EDM #15

I have a talent! A talent for making simple things difficult! I pencilled thie drawing days ago and have been "waffling" over how I wanted to finish it. I couldn't seemt to get on with anything else until this was completed so I sat down today and started slapping paint on. I'm not overly thrilled with the way it turned out, and I don't know why the background looks slightly green. The seed pods are more yellow in the scan than the soft green they really are. But here they are, and now I can go on to something else!

Bluebirds

What a day we had yesterday! We've had bluebirds nesting in our yard several times over the years we've been in this house. But English sparrows discouraged them so much that they hadn't been here in 3 years or more until this year. We put up the house in a different spot, more convenient to the part of the house we spend the most time in, and were lucky to attract a nesting pair right away. The first set of eaggs didn't hatch, but the second ones did....born on the 4th of July! Four little bluebirds finally fledged yesterday afternoon (and evening). Sometime after lunch I noticed that mama and papa weren't coming to feed their babies anymore and were flying from tree to tree and perch to perch, just watching the nest box. We'd been seeing the little ones sitting at the door of the box and sort of hanging halfway out to look around for a couple of days, so I knew they'd be out soon. So we watched carefully until finally I saw one little baby pop out of the box, desparately flapping those little wings to get himself across the yard and into the tree. The next one went in the other direction and landed on the deck railing, but then he, too, flew across and into the tree. Number three got confused and flew toward the house and down behind the garbage can! We worried that we'd have to go rescue him, but he finally came out and got himself over to the tree, too. But number four just wasn't ready, and it took Mama and Papa over three hours to coax him out! I sat here and watched almost all that time....I couldn't bear to think they might abandon him if he wouldn't come out. But he finally did, around 7:00 as I recall, and Roy and I both applauded, and had a glass of Roy's latest batch of Merlot to celebrate! We loved having them here to watch, but we are both glad to have the freedom of our backyard back again. We sat out on the deck until about 9:00 enjoying the quiet. Haven't been able to do that for fear of disturbing the birds! And Roy can practice his golf swing out there again now, too! He's thrilled about that.
You can tell it doesn't take much to entertain the old folks!!!!!! But I already miss thosse babies.......wish I had a picture to show, but my camera wouldn't zoom far enough.

Tagged

Thanks to my dear friend, Shashi, in the UK, I must tell you five things about myself. Hmmmmm......
1.What was I doing 10 years ago? Making cloth dolls and amassing a huge stash of dollmaking supplies and books.
2.Name five things on today's "to do" list. Do the laundry, fill the bird feeders, take down the bluebird nest box(the babies fledged yesterday!), water the deck plants, and DRAW.
3. Snacks I enjoy...WW Giant Latte bars, H&D Moose Munch
4. Things I would do if I were a millionaire...downsize, upgrade, and travel, maybe.
5. Places I've lived: Nine different states all east of the Rocky Mountains.

EDM challenge 178 (or 8)

I got confused about the challenge number as you can see. But here is today's effort, a favorite pair of earrings. Ink and wash in my new pocket Moleskine. I think I'll do most of my challenge drawings in this little book, I liked working in this size.

Challenge #4 Draw your mug

"Draw your Mug." In an earlier vernacular (like from the thirties!) this could have meant "draw your face"! But I'm taking it to mean the vessel you drink your morning coffee from. Many years ago I was a potter and these were purchased from a fellow clay worker along with matching plates which I still use today. They're still as bright and beautiful as the day I bought them.
My drawing was painted using my new set of Neocolor II watercolor pastel crayons. They are delightful to work with and I love the brilliant colors you can get with them. This drawing shows almost the exact coloring on the mug itself.

Well I tried!

I've tried uploading this picture several times and it always comes out tilted on its side! So bear with me this time, please. Just ink with a little wash in my Moleskine sketchbook.

Topsy-turvy onion

Yes, it's upside down! It just seem to have more character that way. I liked the movement of the root tendrils. What do you think?