friday face off

    Another Friday Face Off is here! I still haven't completed the page spread for my ballpoint pen mermaid but I did get some more work done on her. She is pretty much completed but I've yet to add more elements to do with the sea around her. 

    This is where I left her last Friday. 

    And this is where she's at today

    To see what other Friday Face Off participants have done for this week, click HERE. Feel free to come join us each Friday over at Nicole's blog. 

    And here are a few more older ballpoint sketches. If I've done them any justice, you may even recognise a few of them. All done freehand with a BIC blue ballpoint pen.

 

    The one below was done with a Staedtler brown ballpoint pen

    And that ends my post for today. I hope you have a nice and relaxing weekend. 

Love, Light and Peace

Trees, teas, and butterflies

This time of year is always extra busy for me as I'm sure it is for everyone else too. Lots to organise and do. Bradley and I will perform in the 'Sing for Health' choir this Wednesday. We only had one hour of practice per week for five weeks with our choir master. We also practise at home when we are able. We will have a quick run-through of our songs just before the performance. Exciting and fun!

We will be singing five Christmas songs this year —

• The Little Drummer Boy / Peace on Earth 
• O Come, O Come, Emmanuel 
• White Christmas 
• Winter Wonderland
• Jingle Bell Rock

I can't believe that Christmas is almost upon us. I confess that I'm not really in the Christmas mood yet. I find I get more into the Christmas mood after I've done all the Christmas food shopping and all the stresses that come with Christmas are out of the way. We no longer have our huge fiber-optic Christmas tree but I absolutely adore our little tabletop tree. I think it's SO cute!  

A few weeks ago, I was very excited to learn that I'd won a prize in a competition I didn't even know I was in. How about that?! Apparently, my Woollies Rewards card automatically put my name into the Twinings Tea Promotion when I'd bought some tea in my regular grocery shop. I was very surprised when they rang to congratulate me. A couple of weeks later, this Twinings Tea Chest came by courier. YAY!

I was then able to go to Woollies and select my own teas for FREE. Gotta love that! I do love the Twinings green tea and we have the camomile tea very night before bed. It really does help me to sleep better.  I don't mind a mint-flavoured tea either. Nice and refreshing.

I haven't been doing too much in the way of sketching. I did a quick pencil sketch of one of the Christmas trees on display at the Mater Hospital when we were there for choir practice which I've yet to put a splash of watercolour on.

I also added another butterfly — the one on the right — to the double-page spread I was working on a few weeks ago. This one is called 'The Redspot Sawtooth' and it's not quite finished yet.

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches this week.  To see the work of other participants, please click HERE.

Butterfly sketches completed

We've been having incredibly hot, muggy days here in Brissie. We had another violent electrical storm come through last night and more are forecast for the coming week. Two people have been struck by lightning so far from two separate storms.  I do not like our summers at all. See yesterday's post to read about our own ordeal when caught in a violent storm last Wednesday.

Just a quick post today 

I finished off the butterflies I started last weekend.

They went from this 

To this

I was pleased with how they turned out. 

They are done with a mix of watercolours, coloured pencils, 

coloured ballpoint pens and ink pens.

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches again this week. 

To see the work of other participants, click HERE.

Happy Sunday to all!

Graduation, formal, and some sketches

Aaron's Graduation ceremony went very well. I was quite emotional and will admit that more than a few tears were shed. Aaron is my last of five children to graduate and leave school and I'm so very proud of him. 

For the ceremony, Bradley and I were sitting beside a Religious Studies teacher who visits the school once a week. She had been invited by several of her students to attend the ceremony.  She was so nice and we had a lovely chat.  I was quite touched when she gave Aaron  a garland of chocolates, even though he wasn't one of her students.

After his Graduation Ceremony 

Here he is with his best mate, Travis.  

They are suited up for School Formal photos. 

I feel like I blinked and my baby grew into this amazing young man overnight. 

Where did all those years go? Sniff—sniff—

He is now on a much deserved break before hitting the work-force.

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Bradley and I are currently watching the Crowded House concert which is being aired LIVE from Sydney.  Crowded House is one of my favourite groups from the 80's.  Don't Dream It's Over was my favourite song by them and I still use it as my mobile phone ringtone.  Click HERE to watch/listen on YouTube if the video doesn't work for you.

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I have only managed one sketch this past week with another in progress.

I am thrilled that my blood pressure readings are coming down and I hope to be off the medication before too long.  All thanks to a vegan diet — more on that in another post.

And here is my work in progress

I am sketching a variety of butterflies —
will post when completed.

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches this week.
To see the work of other participants, click HERE. 

Happy Sunday to all!

INKtober: the last sketches I managed

I tried and failed but I enjoyed taking part. I had an emotional week which got in the way unfortunately.  So these are the last two I managed to get done for the INKtober challenge. Both are on a somber note but the reasons for sketching them are very close to my heart.

I sketched this greyhound in support for a protest rally held in Sydney last Sunday. The rally was to voice opposition against the overturning of the greyhound racing ban in NSW. Thousands of these beautiful greyhounds are killed every year because  they don't make the cut in training or they don't do well on the track. 

On top of that there is the horrific live-baiting scandal that was uncovered last year, where several greyhound trainers were found to be using possums (a protected species), kittens, piglets, and rabbits as live bait in training. This despicable treatment of innocent animals was exposed via hidden video taken by animal activists. Live baiting is illegal so you'd think it would be enough to warrant an immediate shutdown but, yet again, it's a battle because the almighty dollar always seems to take priority. 

Greyhound racing is a cruel industry that should be stopped and we will not give up the fight! 

And the last one I managed to do. 

Day 24 - A chicken who doesn't have a great life either in yet another cruel industry. 

"Humanity is accruing an enormous debt of karma by its treatment of animals."~ Eckhart Tolle

Linking up with Sunday Sketches this week. 

You can see the work of other participants HERE.

INKtober: More daily sketches from week 3

Oooooops, running a little late....no excuses 

apart from the fact that I completely forgot to do my blog post yesterday.  

So a recap on the past week of INKtober sketches. 

I post these daily on my Instagram feed is you are interested in seeing them earlier. 

I recently purchased Season 11 of Supernatural so, before I watch it, 

I am doing a recap of all the previous seasons again as a refresher. 

You may guess that I'm a huge fan! 

So I thought it fitting to sketch some of the cast for INKtober.

Jared Palecki who plays Sam Winchester. 

Sketched entirely with ballpoint pen. 

Jensen Ackles who plays Dean Winchester

Sketched entirely with ballpoint pen

Jim Beaver who plays Bobby Singer
I didn't quite get his squint right but we live, we learn, right?

Done entirely with ballpoint pen

Felicia Day who plays Charlie Bradbury 

Charlie was one of my favourite characters on the show

I loved her quirkiness!

I was disappointed that I lost the likeness with this one 

but when sketching directly with pen, 

you have to learn to live with it. 

Then I decided to sketch a little robin with coloured ballpoint pens 

and a 005 ZIG Millennium ink pen (it's extra fine). 

A quick ink sketch of a fake succulent plant I have. 

Trying to loosen things up a bit here. 

Sketched with Platinum Carbon and Lamy Joy fountain pens. 

I LOVE my fountain pens!

Another loose sketch of my left hand this time. 

This was sketched with a Platinum Carbon pen 

followed up with Sumi black ink applied with a brush.

Speaking of my left hand, 

I will be making a doctor's appointment today 

as it's been over three weeks and I'm still dealing 

with a lot of pain issues. 

It's strange because I can use it normally 

apart from certain positions.

Linking up with Sunday Sketches (a little late). 

To see the work of other participants for this week, click HERE.

INKtober: More daily sketches

It's been quite a challenge but I have been managing to keep up 

with the INKtober daily sketching this past week. 

All inked up

Thanks to Marcelo Cunha over at Sktchy for the reference image.

Splashes of colour with Dr Ph Martins inks

Sketched with Platinum Carbon and Pentel pocket brush pens, 

then a light wash here and there with Sumi ink.

Thanks to Gustavo Romano over at Sktchy for the reference image.

Sketched with Platinum Carbon and Pentel pocket brush pens, 

plus a light wash of Sumi ink.

Thanks to Jordan Shelton over at Sktchy for the reference image.

I couldn't help but smile when I saw the reference image so just had to sketch him.
Sketched with ballpoint, Platinum Carbon, and Pentel pocket brush pens. 

Thanks to Vincent Cuevas over at Sktchy for the reference image.

Sketched with ballpoint, Platinum Carbon, and Pentel pocket brush pens. 

Also some Sumi ink. 

Thanks to Hannah Chaffee over at Sktchy for the reference image.

Sketched with ballpoint pens in various colours plus a little white ink.
Oh, and some SUMI ink for the black.

The green base is watercolours. 

My own reference image.

Sketched entirely with a Staedtler brown ballpoint pen. 

I like the softer look of this one. 

Thanks to Marcelle C over at Sktchy for the reference image.

I'm linking up a little late with Sunday Sketches this week.
It's actually 6:30 on Monday morning here.
To see the work of the other participants, click HERE,

Aaron, my son, graciously passed his Spring flu over to me
 so I woke up feeling miserable with a clogged head and
a sore throat that is very painful when I swallow.
I'm still dealing with hand pain from my fall.
It could be worse but maybe
I should see about trading myself in
for a newer model?

Life goes on.....

More Inktober sketches

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the well wishes regarding my fall last week. My foot is pretty much better now and, in hindsight, my daughter and I believe it was actually a pinched nerve causing the severe foot pain that night. A couple of days rest and it was fine...so it could have been back/hip related after all.  My hand is still in a fair bit of pain when I try to carry out heavy tasks but that is to be expected with nerve and soft tissue damage.

Over the past week, I have been busy with daily sketching for Inktober.  I have been posting my sketches over on my Instagram feed if you want to see them daily as I don't get time to post here every day.

A meerkat sketched with water-soluble ink and then a water wash was applied.

This emu was sketched with permanent ink, then washed with water-soluble ink.
The eyes are done with ballpoint pens.
Getting the beak to look right was quite challenging.

This little cutie is called Teenie.
She is my Mum's pomeranian.
I sketched her with a Platinum Carbon pen and
ballpoint pens in suitable colours.
Then some white ink and a light wash of watercolour to finish.

A mirror selfie, sans-wrinkles.
Sketched with a Lamy Safari fountain pen
containing water-soluble ink.

Then a water wash applied with a brush.

I adore all animals but I admit to having a soft spot for pigs. This mother and baby sketch was prompted by my utter disgust at how the pigs were treated in Burlington, Ontario, recently when the truck taking them to slaughter rolled over.  The treatment of the injured pigs was nothing short of cruel and apathetic on the company's part.  Pleas from a local animal sanctuary's owner to take the injured pigs into sanctuary care went ignored and was even laughed at.  The poor, injured pigs were left to suffer for hours before being callously killed where they lay and then were unceremoniously dumped in a dumpster at the site. I hate how apathetic the human race has become. Did you know that pigs have the intelligence of a four year old child?  They are smarter than dogs and yet we get away with committing such atrocities against them.  It is so very wrong!

This is the initial pen sketch of a reference image on Sktchy.

I finished her with ballpoint pens in various colours
and a touch of white ink and watercolour to finish.

Yesterday, I was visiting with my Mum so didn't have a lot of time to sketch. 

I managed a quick, loose pen sketch of some new inks I bought recently. 

I used the ink colours to paint and spatter them with a brush.

Fun, fun, fun! 

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches again. 

To see the sketches of other participants, click HERE.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Sunday Sketches: My morning coffee

A very quick post today as I'm feeling so tired after my late night trip to the hospital emergency yesterday.  I didn't get back home until after 1am and didn't get to bed until after 2am.   You can read all about it on my previous post HERE as well as see my first Inktober sketch.  I have today's ink sketch done but the artificial lighting is terrible for taking photos at night.  I will photograph and post it tomorrow morning instead. 

My foot is doing much better today thanks to the anti-inflammatory medication and resting it.  My hand is still in a fair bit of pain though.  If it doesn't ease in a week, I might go back to my own doctor just for a second opinion.  I would have felt better had they done an X-ray.  A chap from the Plaza's Centre Management rang today to check up on how I was doing which was a nice gesture. 

As you know, I've been quite busy with online classes of late and I will share more about that in another post.  For now, I thought I'd share a journal page I did last week. 

Brushwork first 

Followed by the ink

The finished page

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches this week. 

To see the work of other participants, click HERE.

It's INKtober time!

This will be my first year participating in the INKtober challenge and I'm quite excited about it. Anyone who knows me will already know that I love to sketch directly in ink/pen but can I pull it off daily for 31 days?  Wish me luck. 

Yesterday's effort

This old paperbark tree resides in one of the streets not far from where I live.  I admire it every time I drive by it.  I think it's because of the way the branches bend downwards. I sketched this beauty with a Carbon Platinum fountain pen from a photo I took.   Unfortunately, it's not in a safe spot on the road -side to just pull over and sketch from the car. 

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I'm posting the sketch a little late because I had a bit of a setback with my left hand and left foot yesterday (Oct 1st). You may remember I had carpal tunnel surgery four months ago and my left hand still wasn't fully healed.  I was unable to bear any heavy weight on it such as using my hand to help myself up from the floor or use it for any heavy duty tasks.   Well, yesterday afternoon, I was at the local shopping mall to pick up a prescription for my son when, my left leg slipped in a puddle of water sitting right outside the pharmacy.  Down I went and my reflexive action was to put out my left hand to break my fall.  I have an old back injury from years ago so my first instinct is to always protect the back.

My hand took the brunt of the impact with the floor and it began hurting a lot with a weird sensation through all my fingers!  Needless to say, I alerted the pharmacy about the puddle of water so they could get  it cleaned it up before some other unsuspecting person went for a slip-slide.  They also took down the details of my fall and told me to go and note the incident with Centre Management also.  At Centre Management, the security guard took down all my details, applied an ice pack, and sent me on my merry way.  They were all quite concerned and full of apologies.

By early evening, I was also in agony with my left foot which had seemed okay after the fall.  The pain was so bad that I nearly passed out and I ended up being taken by ambulance to Hospital Emergency.  They took an X-ray of my foot which was thankfully clear so they deemed it to be a sprain from the fall.  As far as my hand went, the doctor didn't feel the need to X-ray it because I could still move all my fingers and close a fist, albeit gently.  He feels the nerve, now unprotected due to the carpal tunnel surgery, was injured and my hand will take some time to heal.  Nerve damage can take years to heal. I know that from my back injury.  Obviously, if the hand gets any worse, they will X-ray it just to be on the safe side.  So there you have it.  My drama for yesterday.  I feel so lucky that nothing was broken but I will be nursing my left foot and hand for a little while yet.

Thankfully, it wasn't my right hand either so I can still sketch and participate in INKtober.  YAY!
I will be posting again later today to keep me up on track with the challenge.

Sketching and lettering fun!

I finally finished the double page spread in my Moleskine A4 watercolour journal.  The full spread is 58.4cm/23" across both pages.  I have been working on it here and there between the Sketchbook Skool Creative Lettering class videos and the subsequent homework.  I'm still behind on homework but I love that the classes are available indefinitely so there is plenty of time to catch up.  The lettering class is amazing and I'm already implementing some of the ideas into my journal.

I adore pelicans!  

While I love ALL birds, the pelican would have to rate in my top five favourites. 

Linking up with Sunday Sketches again and I'm actually on time this week! 

To see the sketches from other participants, click HERE.

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Now, onto some of my Sketchbook Skool Creative Lettering homework from the past week. 

I can't tell you enough how much I'm enjoying the class. 

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The weather was lovely today so we went for a drive to Forest Lake.  We stopped along the way to pick up some lunch at Zambreros Mexican restaurant...my favourite dine-in or take-away!  Their vegan burrito bowls are SO yummy!  Jalapenos and lots of spicy Verde sauce for me...LOVE their Verde sauce! I took this photo of one a while back. 

Another reason I love Zambreros is that, for every burrito or bowl you buy, they donate a meal to someone in need.  How lovely is that?!  This was a photo I took of their wall earlier in the year  so the amount of meals given would be much more now. 

There was lots to see at the lake and I will share more pics in my next post but I just HAD to share a few of the cygnets with their parents!  It's the first time I have seen baby swans in person.  And look at that, I even caught an ibis coming in to land and didn't realise it until I looked back on the photo later. Cool!

These cygnets were a decent size but they still had a soft down instead of adult feathers.
They were SO darned cute!

I will post the rest of the Forest Lake photos in my next post.
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Today is Father's Day here in Australia and

 it's my second Father's Day since my Dad passed away.
I still hear his voice in my head a lot,
especially him singing songs.

I miss him every day.
Love you, Dad xo