not loving this moleskin for the last few days

clearly I'm not using this moleskin correctly.... it's made just for writing and I am trying to make it into a watercolor sketchbook.... oh well, I will try to stick to one color sketches, those seem to be best. I loosened up a bit for the "draw a bed" challenge...

 but then I hate this sketch of the Odwalla bottle, it's the gel pens I guess, the red blended so I tried to wet it.... like I said.... "yuk", I'm fighting with myself not to rip it out and burn it.... yuk again!

 I like this "draw a piece of your jewelry" better. I kept it simple. This is a necklace I've had a long time....

Then just so I wouldn't hate myself I had to do a zentangle, cause they almost always work out well...so this is for the Iamthediva challenge and includes another heart for AyalaArt. The problem is ... I don't really like this either....

Ah well, there's always tomorow....

Friday already, time flies so fast.... my computer is fixed so you get to see lots of photos from our week at the cabin! we've gone to the same spot for 5 years now.

We spotted 77 of these guys on our early morning hike! and herer's my haiku...

Seventy seven

little orange salamanders

in the morning dew

 It's become tradition I make a sand mermaid...

Below is the pond we hiked to, I just realized I don't even have a photo of the lake! I take so many every year I guesss I figured I didn't need any more.

And here's some pages in my sketchbook...

And here's a heart sketch for AyalaArt in red and white for Artists PlayRoom and the zentangle for IamtheDiva...

And some mosters for Butterfly effect...

Happy paint party friday!

My life lately....

It has been a week (or two) of ups and downs, highs and lows, scratches and smiles, and bad news that turned into good. It was the last week of school and we have recently found out my son will start a new school in the fall that will be a better place for him to be. That felt bad at first as it's a long trip for him but turned out to be good news!
It was a hot summer solstice, too hot to do anything but sit and sweat. I spent a 93 degree lunch hour sitting near the river sketching, but at least it seemed 10 degrees cooler next to the water.

 and one day on the top of the world sketching...

My daughter saved two out of three baby ducklings literally from the claws and teeth of my killer cat, she and my parents tried to feed them so they could live long enough to set them free in a pond or somewhere. We have no rescue center nearby to take wild animals to, and sadly they didn't make it through their second night.

Cute, fuzzy and yet

survival of the fittest

is still very sad

We go to a state park for vacation very soon, and I am looking forward to canoeing, swimming, hiking to the ponds and sketching while my husband fishes, eatting barbecue and probably ranch chicken wings. I can't wait!
This week I created a mandala for the summer of color, inspired by the baseball nut, black raspberry cone...

I am also linking to the artists playroom for their theme of monochromatic art as this is all shades of raspberry, and to paint party friday. And...Here's my zentangle for iamthediva's challenge using the tangle called Cadent...

See you all soon! Thanks for stopping by!

bubbles in the backyard

Don't you just love bubbles? My son didn't want to hang aroung while I blew bubbles but he did enjoy swinging into them and making them swirl about. Here's some bubbles today for you to share the joy....

And as I've still got 3 more faces  to go here they are....

The top one fits the theme over at IamtheDiva as I used the tangle, Crescent moon...

Then my last face is actually three. It's the palette I finished for The Hammondsport Auction. The Chamber of Commerce supplies the wooden palette to artists, and it's on display all summer with letters to encourage people to get out and see all the palette's near local businesses. You collect all the letters, figure out what they read and are eligible for prizes. They auction the palettes  off at the end of summer and the artists get half of the sale price. This is my second year. I'm full of links today and I'll link this with paint and palette as I have a picture of the "palette" I use for the Palette. Ha!

These are BIG.... over 3x4 feet!

Above is my daughter and the others are her friends....

See you tomorow with a new mandala!

Face 24

photo.JPG, a photo by lelloavengers on Flickr.

As you can see this face in my sketchbook has zentangled hair and wings. The tangle in the wings is mooka, my favorite tangle. And in the hair it's called Pea-nuckle. The challenge at Iamthediva was to use pea-nuckle and it turns out to be a fun one, once you get the hang of it. It took me a bit before it started to flow. I am having fun with these faces with their strange and fabulous hair and will have a few more before i move on to another kind.

I have been working on more mandalas and tattoo designs and spoonflower fabric and the palette for the hammondsport summer event and a story for the Secret dream skirt Society... Lots to show soon but today this is it.

Oh, almost forgot the haiku to go with her....

I am wonderful!
Each of us is wonderful!
Messily perfect!