Paper lantern

Hi everyone!

The theme for this week's Scribble Picnic is LANTERN.  Thanks again to Michael for hosting this wonderful art collective. You can check out Michael's blog HERE.

This theme had me a little worried because I had nothing right up until the day before (yesterday) the deadline.  I'd heard some good advice from a few illustrators who said to just open your sketchbook, put pen/pencil to the page, and the ideas will come. I did just that and — it worked! I was suddenly getting lots of different images in my head for the theme — kinda like visual brainstorming. I very quickly noted them down in my ideas sketchbook. They are very rough but that's okay because they are only to remind me of the original idea so I don't forget it.

I decided to go with a little Panda holding a paper lantern so took more time with that one. Do you remember making those paper lanterns in school? I used to love making them!

I transferred my sketch into my Moleskine watercolour journal and did a light outline in pen

Then added some layers of watercolour and also used a Pentel Pocket brush pen for the black fur. I'm so pleased that I was able to meet the challenge after all. That said, I'm not altogether sure that she is finished yet. If I do add any more to it, I will be sure to post the end result for you to see.

My apologies for the crappy photos. It's been raining here, on and off, so the dull, gray afternoon did not provide the best lighting for photos. I'm loving the rain though so not complaining about that.

You can check out everyone else's take on the LANTERN theme HERE.
Next week's theme is FAIRIES.  You are welcome to come and join us.  To find out how, click HERE.

Rats! It's raining!

The theme for this week's Scribble Picnic is UMBRELLA.

I had lots of images swimming through my head for this one.  At first, I was thinking I could go with one of those umbrella style hats until — it got put to the wayside when the following idea popped into my head. 

Initially the image started out with a rat in an upturned umbrella. This is a rough sketch I did which was still in the planning stages.

It developed to this - a little rat wearing fisherman-style rain gear.

I sketched it into my sketchbook and outlined with pen, then started to add colour.

I started developing a dark, stormy sky also. I use an orange-yellow undertone for reds as it helps to brighten them.

The end result.

Will Mr Rat make it to land before his makeshift boat takes on too much water and sinks? 

I have to say that I'm loving Scribble Picnic! The weekly themes are motivating me to use my imagination. I never thought I could come up with my own whimsical designs but I'm thrilled to see them come together — from the initial image in my mind to the end result on paper. What fun! 

Thanks for hosting this wonderful challenge, Michael.

To see what the other participants have done for this week's challenge, click HERE.

Next week's theme will be LANTERN. Come join us!  To find out how, click HERE.

Scribble Picnic theme - CABIN

The Scribble Picnic theme for this week is CABIN.

I was inspired yet again this week by one of my previous pieces of art — an affirmation card that I painted back in 2009. You can read the associated post for it HERE.



Initially, I was thinking that I would paint a cabin along the pathway in the distance until a different scene suddenly popped into my head. I wanted to keep the girl but, this time, I would place her on a path in the woods with a cabin ahead of her.

I used a mechanical pencil for the planning stage.

First layer of watercolour

The final layer of watercolour with some pen detailing

The caption I made up for the illustration - 
Simone was excited to be spending the next month at the little cabin in the woods. It was her refuge, a break away, from her crazy life and busy work schedule. Here at the cabin, she would be able to relax, savour the peace and quiet, and maybe even start the book she had always dreamed of writing one day.

To see the work of other Scribble Picnic participants, click HERE.
To find out how to join in on the fun each week, click HERE.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's take on the theme. What fun!

A trail walk and some sketches

Yesterday, Bradley, Aaron, and I went on a day trip to Mount Tamborine. It turned out to be quite a hot and humid day up on the mountain. We decided to go on a trail walk to Cameron Falls — a 2.6km return walk.  The trail had lots of rocky steps and was quite narrow in areas with a steep drop on one side.  That made Bradley quite nervous but he held onto my arm the whole way so I could guide him through it.

A concrete bridge across a small creek bed

Some huge and interesting trees along the way

Root mass of a palm tree

It was quite dense in areas and we even came across the odd flower or two

and the occasional scrub turkey

We made it to the lookout but we were a little disappointed to find that Cameron Falls was little more than a trickle off the cliff face at this time of year.

Beautiful views though. We weren't looking forward to the trek back as it was mostly uphill, rough in areas, and it was still very humid.

We headed home mid-afternoon, worn out from our trail walk but filled with a sense of satisfaction.

Below are a couple of sketches from my week. 

First up — Lemons!

Bradley had an Occupational Therapy appointment on Wednesday and his therapist mentioned that an Irish entertainer would be performing in the Mater Mothers hospital foyer at lunch-time so we stayed around to see it.

I did the following pen sketch from a photo I took of Shane playing the guitar and singing.

And finished him up with some watercolour and coloured pencils.

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches this week hosted by the amazing author/illustrator, Alexandra Macvean. To see the work of other participants, click HERE.

We are getting some rain at the moment and I sure hope it cools things down. It's very muggy right now. I hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend.

Sketches from my week

Thankfully, we had a little rain through the week which gave us a reprieve from the horrible heatwave temps.  The forecast says tomorrow's temperature will be 34°C/93.2°F — not quite heatwave temps but hot, nonetheless.  I know I'm a whiner when it comes to high heat and humidity but I can't help it. What can I say — I'm a winter gal at heart.

So, I have more pen sketches to share for Paint Party Friday.  To see the work of other participants for this week, click HERE.

I forced myself to be super-duper-fast when sketching the wheelie bins below. Loose, simple, and not a lot of detail. It happened to be 'bin collection day' hence my choice of subject. The yellow-lidded bin is for recycled stuff.

We often enjoy a healthy snack of Medjool dates and Brazil nuts.  Dates are high in potassium and Brazil nuts help lower cholesterol. I used to hate dates many years ago but then I discovered the fresh, fleshy Medjool dates and now, I'm hooked on dates.

Long-nose pliars are a must in my tool box. They have come in so handy over the years. Funny, in school we were taught to spell it as 'pliars' but now, 'pliers' seems to be the go. Which way do you spell it?

My son's folding white cane — an aide for the blind that he could not do without.

I ended up sick with asthma after last Sunday's heatwave temps so relied heavily on my inhalers. I'm doing much better now thanks to these babies.

I don't think I mentioned it but the results from my lung function test were good. No signs of emphysema so it seems that asthma could well be the reason for why my lungs showed as slightly enlarged on an X-ray and during the actual test. Phew!

It's been a busy week with appointments so I'm looking forward to a restful weekend.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend whatever you are doing.

Dealing with a heatwave...and a sketch

Well, our area did in fact hit 42°C/107.6°F today.  There was no way we were going to sit at home without air-conditioning so we didn't need to be asked twice when Mum invited us over to her place to spend the day. YES! She has air-conditioning! I made a yummy tofu satay noodle dish to take over for lunch. We packed the doggies in the car and off we all went to visit Mum and to enjoy her gloriously cool air-conditioning! So, SO grateful we didn't have to suffer the dreadful heat — even Cody and Jack, our doggies, savoured the coolness at Mum's place.

Of course, we all had to head home some time and, even at 4pm, it still felt like we were in living in a sauna. Some vegan vanilla ice-cream with mango sorbet helped cool us down a little. It looks like we are now in for a hot, muggy night but at least it has cooled down a little to what feels like 33°C/91°F.

I didn't sketch today so will need to catch up as I am still determined to meet my goal of 365 sketches for 2017.  For now, I thought I'd post a sketch that I did on our trip to Wellington Point a couple of weeks ago.

I always love visiting the bayside area. Stonefish are the most venomous fish in the world so, despite the hot day, I decided not to wade into the water.  However, Aaron decided to play daredevil and waded in, bare feet and all.

Bradley and I weren't that crazy so we shared a spot under the shade of the beautiful Moreton Bay Fig trees...

along with some of the birds.

I threw out some oats and sunflower seeds around the picnic table for them so they could dine in style.

While there, I sketched this tree in my large Moleskine watercolour sketchbook with both permanent and water-soluble ink pens.

I did more work on it at home with ink and a brush

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

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful weekend regardless of weather conditions.

More sketches for Paint Party Friday

We've experienced another week of unbearable heat and humidity and, to top it off, we are expecting a heatwave this weekend where temperatures could reach 42°C/107.6°F in our area.  It's times like this that I wish we had air-conditioning but I guess I'll be grateful when the electricity bill arrives. Looking for the positives, people... It's the humidity I can't handle — give me a dry heat any day.

Below are some messy pen/ink sketches from the past week or so. First up is Cody, my baby. He will be 11 years old this year and I love him dearly.  He is a Maltese/Shihtzu/Chihuahua mix but looks mostly like a Maltese.

And here he is having a good stretch after a nap

This is an extra large kennel which sits by our back sliding door. Cody and/or Jack only ever go in their kennel when they come inside with wet paws so they are only in the kennel long enough for their paws to dry off — which can be anything between five to thirty minutes. Both detest being put in the kennel yet, sometimes, I will wonder where Cody or Jack are and yep, you guessed it — I will find one of them curled up inside the kennel fast asleep. Crazy dogs! 

A messy, loose sketch of my foot

And lastly, my mobile phone

I'm linking up with Paint Party Friday again. To see the work of other participants, click HERE.

I'm having trouble with my hands again. Aaron (son) and I were refurbishing our old dining chairs and I was spraying them with a can of paint.  Well, the pressure of having to hold the nozzle down kept seizing my hand to the point where I would have to swap the spray-can back and forth between hands repeatedly. Now, I'm feeling quite a bit of pain in both my hands, particularly the right one. I'm finding it difficult to do simple tasks like opening or closing a peg, squeezing out toothpaste, lifting the water jug, using hairspray type nozzles, etc. I'm hoping it's just muscular as the pain travels all the way up to my elbow. Either that or arthritis.

I haven't had much luck with my hands over the past five years. My regular readers will know that I had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands last year at different times due to long term issues.  I then went and fell in a puddle of water at a local shopping centre a few months after the surgery on my left hand which happened to take the brunt of the fall. Major OUCH!

I'm hoping the pain will settle down soon with a bit of rest.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone.  I hope those of you suffering our heatwave conditions somehow manage to stay cool.

Sketching by the lake

We've had another horrible week of high heat and humidity. The nights are hot and muggy too so no relief. I dream of faraway places with snow...

This weekend marked the second month for the new Moment Catchers project over on Candace Rardon's BLOG. I was considering a trip into the city for some Urban Sketching but opted for Forest Lake instead.  It is a man-made lake smack-bang in the middle of suburbia. It is home to quite a few species of waterbirds, turtles, etc.

It was such a hot day so I found a shady spot on a park bench to sketch this tree.

Then a splash of watercolour with more pen detailing

Next up was the water dragon sculpture in the lake.  The heat ended up getting the better of me and we headed home where I finished the sketch off with watercolour.

See below for more daily sketches from the past week or so.

I find sketching with ballpoint pen so versatile. It can be soft enough to almost have the appearance of graphite, yet with more layering, it can be quite dark. Of course, it can't be erased but I can live with mistakes.

I thought you might like another process sketch this week.  A rooster to mark the Chinese Year of the Rooster — the Fire Rooster to be precise. According to Chinese astrology I'm going to be in for a tough year and I can believe it if the beginning is anything to go by. I was born in the Year of the Earth Pig and I have always found the Chinese Astrology to be uncannily accurate. Which Chinese sign are you born under?

A pen sketch to begin with

First pass of watercolour

Final stage with more watercolour and detailing

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

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful weekend.