Sad Pug

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Pugs have such sad, world weary faces so this seemed like the perfect sketch to restart my blog after such long neglect. We are all sad and world weary at this point. It’s weird to have our normal lives suspended and be hunkered down at home. A good time to get back to art and stay in touch with friends and family. This is a charcoal sketch I drew from a decor magazine photo of the dog in an opulent setting. His expression caught my eye. I know pugs aren’t any sadder than other dogs, they just look like they are. He misses being able to slobber on his friends.

Happy Mother’s Day

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Goldfinch moms aren’t quite this gold but maybe this one is special. Like you. Hope you are having a lovely day. I’m excited to now have a work area in one half of my bedroom. A desk, chair and plenty of light. Next to the book shelves which I’m culling in order to  have space for my art supplies. Which are currently in the attic. Previously I worked in the dining room but was always having to put stuff away to use the dining table for dinner. Which was a good reason to not start on anything. So now I can leave work out on my desk and it’s quiet up there…really great. Yes, lots of clutter, but it’s PRETTY clutter!

Snowy Tree with Owls

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LowRes-signed-Dark_Owls-in-Snowy-Evergreen

Best wishes to you all in this new year. Hope it’s a good one. My new year’s resolution is to be a better blogger. Seeing as how I’ve been the lamest blogger ever this past year. Busy with other stuff, side-tracked by bead work, but it’s just not the same. I’ve missed doing the frequent artwork to show you. Got to get back in the groove. These are barred owls, which never hang out this many together in one tree… but wouldn’t it be cute if they did? Micron pen and watercolor. Cheers.

Cute Javelinas

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I’m not real consistent about getting greeting cards made. Sometimes I just can’t think of a good idea. Sometimes I just want to buy a card. Or I never get around to it. Or all of the above. But sometimes I pull through with a winner like this one. It’s an anniversary card I made for Spence and Tuyen a while ago. I found this cute picture of a pair of javelinas huddled in the dirt to keep warm in a National Geographic magazine and decided to use it since it reminded me of them. In a super nice way of course! The white bedding is cut from magazine pics. Drew the brass bed with a gold metallic pen. Aren’t they the cutest animals ever? Aside from YOUR pets of course.

Vintage Needle Minder

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This guy–I think it’s a guy–is meant to hold sewing items. The felt shirt flips up for needles to be stored in a piece of flannel, there are little skeins of thread around the ankles, and his tote holds thimbles. The right tote is missing but maybe it had tiny scissors in it or a wee pin cushion. I love stuff like this, sweet and charming. Maybe these things were little projects for learning sewing and embroidery techniques or just useful if you didn’t want to lug your sewing basket with you. I used a micron pen and watercolor on pastel paper. Had a little trouble with the shadows but it was still fun to draw and paint. It was also fun searching for these online when I was trying to figure out what to call it. Sewing “caddy” brought up wooden holders and vintage “etuis” are beautiful little ornamental cases which I especially enjoyed perusing. “Needle holders” was the most commonly used for these but I liked the British version–“needle minders.” I squandered some serious time in the name of research. Just for you.

Juncos In The Snow

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This was supposed to be a Valentine’s post but…I don’t know what happened. So now it’s a happy snowy March post. It snowed 5 inches last night and today, so pretty coating all the branches. We’ve had a lot of juncos in our yard this winter, at the feeders and hopping around on the ground and under the hedges. They are in the sparrow family I only recently found out. Such cute little plump birds–so neat and tidy looking with their soft charcoal-gray feathers, white bellies and small pale beaks. Makes me think of gray flannel suits. They seem so fearless. I think the little black cat I’ve seen lately in our yard likes them too! Danger! Danger!

Chunky Red Necklace

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I’m going to get back on track, I swear! Because life is more fun when I’m always working on art. And I get so disappointed in myself when I’m not. Here is a drawing I worked on, off-and-on, for a while. Watercolor and pen on paper. Lots of time-consuming detail and I’m not sure if it’s finished. This is one of my favorite necklaces. Love the color and how chunky and exotic it looks. Yes, it’s a bit heavy and a few strands of hair usually get caught in it but so worth it. It makes me feel like I’m an interesting person when I wear it. I guess I should be rocking that thing every day!

Cut Paper Floral

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One of my favorite things in the weekend Wall Street Journal ‘Off Duty’ section is a monthly column called Flower School. In it, Lindsey Taylor puts together a floral arrangement based on a work of art. The flowers and arrangement are always gorgeous as is the photograph of it. She really does capture the mood, colors and composition of a piece. Her write-up is delightful too. It’s perfect in every way. Sometimes the art work is well known but often it’s an artist I’ve not heard of or a piece I’ve not seen. I end up looking up that artist to learn more so it’s educational in addition to being visually pleasing. A nice break from the news. Check it out: https://lindseytaylorgardens.squarespace.com/writing-1-1/  Scroll down to WSJ Off Duty to see her arrangements. For my arrangement above, I cut leaves, flowers and a bowl shape from white card stock and glued them to Canson dark gray pastel paper using YES! paste. Cutting and pasting–one of life’s simple joys.

Chicadee dee dee

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Such a delightful bird! Playful and bold. They seem to enjoy their birdness, you know? The way they dip and swoop as they fly. Anyway, I always felt it would be too hard to draw or paint birds since they are so precise–their markings and smooth feathers. But then I remembered that it doesn’t have to be perfect, just give it a try. I’m not illustrating a bird book. Don’t be afraid. All that stuff. This card was drawn with a micron pen and watercolor. Sam said if he had to pick a favorite non-human creature, it would be a chickadee. Good choice. Happy Birthday, Sam!

Winter Wrens

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Happy Anniversary to us! Yep, it’s 36 years today–hard to believe. Well, not that hard. I think it’s funny when people say things like “Seems like just yesterday we were walking down the aisle.” No it doesn’t. It seems like thirty-some years ago. But it’s been great! I love my husband and we are happy. Aren’t we, honey? I know I often sound like a curmudgeon but maybe I’m just a realist. Although not so much with my art. This is the card I made for Rich. I used pen, watercolor and crayon here. I haven’t ever seen a winter wren but whenever I’m flipping through the bird book and see it, I always think–what a cute bird. The book says they hang out in forests and near woodland streams. They forage on the ground and their nests are also near the ground so they wouldn’t survive in our neighborhood with all the cats. Nature is cruel, gotta be tough. I hate that. See, more realism.