More sketches for 365 day challenge

I'm trying to post my sketches weekly rather than fortnightly. 

I'm hoping to get back into a regular routine with my blog. 

I miss it and I miss my blog buddies.

Here is a week of sketches for the challenge.

I always sketch directly with pen unless stated otherwise. 

Sushi has become one of our favourite lunches.
 Nowadays, Sushi is basically cooked, vinegared rice 
combined with any preferred assortment of fillings wrapped in seaweed (nori). 
 Traditionally, Japanese Narezushi rice was cooked in fermented fish 
but that is not used for Western-style sushi. 
Bradley and I usually have avocado sushi rolls 
and inari (deep-fried tofu pillows filled with sushi rice) 
with lots of wasabi and soy sauce.  DELICIOUS!

Practising cross-hatching and shading with pen
with Alphonso Dunn.

Bradley (#1 son) bought a set of bongo drums a few months back
and he has become quite adept at playing them.

 It turned out that the air filter was an easy fix and something
I was capable of doing myself.  The guy showed me what to do
and the mower is now running beautifully again.
I'm feeling quite proud of myself!

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches HERE.

*****************************************************************************

In light of the warmer weather,
the boys were groomed last Friday.

Cody Before

Cody After

Jack Before

Jack After

Unfortunately, Jack didn't react well to the shampoo that the groomer used.
He ended up with severe itching which caused him to scratch and bite at his skin
making a right mess of himself, poor thing.
I gave him a couple of Billy Goat goats' milk soap baths which usually
helps soothe the skin and ease the itching.  He is now sporting one of those cones
on his head to allow time for the wounds to heal.
Hopefully, it will be sooner than later as King Jack is not amused with his 'crown',
he keeps bumping into things with it.

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend.
Mine is almost over....
back to the grind tomorrow.

Another fortnight of sketches

Another busy fortnight has passed...

Here are more daily sketches for my 365 day challenge.
I always sketch directly in pen unless stated otherwise.

There have been recent changes in my art/computer room. 

I moved the computer desk out 

so that I could fit in a single ensemble bed.

This is for when Mum stays overnight. 

She has been feeling very lonely

since Dad has been in the aged care home.

I'm almost back on my vegan path from being a pescetarian.
Pescetarian - A vegetarian who eats fish.
I regretted giving up on my vegan path
as I believe that going back on dairy
caused me to gain weight.
I'm already feeling the benefits of being vegan again,
not just my health and weight loss but also my peace of mind.

I'm such a slacker!
I still haven't found time to get my foot X-rayed.
The pain comes and goes.

The chickpea curry was DELICIOUS!

It was a sad ending to a busy day.
Bella, Aaron's female budgie, passed away.
We have no idea why...
She was only four years old,
the youngest of our budgie family.
It was a tear-filled afternoon and evening.
We buried her in our back garden.
Bella's mate, Jacob, is looking for her and
we feel so sad for him.
R.I.P. sweet Bella ~ xo

Aaron decided it was best to replace Bella for Jacob's sake
so, after I picked him up from school, we headed off to the pet shop.
Isabell is around 6 months old.
We were told she is female but we are not entirely convinced at this stage.
Not sure what Jacob is thinking...

I signed up for Liz Steel's - Sketching Now - online course!!
She taught a klass in Sketchbook Skool
and it was awesome so I'm quite keen for her class to start.

I decided to sketch the doggy toy for this entry,
as Cody or Jack left it lying on the floor.
I really need to teach them to pack their toys away. lol
Sometimes, it looks like an obstacle course of doggy toys here.

The lovely Pink Lily tea cup, saucer, and side-plate set that
one of Reece's friends gifted me for my birthday a few years back.
I didn't sketch the side-plate.

In my early teens, I remember loving the lemony fragrance
of 4711 Eau De Cologne so, when I spotted it on special
at our local pharmacy, I just had to buy some.
It's retail price is normally around $50 but it was only $19.95 on special.
MY! How prices have escalated over the years....
The retail price was only around $4.95 back in my teens and it was a bigger bottle too.
When I apply it now, the fragrance instantly transports me back in time. 

A couple of months ago, Aaron and I bought some
foxtail palms for our back garden from a roadside vendor.
He had decent-sized pony tail palms at cheap prices so,
yes, I bought one of them too.
I re-potted it into a black ceramic pot and it sits inside the front entrance.
I was quite excited the other day to see heaps of new leaves sprouting forth.

NOTE TO SELF - I should never have used a brush pen to sketch a detailed subject
in a pocket sketchbook.  Brush pens are more suited to larger sketchbooks
for outlining rather than detailing.
Lesson learned.

It's supposed to be Patrick Swayze but I made his face too round/wide.
For this sketch, I tried out some water-soluble graphite pencils.
I wished I had started sketching with pen as
I find that I definitely second-guess myself too much when
I use pencil and I'm constantly erasing.
With pen, I'm more committed to the line and I can't help but feel
I would have managed a better likeness with pen.

I just didn't know when to leave well enough alone
but I did like how the hair came out.
I added a touch of pen here and there for definition.
I will definitely try sketching Patrick again at some point.

This week, I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches.

More sketches for the 365 daily sketch challenge

More sketches for my 365 day sketch challenge.

As stated in the last post,
I sketch mostly from life, on location,
and I always sketch directly in pen.
Only occasionally will I sketch from a photo.
I will also use watercolours, PRO or PITT markers,
or more rarely, coloured pencils to finish the sketch.
I'm currently using my quad-rule Holcroft travel sketchbook.
I'm happy to say that it seems to handle the watercolour
reasonably well and, unless I really overwork an area,
it does not bleed through to the other side.
I'm impressed considering the paper is recycled
and quite thin at 120gsm.

Some sketches are rushed and simple,
others more detailed.
I sketch as time allows each day.

Sketched from a photo.

NO resemblance to my Dad whatsoever.
He kept moving his head around too much
so I gave up trying.
 It is a very loose likeness of Mum.

I LOVE my green, purple, and turquoise pegs!

We had to attend the fracture clinic
one week after Dad's suspected wrist fracture,
A new X-ray showed that there wasn't a break after all
so they removed the cast and put on a splint
which Dad wore for about a week or so.

My new sketch case.
It's actually a traveller's toiletries bag
with lots of compartments making it ideal for a sketch kit.

My precious baby, Cody ~ xo

This bee was sketched from a reference photo  on Flickr
with a Creative Commons - Attribution only - license.
Thank you, Steve Jurvetson.

A few of the items on my art desk.

Today, I'm linking up to Sunday Sketches HERE.

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!

~ Love, light, and peace ~