Rather than running late again, I decided to try another Wet Canvas weekend all-media event using a provided reference photo of a magnolia tree. In spite of the fact that I’ve drawn these single blossoms a lot, trying to do a whole painting in 2 hrs was more than a little daunting. This is […]

It was another spectacular afternoon at Descanso! The sun was bright, the weather was perfect and everyone was out enjoying the splendor of spring.
This was the first scene I painted after arriving for lunch - about a 20 min. warmup sketch while my husband was waiting in line to order. The wisteria vines are now […]

I got a late start but decided I would take part in Wet Canvas’ All Media Event. It’s a pretty interesting activity. Reference photos are posted over the weekend and you have a half an hour to select one and two hours to finish your piece (unless you don’t, and then you can post it […]

Don’t let anyone tell you that a little plastic surgery, Botox, some concealer, electrolysis, dental work, and the right accessories don’t make a difference.
Ripley will probably kill me for showing this “before” picture. Down and out, she had hit rock bottom. Too many MilkBones had taken their toll.

But WOW, look at her “after” … […]

A watercolor sketch in my spring journal; a memory of how Descanso’s central beds look at this time of year. The oak is actually behind the bed, not planted in it, but it was there from my vantage point. I’m trying to make an effort to paint there several times a week if I can.

This is probably not what the gentle moderators of Inspire Me Thursday had in mind when they challenged us to look at an everyday object and to be inspired to create art with it or based upon it. If I’d been thinking straight, I should have done something with a hardboiled egg slicer, a gherkin […]

Remember that wild cucumber seedpod I painted the other day? Well, I cut some of the vine and have been keeping it on my desk in water for the past few days, as I waited for the time to draw it. Amazingly, it hasn’t wilted as I would expect most ‘native plants’ to do when […]

A week or so ago, the Illustration Friday theme was “Spotted” and my first thought was of that British raisin pudding called Spotted Dick.
(No, really, there IS such a thing …. See the dick here.)
However, I didn’t feel like drawing a can of suet and sultanas. But I still loved the sound of the name.
And […]

Robots don’t work all the time, you know. Sometimes they go for walks in the woods with their kids. And pick berries and stuff. So, if you’re camping and you see glowing red eyes in the bushes … just remember, it might not be bobcats …

A car seen in a Big Brown parking lot … in the Circle of Honor space reserved for employees with perfect driving records.
What’s that? You say your teenage son did it? Riiiiiiiight.