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

Sketching, painting, and creative play

I'm still working on finishing the double-page spread from our trip to Wellington Point last weekend. I decided to do a pen sketch from one of the fig tree photos I took that day. I gave it a stylised look which I really like it and it gives the double spread some interest.  I was inspired by Jeremy Collins, a climber and artist/illustrator.  I have his book titled Drawn and I also bought his documentary movie which featured him sketching. The book is amazing and so inspiring filled with his sketches and hand lettering among many photos too. You can see a great review of the book which includes lots of pictures HERE.

Here is the link to the trailer in case the video trailer won't play for you -
https://vimeo.com/100062478

Drawn trailer from Jeremy Collins on Vimeo.

Linking up with Sunday Sketches again this week...and again, a little late. 

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

I never did get around to posting photos of the other two abstract/decorative pieces I whipped up for the new colours in the house.  These were done in a flash, free-hand, and they were a lot of fun to do. The one below is in the family room area.  I went with a pattern to kinda tie in with the cushion.

And the following is my bedroom.  

It was impossible to get a decent photo of this one due to the lighting in my room 

but, trust me,  it looks so much better in person. 

When I was driving home from dropping Aaron at school through the week, I noticed a large group of ibis in our street.  I just had to stop and take a pic as it's been quite a while since I've seen so many ibis together in our area.  

No doubt they have been pushed off their local habitat as even more housing developments are being built in our area.  It worries me to see even our local bush areas bulldozed down for human take-over. Where do they expect the wildlife in those areas to go?  It makes me so sad that we often label displaced animals/birds as pests when the real pests on this planet are humans. Our numbers have multiplied to unsustainable levels and we literally destroy whatever is in our path. It's always the innocent who suffer.  I am trying to live more consciously and be more aware of the footprint I leave behind.

I had the pleasurable company of these two adorable artists on Saturday.  Mikayla on the left and Maddy on the right.  We had a wonderful day together!  Painting, sketching, doing collage, even a picnic in the back yard....it was a blast!  I adore time spent with my Grandkids!

 I'm working my way through some online courses and having lots of fun! 

I'm thoroughly enjoying Andrea Joseph's Creative Lettering class.

 We even played with graffiti....my name in graffiti below. 

These are all quick and rough references for future use. 

There are tons of graffiti styles to play with.

And that pretty much sums up last week.
I hope you all have a lovely and creative week ahead.

Sketching and a day trip

It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted.  I've been busy with more house decorating after deciding to carry the black, grey, and white accents from my bedroom throughout the rest of the house.  This meant a couple more, very quick abstract paintings and some coats of paint on some ornaments.  I've also been taking Andrea Joseph's Sketchbook Skool class - Creative Hand Lettering. I'm enjoying the class so much and I've already learned some new techniques which I'm very happy about.  I did this class mainly because I want to add a bit more pizzazz to the pages in my illustrated journals.  Some illustrated pages can seem plain and boring but creative lettering will take them to a more interesting level. I look forward to experimenting more.

In a recent blog post, Liz Steel talks about being satisfied with simple sketches which is something I need to do.  Below is a quick pen sketch I did on our trip to Wellington Point yesterday.  I tried to keep it very loose and simple which is very hard to do considering I'm pedantic about details.

And with a splash of watercolour 

I'm late again for Sunday Sketches but linking up anyways. 

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

Some of my letter play this past week 

And some pics from our trip to Wellington Point yesterday. 

It's one of our favourite family spots.  

The weather was perfect!

I have walked this jetty many times
and it is a part of memories I hold very dear.

The beach side of the point

The sea-breezes are perfect for paragliders

And part of a walking trail that we discovered after all these years.
That's Bradley, my eldest child who recently turned 33...
goodness, where have the years gone???

The Moreton Bay Fig trees are beautiful! 

These ones sit just up behind the beach.

I'll be back soon to share some pics of my abstract paintings...

Have a beautiful week!