another busy week has passed so time to post again before readers start to wonder where i've disappeared to. i've had bouts of feeling sick again...more likely due to menopause. headaches/migraines, backache, painful hands and feet have become a normal part of my life. this growing old gracefully thing can sure suck at times. anywhoo....
recently, aaron and i were browsing a local LOOT homeware shop when i spotted and fell in love with a blue star, tealight holder. it's glass windows are held together with black metal....quite bohemian. i just HAD to have it and, as luck would have it, they had it marked down in price. YAY!
the glass windows have a design moulded into them giving a very pretty effect
pencil free sketch using ink pen and watercolours in A5 sketchbook
we watched the latest movie from the narnia series on the weekend and, in one part of the movie, they were looking for a blue star....what a coincidence. i sketched the 'dawn treader' using only ink pen and watercolour. while my pen sketches are not perfect by any means, i do like the loose effect i get with using pen instead of pencil. it can be quite a challenge too. i use a .005 pen to lightly mark out the subject and then i move onto a .03, .05 and sometimes an .08 to strengthen lines to varying degrees.
pencil free sketch using ink pen and watercolours in A5 sketchbook
a week or so back, michelle (my daughter) took some lovely photos of mikayla (my granddaughter)....she is SO darned cute!! i played about a little with one of the pics in corel paintshop photo pro. mikayla looks like a beautiful, living doll with those sparkling eyes, don't you think?
if you'd like to learn how to get sparkling eyes in photos using corel paintshop photo pro, HERE is the link to the wonderful tutorial i used.
recently, aaron and i were browsing a local LOOT homeware shop when i spotted and fell in love with a blue star, tealight holder. it's glass windows are held together with black metal....quite bohemian. i just HAD to have it and, as luck would have it, they had it marked down in price. YAY!
the glass windows have a design moulded into them giving a very pretty effect
we watched the latest movie from the narnia series on the weekend and, in one part of the movie, they were looking for a blue star....what a coincidence. i sketched the 'dawn treader' using only ink pen and watercolour. while my pen sketches are not perfect by any means, i do like the loose effect i get with using pen instead of pencil. it can be quite a challenge too. i use a .005 pen to lightly mark out the subject and then i move onto a .03, .05 and sometimes an .08 to strengthen lines to varying degrees.
a week or so back, michelle (my daughter) took some lovely photos of mikayla (my granddaughter)....she is SO darned cute!! i played about a little with one of the pics in corel paintshop photo pro. mikayla looks like a beautiful, living doll with those sparkling eyes, don't you think?
....and here is my week 13 photo for the 52 weeks of me challenge
aaron helped me change my room around on saturday so it now looks different to what you see in the above pic. i packed away my TV, DVD and VCR players as i can't even remember the last time i used them in my room. i prefer to read in bed rather than watch telly. so, with them packed away and moving other things about, my bedroom feels so much more spacious now. I LOVE IT!!!
so that's about it for now. i've been trying to visit blogs when i can manage time at the computer as i love seeing what you are all up to. so, if you haven't already had a visit from me yet, expect one very soon so pop the kettle on.
so that's about it for now. i've been trying to visit blogs when i can manage time at the computer as i love seeing what you are all up to. so, if you haven't already had a visit from me yet, expect one very soon so pop the kettle on.
have a fabulous week!!
~ love, light and peace ~
Hi Serena, so sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well. I tell you, with all the bodily and hormonal changes I'm experiencing, I know what you are going through. I had really bad headaches for about a week too. One day a really bad migraine that just started about 2 pm and wouldn't go away.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I missed so many of your posts. Mikayla is a cutie! And your sketches are beautiful. I wish I could draw and create with watercolors. Those morel mushrooms are very strange looking indeed. I've heard of them but hadn't seen them in the wild before.
Happy belated birthday. Take care and have a great rest of the week. Tammy :)
I honestly think that is the cutest baby photo I've ever seen! She's adorable and Michelle clearly has a talent! (I think I'm joining you on the (not) growing old gracefully - I hope we grow out of all the migraines, aches and pains eventually!)Oh, and I've been resisting one of these stars too, I just love them but have nowhere to practically hang it!
ReplyDeleteSerena--I hope you start feeling better really soon! It's no fun feeling crummy day after day. :(
ReplyDeleteWhat great sketches! I'd love to see a picture of that bohemian star tealight, too. You do so well with straight to ink sketching. You inspired me to get out my EDM sketchbook a little while ago. I have been having headaches (not migraines, tho) and not feeling quite up to snuff since I was sick--so I haven't been feeling too creative. Soon, I hope. You--you are even sketching away when you don't feel well!
Mikayla! That is such a great picture. Can never see enough pictures of that grandbaby! No clue what they were talking about in making sparkling eyes, but I did peek--hehe! And what a photo of you! Pictures within pictures. You really do have a photographer's eye, lady!
You're in my thoughts and prayers. Feel better soon! :):)
You look much to young to be suffering the menopause - something I can so empathise about! Hope you're feeling better soon.
ReplyDeleteI love that star ornament sketch - it was worth buying just for that!
Your pen and ink sketches are wonderful! I love the tea light. And of course little Mikayla looks like an angel. Love the sparkling eyes.
ReplyDeleteYour bedroom looks peaceful and serene....goes with your name! The blue Buddha is gorgeous!
Dear Serena..thank you for visiting..oh my your grandaughter is such a living doll..love your rendition of the blue star...hope you are feeling better soon..when menopause is over you will feeel so much better...maybe try a nautopath for some help
ReplyDeleteLove your journal pages. Much more exciting than my own! I'll have to try mixing in some watercolors.
ReplyDeleteHi Serena,
ReplyDeleteHope all your aches and pain go away really soon. :)
I love the sketches that you have done. Mikayla's photo is GORGEOUS! Give her a BIg Hug from Me! :)
Your photo came out great. I love the star that you bought. I have seen those before and I really love them too. When I lived in Arizona, I almost bought a few of them but didn't. :(
Hugs
hope you start feeling better soon! is there nothing that you can take or do to help with painful hands and feet?
ReplyDeletei use to have a holder like that star but it was red, cast a really warm glow all over the room when it was hanging from the ceiling :)
SNAP! More blue and green - love the star (and Loot!)
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that can make blue and green more gorgeous is the addition of purple - my absolute-most-fave-colour-combo. (Your grand daughter looks stunning in purple).
SNAP again for a Bedroom Buddha. Lovely serene feel going on there -colours are so fresh and uplifting. Ironic how my mum was a Buddhist and converted to Christianity to marry my dad.
With your hands and feet are they worse in the mornings? If so, maybe get checked out for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Most commonly diagnosed in women after 40 and starts with the fine joints in the feet first and then the hands. I've had it almost 7 yrs now, and as an artist I rely on my fine joints in my hand daily!
Mikayla continuous to be the cutest baby girl around!
ReplyDeleteSerena, don't forget to link with us today on Wednesday Watercolor. See you there!Thanks.
Happy belated Birthday Serena! Your Granddaughter is so gorgeous... good genes must run in the family :) Love to you, Maria xoxo
ReplyDeleteHi Serena. Hope you are feeling better dear friend. It's not fun getting on in years, I know what you mean. I'm getting old-thing is I don't look the age I am, and that's a good thing, but I am sure feeling it.You look great Serena and so does Mikayla. She's a little beauty baby. I love the blue in your room. I wish I could clear away the telly and dvd, etc. out of the bedroom, but my hubby would want them back. Feel better soon and have a great rest of the week. Take care.
ReplyDeletei would love to draw like this. It's strong e full of life, I mean, It looks like it's alive, not like real life but like a dream. I like so much the way you use the colors.
ReplyDeleteBut then.. I saw the little baby and forget about the watercolor... How cute a baby can be? She' s lovely
I love your self portrait, what a great creative way at doing the such using the mirror for your background, simple love this!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear your not feeling so great, hopefully now that your room is free and full of cheer you will start feeling better again.
Your bub is beautiful, and I love your room. So beachy and light. Feel well soon, ok?!
ReplyDeleteYour journal pages are amazing. I am doing the class also from her, but have not really done much with it yet or watched all the videos. lol. I LOVE yours!
ReplyDeleteGood to see you again! :) Hope you feel better by now. {walm hug and ~healing thoughts~ } for yoo.
ReplyDeleteThat pen sketch is absolutely amazing. Waaaaaaaaayyyyy cool. :)
Talking about cool, love your self portrait composition.
Mikayla is really gorgeous. Have fun playing with the sweet baby.
You look so pretty in this photo! I sure wish I could have just ONE room in my house as clean and lovely as your bedroom!!! WOW, is all I can say! I just love your painting/drawing of the blue star you found. It just says YOU!!! You had to buy it...no doubt about that! :)
ReplyDeleteMikayla is soooooo gorgeous! She really does look like a living doll!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat sketches and Mikayla's photo is beautiful. She is a beautiful baby.
ReplyDeleteHope you start feeling better soon.
Gorgeous sketches Serena. I love the tealight and am constantly blown away that you do this without penciling it in first.
ReplyDeleteMikayla is so cute as always. Love the sparkly eyes.
Hope you feel better
Lee:)
As always, your sketches are superb...such talent. And Mikayla, well she really is so very, very cute...she could easily be a baby model!
ReplyDeleteI really, really hope you're feeling better Serena.
thanks, tammy. yep, migraines are definitely no fun at all. i wouldn't wish them on anyone.
ReplyDeletethanks, felicity. i haven't hung my star yet but i do have a spot in mind...just need to buy the hanger for the wall.
thanks, rita. mikayla certainly does steal our hearts away. i do hope you feel better soon.
thanks, gillian. i'm definitely old enough for menopause and i don't mind that but i don't like the symptoms...the constant hot flushing is driving me nuts! lol
thanks, janet. the blue buddha used to be a dark brown wood which didn't match in my room at all. i was nervous about painting him but i was thrilled with how he turned out.
thank you, bettyann. the hot flashing/flushing has been so bad this past week and, as i don't want to go on HRT, i've been thinking of checking out the alternative therapies.
thanks, roshanda. the watercolour is fun to work with so i would definitely advise to give it a go.
thanks, norma. yes, mikayla IS so beautiful and i can't believe how many compliments she gets when michelle and i are out shopping...even men will stop and admire her.
thanks, jennifer. we are still looking into the cause of my painful hands and feet. rheumatoid arthritis was ruled out which was a relief as my mum suffers terribly with it and it can be hereditary.
hi cindy! thanks for dropping by. we have similar tastes because, my favourite colour to accent blues and greens is..PURPLE! i love it! i was baptised and raised a roman catholic but my views well and truly changed in my adult years. i guess i could be classed as new age or agnostic now. i thought it may have been rheumatoid arthritis causing the pains in my hands and feet but a blood test cleared me which was a relief because i know the pain and suffering that goes along with it. it must be quite difficult at times for you particularly as an artist.
thanks, simony, and i went and added my link for watercolour wednesday. :)
ReplyDeletehi maria and thanks!
thank you, gloria. i haven't even missed my tv, vcr or dvd players.
thanks for the lovely compliments, alicegap. much appreciated.
thanks, anna. yes, my granddaughter is so precious to me. i love her so much.
thanks, gina. are you doing the same class? sketchbook delight?
thanks, paula. i was happy with the self portrait composition turned out too.
thanks, julie. i do view my room as my sanctuary...i love spending time there. you're right, there was no way i could resist that blue star.
thanks, rosy. i hope so too.
thanks, shashi...mikayla brings so much joy to my life.
thanks, lee. i'm surprised too at how i actually manage without pencil....it's kinda fun throwing caution to the wind.
LOVED CATCHING UP....baby is adorable...sketches great....your needlework wow...
ReplyDeletehope your tests come out okay