Pencil Shavings

Baby Bunny or Midnight Marauder?

Right after the Hailstorm Apocalypse last week we found a young bunny in our backyard who had been (I believe) separated from his family.  So he(she?) has been living in our backyard eating our clover and running, terrified, every time we step out the back door.

 Now it has come to my attention that our beet, carrot and sunflower sprouts are being consumed by something rodent like.  Could it be our baby bunny (it is a rabbit after all and a growing one), or is it the field mice that have made a network of tunnels under out back lawn?  Or both!!!???

 Anyway, it’s time to break out the chemical warfare.... cayenne pepper.  And hope that they don’t like spicy food.

 

Small Things

This morning I did a load of laundry as soon as I got out of bed.  When it was finished spinning I lugged the basket of wet clothes out into the back yard.   

Standing ankle deep in clover, my feet wet with dew, I slowly hung the clothes on the line, much like my mother and grandmother did.  

This morning there is a faint smell of bacon coming from one of my neighbours houses, I can also smell something sweet and spicy, not quite like curry, coming from somewhere else.  The clover nearly over powers all these scents with it’s bright sweetness, sending clear signals.

The clothes occasionally flap when the breeze kicks up a bit.  The sound does nothing to stall the constant droning buzz of the big fat bumble bees that come to our yard. I’m careful of them, as they are working the same white and pink flowers that brush my ankles as I move down the line.

From the kitchen window I can hear the clinking sound of glasses and bowls being taken down from the cupboards by inexperienced hands.  My daughters are up and getting their own breakfast, it’s time to finish this up and get back inside, dry off my feet, and count my blessings.

 

Stage 3: Fungi

In a desperate attempt to save my print I did an aquatint over the whole tree trunk to darken it, and then burnished the mushrooms up so they were lighter.

Adding in lots of hand wiping to lighten the whole open side and mushroom shapes and I came up with this.

It's still not totally what I had in mind, but it's a lot closer.  And I'm out of time to make a lot more changes to it.

I editioned this one and decided that it was good enough.  I have two more prints to create and edition in less than four weeks, so this has to be good enough.

Stage 2: Fungi

So I did a "sugar lift" and aquatint to get my bark texture.

But the print came out all wrong.  The mushrooms are falling back into the  bark and the shadows aren't working at all.

I was so frustrated.  I did print an edition of it anyway just in case I mess it up totally by trying to fix it, but this is not what I had in mind for my project.

Doodle Du Jour: Tulip

Doodle Du Jour: A Sunny Day

Sunflowers are my theme for the day. 

 

School Projects

Here is the flower from day 24 of my drawing project. We are supposed to draw the same flower every day for 30 days. I picked a carnation because they last so long. But eventually it was supposed to shrivel up and die. I must have some kind of mutant flower, because I will not die! The only solution may be to take it out of water. Or just keep working at it and see what happens

Wish me luck.

365 Days of Art - Day 312 - Mmmm, Can You Smell That?

The beauty of sending my kids to Zoo camp every year is that I have the opportunity to roam the grounds of the zoo looking for great subjects, taking reference pictures and sketching the neat stuff, and animals, that are there.

This year I wandered around the gardens that are being renovated.  There are some pretty wide areas of dirt where sprinkler systems are being installed, which is a pity.  But there are some hidden corners where some of the mature plantings are showing off.

One of the great hidden gems is a gazebo in the shade of some big trees that is surrounded with some really amazing peonies. 

I took the time to take lots of pictures and then came home to paint this postcard that I sent out with the latest batch for my postcard project.

This piece was done on watercolour paper that was painted with a pinkish background, then I put acrylic matte medium on top.  When I came back into the painting with watercolour the matte medium allowed me to lift highlights back out with a wet brush and paper towel. 

If you would like to get a postcard please be sure to stop by The Postcard Project and send in a request.

365 Days of Art - Day 300 - A Dandy

The great thing about volunteering for a hiking field trip with the school is a chance to do some sketching.

While the kids were eating their lunch I was sketching a dandelion that was all white and fluffy with seeds.

There were lots of other sketches that I did that afternoon but this one was my favourite.

It was fun to have the kids peeking over my shoulder to ask what I was doing. It was also fun to give them a little sketching instruction, and reminding them that looking at your subject is twice as important as the marks you make on your page.

It's an important lesson to keep in mind all the time.

I'm going to miss taking the kids on field trips when I'm in school, but hopefully I can do some when my school is out and theirs is still in.