the garden

I had a GREAT long weekend. It was a good mix of chores and fun.

Here’s a peek of what’s blooming in the garden.

the weekend...finally

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I plan to spend time in the garden…drawing, painting and pulling weeds.

nothing to draw

I was out of town the past few days visiting family and friends. Sometimes it feels good to get back to normal. Visiting and eating all the time just wears me out!! (My mom bakes the best pies!!)

I keep hoping that the rain will stop soon so I can get out in the backyard and start sketching some flowers. Things are looking better for this coming weekend. Fingers crossed!

For now, here is a sketch of a statue that sits in my studio.

cats + boxes

What is the attraction with cats and boxes? Abby has always loved boxes…even boxes that are too small for her big fanny!!

Every Amazon box that arrives on our doorstep is HERS the minute we empty it out.

The box in the drawing above is the perfect size. It’s got a nice, warm blue towel in it. It’s in the corner of my studio and she keeps me company here quite a lot.

may days

Back in January, I started keeping a Sketch Diary. I’m happy to say that this is one project that I’ve kept alive. I tend to get bored or, most of the time, just overwhelmed, and then some of my projects fall off the radar. Does this happen to you?

This is one project that I’ve enjoyed. It’s fun to look back over the months and remember what I was doing on a particular day.

Here’s a page from last week. My apologies to his holiness the Dalai Lama. 

big hat

The rain has finally stopped in our little corner of Arkansas. Now it’s time to plant. And pull weeds. Lots and lots of weeds.

Last weekend, I donned my big sunhat and headed out.

I had several flats of annuals and herbs to plant. My grandson would say I look like a real dork in this big hat. I’ve never been much of a fashionista that’s for sure. Just ask anyone who knows me!

The big hat is just part of the garden wardrobe. It goes well with my dorky crocs. 

pink flowers

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a beautiful spring day. My husband took me out to lunch for my favorite food…Indian. Yum, I love spicy food.

He cut some roses from our rosebush. I just had to draw them. I wish you could smell them…they smell delicious!

Later in the day, some tulips arrived from my daughter. I did a quick watercolor sketch of them, too.

As you can see, it was a pink kind of day!

orange pansies

Can’t Resist…that’s the theme this month at The Sketchbook Challenge.

This topic is going to be fun…I have TONS of things I can’t resist. Chocolate, desserts, margaritas, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks in general, waking sleeping cats, giving unsolicited advice to my daughter, watching Casablanca or Rear Window even though I’ve seen them each a hundred times, well, see what I mean. Just loads of things. This is going to be an excellent theme to work with.

The sketch above shows two things I can’t resist: glazing a painting until the color is POPPING off the page and adding ink outlines. I think that part must be from my early “art” influences. That would be color books or Disney cartoons. Just can’t resist adding an inked outline!

strawberry season is here!

I saw my first ripe strawberry in the garden. A few more and I can make a pie!