A day trip to the country

I've been a little under the weather on and off over the past few days but, today, we decided to take a drive out country for the monthly Moment Catchers challenge hosted by Candace Rardon.  You can check out her beautiful blog HERE.

Rain, and even a thunderstorm, had been forecast but I'm glad we ignored the warnings because it turned out to be a beautiful, albeit very hot, day. Thank goodness we have air-conditioning in the car!

First up, we went to Beaudesert where we stopped for lunch at a small park which backs onto the town's main Jubilee Park. Jack and Cody, our fur-kids, came along too.

Bradley doing some reading in the shade...

...while I did a quick sketch of the windmill not far from where we sat. This is a work-in-progress shot and I do plan to finish it up from photos I took.

My sketch was rushed because a certain someone, who shall remain nameless, complained that they were bored and wanted to hit the road and explore the surrounding areas. He figured sitting on the car, ready to go, was a big enough hint.

So, we hit the road again and drove out Kerry way before heading home.

A quaint little country church named St. Johns. I may sketch this soon.

We pulled over at one point to take photos of the lovely view. I love those clouds!

And that was our day. What did you get up to this fine Sunday?

I'm also linking up with Sunday Sketches this week hosted by amazing illustrator, Alexandra Macvean. You can check out her blog HERE. To see the work of other participants, click HERE.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

Paint Party Friday: Energy Saver bulb

I was feeling quite sick yesterday so was not going to sketch at all for Paint Party Friday but then, when 10 o'clock hit last night, I started feeling a little guilty despite having a good excuse. I had been very pleased with myself in meeting the different art challenge commitments the past few weeks and I just couldn't let it slide.  So I dragged my sick bod over to my art desk and chose to do a quick ink sketch of the spent Philips Energy Saver light-bulb sitting on my desk awaiting disposal. I couldn't take a decent photo with the artificial lighting last night so I quickly snapped one this morning. Still not a good photo but time is of the essence as I'm already running late by Aussie time.

Sketch - Philips Energy Saver light-bulb sketched directly with pen then followed up with some sumi ink which I painted on with a brush for shading.

OH my! I just went to get the current link from the Paint Party Friday blog for this week, only to see that one of my sketches has been featured in their post. How lovely! Thanks, Kristin and Eva!

Now, I'm even more relieved that I didn't let this week slide by due to sickness. 

To see the work of other participants for this week, click HERE. Come join us next week for a special 'Party' theme to celebrate them starting their seventh year with the Paint Party Friday challenge. YAY!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

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!