

Ok, I must present one last award! Am I breaking award-giving rules? Oh heck, I think she's a rule-breaker herself! LOL But I think France (Wagonized) deserves a special YMMD Award just cuz she's so freakin good!

Life, onions, and soup

"Life is like an onion; you peel it off one layer at a time. Sometimes you weep .... and sometimes you make soup." Carl Sandburg, as modified by Joan Y.

There is a lesson in there.

Like a spring of water

"The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your soul in drought. And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden. And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." Isaiah 58:11

As I was flipping through my college scrapbook tonight, I came across a page of quotes that I compiled that had helped me get through the tough spots on the journey to adulthood. This quote seemed particularly appropriate tonight so I drew my interpretation of it.

Everyday Matters Challenge #112 - Something Fresh

I went to the grocery store last week and for some reason, the store sold out its eggs! I mean, how does a grocery store run out of eggs? So, this week, I visited again and found a carton of these beautiful local, fresh eggs. I knew I just had to draw them. I tried out a new charcoal pencil (Prismacolor, soft) and combined it with some graphite and used some blending techniques described by J.D. Hillberry in his book, "Drawing realistic textures in pencil." If you love graphite like I do, you must check out J.D. Hillberry's web site!

Microcosm

Like a rain forest that is comprised of multiple vegetative layers, each comprising its own microcosm, so does my purse. (And yes, I'm a biologist so bear with me :) ). I've removed the "canopy layer" of papers and wallet to reveal my "subcanopy" of a mix of half-used gift cards, prescriptions, keys, cell phone, nail file, and compact. Oh, in case you're wondering, the groundcover ... the stuff at the very bottom that never sees the light of day ... is comprised of loose coins, a couple paperclips, and bits of paper. Fortunately, nothing too exciting. A woman's purse is very revealing, don't you think?

The clutter

Since I had a 20-minute wait in the lobby of my hotel before the shuttle ride back to the airport yesterday, I started to draw my everyday thing ... my purse. As you can see, it is not quite as empty as my previous drawing (here). I finished it up at home while watching Blade Trinity (that Wesley Snipes ... wow!).

Nene ("Neh-neh") Goose

Ok, I've got it all worked out. I downloaded a DVD decoder so I can finally watch DVDs on my computer again. So, that now means I can do four things at once while at my desk. I can draw from my reference photos on my computer, watch my movie (Panic Room is great, btw ... LOVE Jodie Foster), eat my dinner, and email friends! Now, how's THAT for efficiency!?!

This is a nene goose (pronounced "neh-neh") that belongs to a flock that hangs out at Wailoa State Park. They're endangered but thankfully, well on their way back to stable numbers. They love native ohelo berries (drawn here).

Illustration Friday - Stitch

These are my jammie shorts that I thought would be perfect for this week's Illustration Friday theme because it has stitches that make the seams pucker ... like a searsucker pucker!

EDM Challenge #136 - Draw a living thing

Mamo means yellow in Hawaiian and is also the name of an extinct black forest bird. Mamo is also my cat that has yellow eyes.

What started out as a doodle, ended up being quite an involved drawing. I guess such is the nature of things when drawing fur as Juj ("Hey Juj"; formerly "Everything is Contextual") can probably attest. She is the mistress of fur in my book. Check out this post.

Cymbidiums - completed

I used my HB, 2B, and 5B graphite pencils for this drawing of some Cymbidium orchids I received from my close friend Charlotte. I used Strathmore Bristol Vellum paper that takes graphite better than any other paper I've used (except my moleskine sketchbook, of course). This drawing is about 8"X10".

Cymbidium - part deux

I've been asked to share my approach to drawing and I have to admit, I probably go against alot of rules. These drawings are for my drawing pleasure only and so, my approach is very casual. In this case, I drew directly on the paper. If this was a more serious piece, I probably would have spent more time with the composition, drawn a draft, and burnished the outline. But, I had a pretty good idea of the composition, didn't erase, and used a light touch so as not to create grooves in the paper, which can ruin any pencil drawing.

Cymbidium - an early start

It feels so good to sit down and work on a slightly more involved drawing. I love pencil and I get a craving to get lost in one pretty often but never seem to find the time. All of my doodles and quickies have satiated that craving in the past but not this weekend! This is my progress thus far. It is a drawing of some orchids my friend Charlotte gave me yesterday. They brighten my house and I smile every time I walk past them! :)

More airport doodles

Two women that were waiting for their flight with me ...