ALCOHOL INK ON YUPO

Thought you might be wanting something with color after all the inky and conte crayon stuff in the sketchbook.

Just a scrap of yupo and alcohol ink.


Northwest Dunes

More yupo and alcohol ink.






Rise Up

FROM DRAWING TO CHARCOAL, INK AND CONTE CRAYON

In my Strathmore sketchbook.  

Not finished yet but getting there.  

STRANGE ANGELS

India ink in my Strathmore sketchbook.  It bleeds through a bit - and then you can create something differnt from the bleed through on the other side - like this next one :)

A Picasso-ish creation?  This one on the back of the previous inked one but this one using charcoal.

(Have you been watching the NatGeo series Genius: Picasso?  What an ass the man was!! )

Charcoal in the sketchbook.

Again, the the sketchbook but using charcoal and conte crayons (chalk) along with blue pencil.  


If it wasn't so hot (heat index of 105!!), I'd go out to one of the cemeteries that have the angel statues and draw and/or photograph them as angels are on my mind.

THIS AND THAT - INKY ANGELS

Inky angels...using the Strathmore Mixed Media paper (400 Series) and black ink.

Trying to just hint at the thing...

Ink on paper in my sketchbook and then wiped away the shape...




Sometimes one needs a few angels.  Not sure why mine are so dark - but they are.

HUMMINGBIRD DON'T FLY AWAY

Back to the birds.  Another painting based on a photo reference Sweetie took in Costa Rica :)  Only needs a bit of touches to finish it.


Remember that song, "hummingbird don't fly away, fly away, fly away...."  Can't remember who sang it - a duo...Seals and Croft?  

Here is a closeup so you can see the hummer (the painting is a half sheet watercolor on Arches 140# cold press paper).  You can't see it but I put down irridescent medium on the globes and the hummer's body before painting (and his eye isn't filled in yet).  Will show again when it's finished.


Are you having a good late spring/early summer so far?  We have a mama deer and her spotted fawn hanging around in our yard and the neighbor's yard (the house was empty for a long time so they felt safe in the woods behind their house).  The fawn stays over there because he's too tiny to jump the fence (yet), but mama comes over and eats our clover and violets and other stuff in our yard, including the bird seed I put out on the ground for Donald and Daisy (the two mallard ducks that visit our pool every spring).  It is a nice menagerie of animals around here.

LACK OF FOCUS?

Lack of focus?
(Anniversary card for Sweetie!)

Or just trying out the new paper I got (Strathmore 400 series mixed media)?


Fluid acrylics on the 400 series paper.  (Not great - not even good, but I would need more experience with the acrylics to get better.)

This one is better, but I just sponged on the top shape of the tree in 3-4 colors.  














Perhaps I need to stick with the birds?  Okay, more of them later...

BIRDS OF COSTA RICA CARDS

Just a couple of cards from Sweetie's photos of Costa Rica nature.




There are 50 species of hummingbirds in Costa Rica and Sweetie saw quite a few.  This handsome fellow is the Fiery-throated Hummingbird.

This is a Red-rumped Trogon (I think).  I like the black body with the bits of bright red on it.  Can't find it in any of the small, travel books of Costa Rica Birds, though.  Could it be their version of a Red-winged Blackbird?



These are on Strathmore blank cards (either watercolor, or mixed media).

JUNE IS GOING TO BE A BUSY MONTH

Just a little charcoal sketch in my sketchbook.




Sweetie just returned from a fabulous trip to Costa Rica with some great folks.  He has hundreds + hundreds of photos to edit and use - and I am using some for reference photos for paintings (of course).

Here is the first card I painted on Strathmore watercolor blank cards (they are great for painting on, as are the mixed media cards and the printmaking cards).  It is an Acorn Woodpecker from Costa Rica.  Nothing like that here in Kentucky.  This is a female (the red tuft meets with the white front if it's a male).  




It seems like everything is coming up in June, including a granddaughter's graduation from high school (we are so proud of her!), our 23rd anniversary (seriously, 23 years??), and my mother's 80th birthday.  Lots of plans for parties and family gatherings.  I'll try to keep up, but can't promise anything!


Hope you all have a good June!