It’s very hot here in So. Cal, but this morning was delightfully overcast at Descanso Gardens, where a group of us met for some plein air painting. The sun peeked out a few times, but then decided to give us a break and hid behind high overcast for the remainder of the day. […]

Once I was a mighty hunter
Smiter of lizards, slayer of rats.
Silent and deadly, keen of eye
I dreamed the hot day and ruled the bright night.
My claws honed on rough pine, my thighs coiled to spring.
I was the Lady of High Places.
My fur preened to perfection.
Now I tread a shadow world
My safety in the hands of […]

I drew these the other day at the same time that I drew Mandu’s long, luxurious tail, of which she is justifiably proud. The first ink drawing was done one evening as we took her out in the yard and let her walk around in the grass. She seemed to like it but kept turning […]

During the few weeks that Mandu lost her vision and much of her appetite, we started giving her bowls of half and half or even whipping cream just to get some liquid and calories in her. Not surprisingly, she took a liking to it, and would lap cream even when she rejected her usual cat […]

Yesterday, while waiting for my husband to join me for lunch, I started this sketch of the Descanso entrance, near the cafe. The architecture with all the beams and rafters was problematic, but I liked the contrast of the deep shade and the plants in the hot sun. So I’ll just spin it and say […]

Today I joined a group of fellow plein air painters for an outing at Descanso Gardens. The weather was glorious and I had a wonderful time painting with friends. Last week I was in a similar location, but pointed in a different direction. This week a long path through oak trees called me to paint […]

So for Crackskull Bob’s Self Portrait marathon we’re supposed to draw ourselves, so I did. I’ve been trying to learn how to use my thumb as a measuring tool for gauging proportions and I think it works pretty well. Look at what a good likeness I got!!!

I drew this portrait of my husband and Mandu last night when I saw them posed like this by the light of a single floor lamp bulb. Even though I knew I was waaay out of my comfort zone in attempting it, I’m glad I did. I used a 3B mechanical pencil in a […]

As well as doing portraits, I’ve been doing a series of sketches of Mandu’s features - her tail, her paws, her eyes. More will be posted later. I’m exploring using different media to see which represents the texture the best. The graphite pencil seemed best for the smooth fuzzy tail as well as her scruffy […]

Last night I did two more Mandu sketches while Glenn held her. The top one was done with the Kuretake brush pen and the lower one was drawn with a Derwent 8B graphitint pencil. It’s water soluble but I didn’t add any water to it - it was just what I had handy. It has […]