An update and my latest painting

Happy October everyone! 

Can you believe we are in the final stretch of 2020?! What a crazy year it has been so far with this pandemic looming over us. 

UPDATE on my brother - Thanks so much for the caring words regarding my brother's horrific ordeal at sea. He has been released from hospital now but will continue to see his doctor for blood tests and such until he is fully recovered. Billy's Creatine Kinase levels are continuing to drop. His leg swelled up quite badly from a large hematoma which they will keep an eye on. He is resting and very glad to be home. Charlie, his wife's brother-in-law, is also out of hospital and checking in with his regular doctor for follow-ups. 

I'm just so very relieved it wasn't worse and that my brother and Charlie are both alive to tell the tale. 

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As I mentioned in a previous post, I have another painted piece to show you. Meet Chico. You have probably seen Chico featured on my blog in the past. He was called Phoenix for a while. 

Here is the framed finished piece (sorry for the glass glare - can't be helped)

And some of the progress pics. 

I usually start with the eye

Laying in more feathers

And more feathers, 

I work in layers so more layers will follow

Layering and building up the feathers for more depth

Starting on the head features

And pretty much finished. 

Acrylic Gouache on 360gsm paper for acrylic paints - 5"x7"

Framed together

Next up on my desk easel will be a miniature poodle.

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It feels so good to be back blogging again. I thought you might like to see some gorgeous sunrises I've taken over the past few months from the front yard. I'm a sucker for skies!

One morning in June - 6:30am

One morning in July - 6am

One morning in August - 6:30am

One morning in September - 5:30am.

Red sky in the morning, 

A sailor's warning.

We are officially in Spring although our hot, summer-like weather is not far away. Here in Queensland, it's more like two months of reasonably cold mornings and evenings which we call winter, and the rest of the year it goes from hot — to hotter — to downright unbearable! We are now in our 14th year here and finally got around to asking our landlord for air-con. He very kindly obliged so those dreadful hot and humid days will be more bearable now. 

Our lounge-room air-con above the painting. YAY! 

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Recently, my soft hyacinth woven laundry basket started breaking away near the base so I bought a new basket. I sat the old one beside the dining table and Kya loves it! She sleeps for ages in it and likes to shred it too. 

I think Kya may well be a frequent model for my blog. She is so photogenic! I will do a follow up post soon on Kya's story to let you know how we ended up with her officially. For now, I wish you a happy week. Stay safe and well. 

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...