Darlingtonia

"Darlingtonia Californicus" 6" x 8" sketchbook, 5-23-15, pencil sketch, watercolor, Pigma pen.

I took photos at the Darlingtonia Nature Wayside, on Hwy 101, just North of Florance, Oregon. In May they are blooming, tall stalks a foot or two above the pitcher plants. The intricate red patterns on the bright green smooth bulb are high contrast. They have hanging yellow petals with a red pod in the center. The Darlingtonia are also called cobra plant and pitcher plant. They are in the family of meat eating plants, the bugs crawl into the opening at the bottom of the curved cup, fall in and are trapped. They are rare and found only in wet boggy areas. This preserve has a short trail, on built up wooden platforms, to keep you out of the bog.

Cheese Burger

"Tyee Landing" 5" x 8" 90# Watercolor paper,Sept 19, 2014
Collaged checker board deli paper, with matte gel medium. Watercolor paint background wash, acrylic paint cheese burger, Mod Podge gloss on the meat and tomato, Pigma pen lettering and colored pencil fill in on letters. I saved the deli paper from our trip to Tyee Landing for lunch. The 1/3 pound Angus beef burgers are awesome, and the weather was warm but crisp and clear. We sat on their deck and enjoyed the view of the Umpqua River below. The only place between Crater Lake and the coast with a view of the river in Douglas County.

"Poppy" & "Swallowtail & Birch"

"Poppy" 5" x8" sketchbook page, number 2 pencil, June 30, 2014.

My cat "Poppy" sleeping on my t-shirt, she was sound asleep so she was holding still. My first attempt at drawing her, I never wanted to try before, but doing Everyday Matters, gave me some confidence I did not have before. I think it came out pretty good. She is so hard to photograph because she is black and shiny, so she absorbs light but reflects it too.

"Paper Birch and Swallowtail" 5" x 8" sketchbook page, colored pencils, July 2, 2014.

This is a sketch in colored pencil of my 3-D quilt, that is sitting on a shelf in front of me. It is about 20" tall and 5" diameter birch tree, made from my original photo printed on fabric and thread painted, with 3-D leaves and butterflies.

Writing Daisy

I am sorry that I have not been blogging. I have not been sketching because my hands have been hurting. I have a hard time writing and holding a pencil for very long. Saying that, I did manage to write out a whole page, in short bursts, that I can use in my art work. I have been trying to use more "Words" in my art. Making rubber stamps, word stencils, or just writing. The handwritten page I put through my scanner and printed several copies, then I went over one of them with a wash of watercolor paints. I tried to use all the colors on my palette, and get some blending too.

I made a card for my sister, by tearing the colored paper and making flower petals, and two leaves and a stem. Using gel medium, I put them on some card stock over a watercolor wash. Next I added texture with acrylic paints, through a sequin waste stencil. If a few dots looked good, a lot was better. NOT! I did way too much, I liked it earlier in the process. But it was a learning experience, I went over some of the darker dots with a soft white, to tone it down some and that helped. I sealed it all with gel medium. I was going to send it as is, as a postcard, but decided to put it in an envelope. After writing a cheerful message on the back, I put it into snail mail, it is so nice to get something besides bills and ads in the mail. I really liked doing the collage, and have other ideas for the writing papers.

My Sewing Room Diagram

5" x 8" journal page, pencil sketch, Pigma micron pen, colored pencils. Oct. 13, 2013.

I was just goofing off and decided to sketch out the layout of my sewing room. It is about 12' by 14' and FULL of stuff. I have shelves with boxes, clear to the ceiling, the fabric is stuffed in so tight I can't squeeze in another piece. I have bag and boxes piled in the NW & SE corners, and under the ironing board. This is a working studio, I do not waste space on cute little sitting areas, or wall space on displaying my quilts. It is organized but not neat, all the boxes are labeled, the supplies separated, the fabric sorted by color, but there is too much of it. The scanner did not pick up the light colored pencils, the green cutting mat, or the blue ironing board cover.

Unlucky Hummer

5" x 8" journal page, watercolor, dried flowers, feathers, mat medium. Oct. 12, 2013

We found a pile of feathers on our front porch this morning. A few days ago the cats brought in a dead hummingbird, Poppy has been sitting below the bush of Fuchsia Californicus, it's bright red tubular flowers bloom late into fall. I thought this was a second hummer, but now I know it was a sparrow. I used mat medium to save some of the feathers in my sketchbook, and dried a piece of the Calif. fuchsia. I used watercolor to paint the flower and a small hummer in the corner. I hope the hummers fly South for the winter soon, I did not put out a hummingbird feeder this year because of the two new cats.

Hope Soars

5" x 8" 90# watercolor loose page, Tsukineko Inks, Acrylic paints, rubber stamps, medium charcoal pencil, General's white charcoal pencil. August, 10, 2013.

I was playing with inks on watercolor paper, and a straw to blow the ink around, I ended up just painting washes of color, as a background. I used acrylic paints to print a foam curly cue stamp, and was going to add words, but my stamps I was making, would have been reversed, so I just painted the words. Rubber stamp, lace doily circle, and charcoal pencil to draw the bird and outline the lettering, I wanted a free sketchy look. I highlighted with a white charcoal pencil. Spray fixative.