sunday sketches :: flower faces

You know you’re an illustrator when you see faces on inanimate objects! I was making a sketch of some flowers, and these guys showed up!!

This week, as part of Sunday Sketches, Alexandra is having a contest. She asked last week for us to create a new logo for Sunday Sketches. It will be used while she is away in England.

I borrowed elements from her current logo (below):

and changed them out a bit for something that says British. Hence, the little teapot and cup of tea!

I didn’t have time to color it. But I guess if it gets chosen, I will make the time ☺ Wish me luck!

it’s july already!!

Some flowers for you on this hot, sunny weekend!

We are gearing up for Independence Day here.

To most people in the U.S., this means cookouts and picnics and fireworks and a long weekend of fun with friends.

At our house, it is a weekend of cats hiding under the bed and a dog that quivers like a lump of Jell-O every time someone sets off a firecracker.

And our neighborhood has lots of kids (and adults) who love to light firecrackers all weekend long -- even though it is illegal until the 4th.

Oh, well, I remember how fun it was, so I won’t complain. It’s only once a year. We just turn on the TV or radio extra loud and try to drown out the pops from outside.

sunday sketches :: flowers

For today’s Sunday Sketches, I did a painting of some of the flowers I got at the Farmer’s Market yesterday. Usually, I’m drawn toward bright yellow flowers but the phlox caught my eye this week. And the gladiolus is lovely, too.

I picked up some goodies to eat, too. Strawberries are nearly gone here but I did find some. Now it’s raspberry and blueberry season here! Yum!!

look who’s here

Spring was cold here. Now we have rain. Everyone is a bit late showing up this year. Finally, some daylilies, a few wild flowers and one lone black-eyed Susan!

Hello old friends!

Posting to Paint Party Friday today. It’s been a while since I’ve had any paintings to share….have a great weekend!

orange zinnia and friends

Pink and orange zinnias with black-eyed Susan and some little bluish-purple things I just made up … which actually look an awful lot like blueberries ☺

Have a great weekend!

red rose and friends

I’m working on a series of 5x7 flower paintings.

I’m contemplating opening an etsy shop. Any advice? I REALLY want to know. What has been your experience in selling your artwork? Not just on etsy but anywhere.

Would you buy original paintings? Or prints? Greeting cards? None of the above?

Thanks for your help and advice, friends!


Happy Paint Party Friday.

weekend doodle

Pretty typical weekend here.

Lots of laundry and doodling. That’s about it.

So, all in all, a good weekend!

inktober catch up

I got behind a little with my inktober posts.

I’ve been working on another sketch (not finished yet) but I was using roses as a background, so did a few practice doodles.

On a side note…

Does anyone use Pinterest? I’m not as addicted as some people but I do find it a useful tool for organizing sites that I like.

I stumbled upon one the other day that sounded interesting: “200 things to throw away today” and I thought, Ok, I could use some decluttering. Who couldn’t?

1. Old product boxes (Apple products, TV, etc.) I’m thinking what? Perfectly good storage boxes?
2. Hangers from dry cleaners. I don’t own any dry cleaning clothes…so check that one off.
3. Plastic hangers from the store. But what will I use??
4. Magazines. Why? Perfectly good collage material in the trash?
5. Ugly undergarments. Ok, well, I might have a few.
6. Book you’re never read or will never read again. I can’t let them go. They’re my friends!

I quit reading after this one. The list was making me uncomfortable!!

Now, before you start thinking that you’ll see me on one of those Hoarding shows on TV, no. I’m not that bad. I limit my crazy to one closet in my studio. It’s sort of like Monica’s closet on Friends. The door that you never want to open!! It’s a bit crowded but always room for one more thing ☺

flowers are fading fast

Summer is coming to an end here. Not so much that it’s getter cooler, it’s not! But the days are shorter and the flowers are starting to shrivel up.

I spent some time in the garden this week trying to find any “pretty” flowers left to paint. There were a few, most of the plants just need to be deadheaded. Or plucked from the ground entirely.

I much prefer the planting season of spring to the clean up season of fall!! (I should probably go back and reread any posts from springtime. I probably said the opposite then!)

Either way, here is a painting of a few flowers that haven’t died. Yet.

black-eyed susans and zinnias

I drew these flowers on some scrap paper … not watercolor paper. So I decided to paint them in Photoshop.

july flowers

I bought this set of “vases” years ago. I found it buried behind all the other vases in the cupboard. Thought it would be fun to draw.

Here’s a sample of what’s blooming in the yard now:

Purple Salvia, Black-eyed Susan, Zinnias, and Daisies.

canna and friends

Another painting on Bristol.

I planted about a dozen Canna bulbs this year. They were so pretty!!

Until the dog trampled them. She was on a mission to find a bunny or a squirrel or whatever. Oh, well. I managed to rescue this one.

can of flowers

Hope everyone had a great, safe weekend. This is the second year I’ve missed the fireworks on Independence Day. Dobby, Lily and Luna HATE fireworks and all of our neighbors LOVE them.

So….I spent another year shut up in the back bedroom of the house with the TV up as loud as I could stand it. It helped to block out the POP, pop, WHIZ, pop, POP, BOOM.

Well, that and a little pill for the dog.

We asked our vet for something to get her through the week. I hated to dope her up but she was a mess without it. At least, it calmed her down. A little.

Speaking of POP … the garden is starting to really POP with color. I’ve posted a photo of the “models” for this painting over on my other blog.

This weekend, I experimented using Bristol paper instead of watercolor paper. I usually save the Bristol for ink only drawings but it held up really well with the watercolor.

It only buckled a little…nothing that can’t be fixed. And the colors are just as bold as using watercolor paper. I’ll definitely try this again.

flowers on the windowsill

Another angle of the flowers I picked up at the Farmer’s Market.

flowers and birds

I picked up some flowers at the Farmer’s Market last weekend. I LOVE painting flowers!

The gulls on the driftwood is a little piece my father-in-law made years ago.

a few more flowers

Just a few more flowers on scrap paper. These measure about 3” x 4”…quick to draw and easy to paint.

I’m excited to start the index-card-a-day challenge. It starts today and runs through the end of July. I haven’t decided yet if I want to pick a topic or use the prompts from the site. Hmmmm?

I really love this challenge. It’s easy to do a drawing a day on an index card. At the end of July, you have quite a collection of paintings/drawings/doodles. Hope to see you there!

three

I have blossoms on my daisies in the backyard … the flowers should open in a few days.

If ever the rain will stop so the sunshine can do her thing!!

Happy Paint Party Friday.

two

Just a quick painting on a piece of scrap watercolor paper.

more flower doodles

It’s been raining so much here, I think we may never see flowers this summer!!

The ground is so wet, everything I planted has turned yellow from overwatering and lack and sunshine!!

For now, I’m doodling and dreaming of seeing the REAL thing!

flower doodle

Just time for a quick hello today.

“Hello!”