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....
It's been over three weeks since I last posted on my poor old blog. What can I say — not much has been happening of late apart from bad pain days, rest, and lots of reading. Sadly, not much sketching.
OH, and I've been doing some baking — banana cakes, ginger cakes with lemon icing, and even a carrot cake — the latter being my latest triumph in veganised recipes right down to the vegan 'cream-cheese' icing. They were all delicious! I only managed to get a pic of the carrot cake because, when it comes to home-made treats in this house, I can tell you they have a habit of disappearing very quickly.
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Yesterday did not get off to a good start when Bradley alerted me to the fact that someone was impersonating me on Instagram. This unscrupulous person had created a fake profile using my own profile pic with a similar username. They then Followed all the people who were Following MY own Instagram feed as, more often than not, especially if people think it's you, they will Follow you back. Well, some did follow the impostor back as they thought it was just me starting a new account. The impostor then sent out Direct Messages in the hope that people, thinking it was me, would click on a malicious link within the message.
Luckily, we got onto the issue quickly. I alerted my Followers via a post on Instagram. A few of my followers blocked and reported the offender to Instagram, as did I. To Instagram's credit, they promptly removed the account before any real damage could be inflicted on my friends. It pays to be alert to how these impostors work.
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Yesterday also happened to be Father's Day here in Australia. It's hard to believe it's been over three years since my Dad passed away at 82 years old. Father's Day just isn't the same without him here. I still miss him terribly. Here he is with Mum back in 2010.
We've had a few foggy mornings of late —
Taken on August 29th at 6am
An hour later with the sun making an appearance through the fog. I love the eerie feeling that comes with fogs.
This lovely pink sunrise was taken at the end of July
I love a cloudy sky too — especially a cotton ball sky. These were taken early August.
Some rain has been forecast until Friday which we do need. The gardens and lawns will love it!
The Scribble Picnic prompt for this week is HOT CHOCOLATE.
I usually make quite a few hot chocolate drinks during our winter months. There's just something about that mug of hot sweetness that make me feel spoiled, cosy, and warm. I never have marshmallows in mine though. I hate the thought of hot, gooey marshmallow. Ewwww! Definitely not for me. I've never had toasted marshmallows around a campfire either for the same reason.
Marshmallows have always been a favourite but I like them nice and firm....not hot and gooey. I used to make them and roll them in toasted coconut. They even have vegan marshmallows now so I don't miss out but — back to hot chocolate. I make mine with Cadburys Drinking Chocolate powder, a dash of vanilla essence, and soy milk mixed together in a saucepan. When hot enough, I froth it up with the electric hand mixer. After pouring it into our mugs, I drizzle chocolate syrup over the froth. OH, so yummy!
My sketch today is done with ink, watercolour, and Prismacolor pencils using a copyright-free image which I altered somewhat...
To see what other participants have put up for this week, click HERE.
To find out how to join in each week, click HERE.
The drink was actually NOT the first HOT CHOCOLATE that came to mind but I didn't get time to sketch them. Who remembers the Hot Chocolate group in the late 70's and 80's? Songs like You Sexy Thing, Every 1's a Winner, So You Win Again, Emma and....It Started with a Kiss....
Thought I'd end off this post with one of their video clips. Enjoy!
Next week's prompt is TABLE CLOTH...see you at the picnic!
As mentioned in a previous post, I didn't finish INKtober all the way to the end but I did get to #27 which I'm very happy about as I beat my efforts of 24 sketches last year.
So here is the final wrap up...
INKtober 21/31 - Aussie Magpie - I sketched this beauty with Sumi ink in a Strathmore grey toned sketchbook. The highlights are done with white gouache.
I have a huge soft spot for magpies as, apart from being very clever birds, I adore how their babies are so loud and demanding when it comes to wanting food. They certainly keep their parents busy. Even now, as I type this post, I can hear a young magpie badgering their parents for food in a neighbour's yard. An interesting note is that the Aussie magpie is actually an entirely different bird species to the European magpie so they are quite different in nature. They were only called magpies due to their black and white markings.
I found a video on YouTube of our Aussie magpies and butcher birds looking for a feed. Not my video but it shows exactly what I mean about the magpies' loud and demanding babies. Too funny! We have had magpies fly into our kitchen waiting on us to put out some food, just like you see in the video. Please watch it all the way to the end as there is more than one baby.
Click HERE if the video below does not play for you. If an advertisement pops up on the video, just click the little 'x' on the top right corner of the ad to close it off.
INKtober 22/31 - Country Church. This time sketched with Speedball India ink in my Moleskine watercolour notebook. I sketched this from a photo I took when we went on a country drive out past Beaudesert earlier this year.
INKtober 23/31 - Pineapple - I started with a loose pen sketch in my Moleskine watercolour notebook.
Then added some Kuretake artist quality watercolours
As a child, my favourite fruit juice was fresh pineapple juice...still is. Pineapple is so refreshing diced up on a hot summer's day. Sometimes, I will spoil myself even further by adding a large dollop of either vegan coconut or soy ice-cream. SO delicious!
INKtober 24/31 - Bat - I used the official INKtober prompt for that date which was BLIND. I thought of the saying 'Blind as a bat'. But, funnily enough, bats aren't blind and their vision isn't all that bad...just better suited to night time. I sketched this fruit bat, also known as Flying Foxes here, in my Moleskine watercolour notebook using Sumi ink.
INKtober 25/31 - Boo! - My Scribble Picnic pals would have seen this one already. Sketched with a Platinum Carbon fountain pen then inked in with a Pentel Pocket brush pen. The green shoes were done with a Tombow brush pen.
INKtober 26/31 - Mouse - I used the official INKtober prompt for the date which was SQUEAK. This little cutie was sketched with a mix of ballpoint pen, Dr Ph. Martins Bombay ink, and Speedball India ink. The pinks and yellow tones were done with a touch of watercolour with white gouache to highlight.
INKtober 27/31 - Climb - which was the official prompt for the date. My final INKtober for 2017 sketched with Speedball India ink in my Moleskine watercolour notebook.
Even though INKtober is now done and dusted, I hope you will continue to follow my posts as there will be lots more sketches to come...
Thank you for all the wonderful and encouraging comments. I plan to catch up with your blogs very soon.
Tracey Potter posted a photo on Instagram of a tea she liked
and I just had to try it for myself.
It was delicious!
All natural flavours so not too sweet.
I had mine hot but it would make a great thirst quencher if chilled.
It even made its way into my illustrated journal.
I started with a quick pen sketch
in my large Moleskine sketchbook
using my trusty ZIG Millennium 005 pen.
I used a Uniball Vision Elite pen with blue ink
to stroke in the 'Tetley' background.
Followed by some watercolours.
Final detailing using Faber-Castell PITT pens
in black and sanguine
plus a Uniball Signo pen in white to fatten up 'Tetley'
which looked quite anorexic in the early stages.
One thing that I'm loving at the moment is
I made a stir-fry noodle dish with this
a week or so back and it was SO delicious!
It might just make it into my sketchbook one day.
Pencil-free sketch in A5 Holcroft sketch diary using BIC biros, PITT pens and Derwent watercolour pencils.
To join us each week
click on the graphic below.
Now I am off to bake some delicious vegan Coconut Heaven cupcakes.
I made a double batch a couple of weeks ago
'cos they are THAT good!
Needless to say, they didn't last long at all.
I'm puppy-sitting for Michelle and Alex this long weekend.
Abbey is SO cute, don't you think?!
And here is my sweet Cody astride the couch arm
peering out the window.
I'm making progress on the blanket.
I LOVE toast with marmalade for brekkie.
I don't have it regularly but I spoiled myself a couple of mornings this week.
Delicious bananas and pears!
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I haven't had a lot of time to sketch lately as I'm putting most of my spare time into finishing the blanket for my granddaughter. I also have oodles of baby bootees to do too. Michelle came two weeks early with Mikayla so I'm panicking as Grandbaby No. 2 is due early November.
So much still to do and time is fast running out!
Anywhoo, these are a couple of sketches I did earlier in the month.
Pencil-free, on location, using either ballpoint pen or Faber-Castell Artists PITT pens
and a little watercolour in my pocket Moleskine sketch journal.
I added the watercolour later at home.
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Okay, I'm considering whether or not to sign up for BlogtoberFest.
It would mean blogging every day starting from tomorrow
for the month of October. Am I crazy for considering this challenge?
Most likely!!
However, my line of thinking is this -
I usually participate in the November
Creative Every Day Month challenge each year and
I do have a personal sketch challenge on the horizon that both
these challenges could well serve.
Hmmmmmm.....
I'll sign up and see how I go....
No harm in trying, right?
Anyone care to join me??
------------------------------------------------- I hope you're all enjoying a lovely weekend.
