Scribble Picnic - FOREST

Hi fellow Scribblers!

It's been one of those weeks and I very nearly didn't participate.  However, I caught a lucky break because there were some issues with the Mr Linky gadget on Michael's blog so he extended the time for us. Phew!  I swear I had nothing to do with it!

So this week's prompt is FOREST.

I LOVE hiking through the rain forests at Mount Tamborine here in South East Queensland so I figured I'd depict a forest walk.

Initial ink pen sketch and watercolour

And then to give it a bit of oomph by bumping up the contrasts between lights and darks. I used Sumi ink for the darks.

To see what everyone else did for this week's prompt, click HERE.
To find out how to join in on the fortnightly fun, click HERE.

The next prompt will be GOODBYE AUTUMN.  Not sure that it applies to me though as we will be saying goodbye to spring soon.

Sunday musings....albeit a day late

It seems I'm always running late of late and I don't really have a good excuse except to say I've been feeling down with this chronic pain thing. That said, there are so many people worse off than me so I try not to complain.

It's been a rainy few days and the rain is forecast to continue into next week. Don't get me wrong — I love the rain! We sure do need it and the gardens are loving it! The grass is finally greening up again, whereas last week, the grass/lawn was a dry yellow-brown.

And look, we even have toadstools popping up.

I'm sure there is a fair bit of water building up in the creek that runs through the bushland at the end of the street too. All needed, of course.

That said, I must admit that any more than three days of constant heavy rain starts to feel all gloomy to me, especially indoors. It IS perfect weather for reading books, watching movies, and Netflix though! We watched the whole set of the Harry Potter movies again.  I've also been binge-watching the new Netflix series — The Haunting of Hill House. It IS good! As timing would have it, I recently finished the book before I even knew the series existed. I will be talking about the book in tomorrow's Reviews post so be sure to check that out. In case you're wondering — yes — the series has strayed from the book.

I've also been watching some online art classes since my last post. I absolutely loved Ian Sidaway's klass via Sketchbook Skool! I sketched him in ballpoint and fountain pen while I watched his Q&A video with Koosje Koene.  Click HERE if you're interested in checking out his blog.

I decided against participating in INKtober this year. I just wasn't in the right head space to put more pressure on myself. I have been getting a little sketching done here and there though.
This is a VW Beetle that I've been planning on sketching for a while now.  It's still a work in progress.

I do plan on adding colour, just not sure which colour yet.

This wet weather is making me crave soup. I made this delicious split pea and veggie soup the other week so may make up another pot. It lasts Brad and me three dinners. I LOVE soup with buttered bread or bread rolls!  Vegan butter, of course.

I'll leave you with a snap of my ever faithful companion — Cody doing what he does best — sleeping.

Don't forget to check out my Book Reviews tomorrow....

Sketch supplies and a botched sketch revisited...

I thought I'd share some of my sketch supplies this week

I LOVE my travel palettes!
The hardest part is deciding which one to take
when I do go on a sketch outing.

The large palette is one I don't use much at all, even at home,

because it is so big and takes up a lot of room on my art table.

I've labelled the palettes for your convenience. 

I use a mix of brands in the tube watercolours - 

Winsor & Newton, Daniel Smith, and Art Spectrum. 

I simply fill the empty pans and leave them uncovered

 to dry out overnight. 

I always re-wet with a water spray bottle 

before actually painting with them.

Another watercolour medium I like to play with on occasion 

are my Mungyo Watercolour crayons.
These were my go-to medium before I got my hands on my travel palettes.

I tend to use them in a similar way to how I work with a travel palette. 

I leave the crayons in the case, as is, and 

just pick up the colour I want with a wet brush. 

There are actually two sets pictured, 

one has had a lot more use. 

And these are my trusty biros/ballpoints 

in a variety of colour ranges which make another
great tool for sketching.
You can get a fairly good range of values with ballpoint pens.

I love my fountain pens and brush pens too.

On top of the art supplies pictured above,
I also have a range of Derwent watercolour pencils, 

Derwent Inktense water-soluble pencils,
Derwent and Prismacolour colouring pencils, 

Faber-Castell PITT pens, 

Prismacolor, Copic and Letraset PRO markers,

and lots more...

Don't get me started on my sketchbook stash.

As artists, do we ever stop adding to our art supplies?

Do you have a favourite,
can't be without,
art medium or art tool?

I think, for me, it would have to be
a sketchbook, a ballpoint pen and/or a fountain pen. 

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In January, I completed a month of portraits in my sketchbook. 

I confess that I had started one portrait but never finished it. 

You see, I had only outlined the initial sketch 

in ballpoint pen, and then went to add emphasis and detail 

with my Platinum Carbon pen when it decided to cough up ink. 

Disheartened, I moved on to a new sketch.

Since then, every time I flipped through my sketchbook, 

the bare skeleton of the sketch with ink splotches 

glared back at me.
Unfortunately, I neglected to take a photo
of the bare bones sketch

but, on Friday, I decided to go back and finish it.

I'm glad that I did because, 

 despite the messy ink splotches, 

I kinda like how she turned out.
Still minimal but much better than the bare bones look.
Her hair could be better but
I was trying to disguise a couple of ink splotches.

This was sketched in my Hahnemuhle D & S A5 sketchbook.

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Over the past week,
I have become hooked on the Netflix series, Orphan Black.
 I'm now onto Season 2 already.
I thought a sketch of Sarah was fitting.
I went a little long with her nose,
which is a common mistake I tend to make with faces.

Sketched first with a BIC fine ballpoint pen
followed with my Platinum Carbon pen
in Holcroft A6 travel journal

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches again this week.
You can check out the other participants HERE.

Happy Sunday to all!

Sunday Sketches - Buddha and cockatiel

Hi everyone, 

I haven't had a lot of time for sketching this past fortnight. 

My eyes have been feeling very strained of late.

When I wake up in the mornings, 

they feel so sore and very dry. 

It actually hurts to open them.

I use eye moisture drops 

but they only give temporary relief. 

It could be the change in the weather as 

we're getting some cooler mornings. 

I do love the cooler months of the year. 

I'm definitely a winter gal at heart. 

My sketch this week is of 

the Buddha that sits on my bedside table 

I have sketched this Buddha in the past too. 

This time, I used a BIC Cristal ballpoint pen 

and my LAMY Joy fountain pen
for a little emphasis here and there.
See the date written in the lower left side?
I was going to stop the sketch there
and have it just fade into nothing at the base
but my pen had other ideas. 

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches this week. 

You can check out the other participants HERE.

I almost forgot to show you the finished calendar month 

filled with daily sketches. 

I'm very pleased with it.

I finished the month off with a sketch of my cockatiel, Phoenix. 

He's such a clever boy! 

I taught him part of our choir song last year 

which he picked up very quickly. 

He gets all happy and excited when he sees me.

He loves to chirp in a very high, ear-piercing tone, 

particularly in the mornings around 7 o'clock.

This can drive my sons crazy but I love him to bits!

Earlier in the week, 

Bradley (son) and I went to see Eddie, the Eagle at the cinema. 

We loved it! 

See preview below -
Direct link HERE.

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend. 

Stay tuned for some pics of my travel palettes in my next post...

Sketches, a spider, and a couple of roos...

 Has it really been over two weeks since I last posted?!

Doctors, specialist visits, medical tests,

and family birthdays, including my own, were in there somewhere. 

My niece also gave birth to a beautiful 9lb baby girl 

who now shares the same birthday as my own daughter.

Doctors, specialist visits, and tests were more to do with my Mum 

who is dealing with some health concerns right now. 

Life can sure get busy fast around here.

I have managed a few sketches here and there.

One of my favourite cereals is the Be Natural range.
It's low in sugar and has no artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives
 unlike so many of the supposed healthy cereals out there. 
I love mine best with soy milk....no added sweetener!

 I decided to use up the blue water-soluble ink that came with
my Lamy Safari fountain pen by doing some pen and wash sketches.
I didn't think I would but I like the variations with the LAMY blue ink.
I added some definition to Jack with some permanent black ink.
Sadly, for Jack, his skin condition persists
and I am now trying a natural, home-made pest repellent that
includes five aromatherapy oils mixed with water.
I spray it on him every morning before he goes outside to go toilet.
I'll keep you posted on how effective it is.

For the selfie sketch, I sat in front of a mirror
and sketched directly in pen (LAMY Safari; EF nib),
then used a water brush to wet and shade.
You might notice that my hair is now much shorter...
Yep, one morning, the scissors found their way magically into my hands
and, before I knew it, I was chopping away at my hair.
A whole 10" or 12" gone over a spur of the moment decision.
That's how I roll when it comes to my hair.

I didn't intend to go that heavy with the lip outline
but hey, when working directly with pen,
you have to accept and love the mistakes too.

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OH, and for those wondering how things went with Charlotte
I did go out to look for her the next morning
and was very happy to see her and her web
glistening in the sun.

The view from side-on in the shade...

And just to show that spiders aren't the only creatures lurking around these parts,
I spotted these kangaroos grazing at dusk on a street two suburbs over.
The photos aren't great but I didn't want to get too close
and frighten them off.

 Nature is painting for us, day after day, 
pictures of infinite beauty 
if only we have the eyes to see them.
--- John Ruskin

I'm calling it quits...

I made it to number 88 of the 365 daily sketch challenge before calling it quits.

 I just felt way too pressured by it.
 Who knows, I may try the challenge again for 2015.

For now, you will still see regular sketches from me

but I have given myself permission to miss some days here and there.

I will continue to sketch directly with pen unless stated otherwise
 but I plan to vary my sketchbooks a bit.
The sketches below are all done in my Holcroft A6 travel journal.

I bought this little turtle figurine when I called into Mr Toys to buy a jigsaw puzzle. 

Mum, Brad, and I love working on the puzzle together. 

I also bought one for Mum to take home with her to keep her occupied when she's on her own.

Mum said it has helped keep her mind off Dad being in the home.

Our weather has been unbearably hot and humid of late.
So much so, that I invested in an industrial fan,
an evaporator/cooler fan,
and some block-out curtains.
Every little bit helps.
Today is officially the start of our summer.

OH dear, this Buddha does not look very impressed with the sketch I did of him. lol

Bradley and I attended choir practise last week
and look what I spotted in the Mater Children's Hospital foyer.
Bananas in Pyjamas caught with their pants down!

One of the feathers in my collection.

My sister dropped in some little tomato plants for me.
I just need to plant and stake them.
I sure hope  they provide an abundance of tomatoes.
We had a super-storm on Thursday
and it caused a lot of damage right across Brisbane.
Reece said the storm pelted them with golf-ball-sized hailstones in the city.
It was like a war zone in some areas.
Luckily, we only got ½" hail here.

Late again but, this week, I'm linking up to Sunday Sketches HERE.

Another week of sketches...

I've been melting in the heat this past week 

and we're not even in full-fledged summer yet. 

I am definitely a cold weather gal!

 I don't mind a dry heat,
but unfortunately, we have high humidity here.

Anyway, more sketches below for the 365 daily sketch challenge.
I sketch directly with pen unless stated otherwise.

73/365 - My Buddha Belly (Jatropha Podagrica).

74/365 - I love beetroot so, when Beau told me about this juice,
I just had to try it.  YUM!

75/365 - I have one of these wooden HOME signs.
The colours are so pretty.

76/365 - Ginger beer is one of my favourite drinks.
When I think of home-made ginger beer,
I think of a stone-ware flagon with a cork.
Bundaberg ginger beer is my favourite commercial brand.

77/365 - This old bicycle is going to the roadside
for the council to collect so I thought I'd sketch it first.
I used the fast/slow method used by Danny Gregory in Sketchbook Skool.

78/365 - I'm in LAMY heaven!!!
My Lamy JOY pen with EF nib arrived  in the mail
and I'm thrilled with it!!!
I will always remember the fountain pen
my Dad gave me as a young teen.
I was a bit of a pen freak back then too
and I used it to write a lot of letters.
I wish I could remember what happened to it.
I'm guessing it was lost in one of our house moves over the years.

79/365 - The 'Sing for Health' choir that Bradley and I performed with
earlier this year are giving a Christmas performance.
We're quite excited!
While killing time until choir practise last week,
I sketched this potted palm at the Jacob's Well cafe
using my new Lamy JOY pen, of course.

I'm a little late but I'm linking up to Sunday Sketches HERE.

More daily sketches, a dog and a flower

Yesterday and today were absolute scorchers! 

The humidity was horrible! 

They say temperatures will be back to the mid-30's from tomorrow. 

I sure hope so or I may just melt away. 

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

Another week of sketches for the 365 daily sketch challenge. 

We have strategically placed a few of these 

ornamental black cats with reflective eyes around our garden 

in an attempt to keep neighbour's cats away. 

Those naughty felines have been using our garden

as their own personal toilet and I am not amused.

Some very quick pen sketches of people at the food court.

I finished my quad-rule sketchbook! YAY!

I decided to start another Holcroft travel journal for the next stage 

of the challenge, however, this time on plain white paper.
I must admit I'm loving the white crispness of the blank page.

I LOVE this brand of coconut cream/milk!

Rich, creamy and perfect for curries.

I keep the coconut milk powder on hand as a back up.

I was browsing photos the other day and 

decided to sketch this noisy miner from one of Beau's albums.
I did this one in water-soluble graphite with a touch of pen to define.
Yellow watercolour on the beak and eye area.

I borrowed Michelle's carpet cleaner the other day 

to shampoo the carpets. 

They came up lovely!

A poppy for Remembrance Day!

I'm linking up to Sunday Sketches HERE.

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Just look who had draped himself over the arm of the couch the other day.

Me - "Mr Cody you are NOT a cat!  You could fall and hurt yourself."

His response -
"Life comes with risks and I'll take my chances.
Now, leave me alone, you peasants! "

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Check out this gorgeous crimson mandavilla/allamanda (?) flower!

They have a few tripods of these gorgeous vines
around the nursing home gardens.
So pretty!

Happy Sunday to all!