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.