Oh, my. Splattered. Splotchy. Fuzzy thinking. Long periods of staring at nothing. That about sums up the last two weeks of my life. I seem to have missed that time of year....that transitional period between ending and beginning, as if time is paused, so I could get my new year off to a great start by laying out plans, goals and dreams. The...

Continue Reading

Let It Snow!Watercolor in Pineapple Sketchbook For those of you in much colder, snowier climates, please disregard this post and go about your blog reading elsewhere......because it's in the 80's. As in temperature. Outside. Yes, this is Florida. But it's the 22nd. Of December! Come on—it could at least be cooler! We're not in any danger of getting snow. Or cooler temperatures. Well,...

Continue Reading

....that blooms eternal? Maybe both in my case! Watercolor and InkPineapple Sketchbook I noticed late on Saturday night as I was putting up the last of my snowmen, that most of them had on top hats and a good many of them had either a bird, a bird house, or a bird feeder with them or on them. I decided to capture one...

Continue Reading

Place d'Armes HotelWatercolor and Ink Seldom have I stayed at a hotel where I wanted to linger, but this was the case with the Place d'Armes hotel! It is a property of 8 town homes built back in the 18th and 19th centuries, cobbled together around the most gorgeous courtyards you could ever want to sit in. The old bricks were the perfect...

Continue Reading

Today is our 19th wedding anniversary! The photo was taken just before we left the reception. We've been talking a lot lately about what we knew, what we thought we knew and what we had no clue about back then (or today!). We both realize now that we had no idea what it took to make a marriage work, what it meant to...

Continue Reading

UPDATED to include text from cemetery page at the bottom of post. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 Watercolor and Ink Drawn on location Those raindrops I mentioned in the last NOLA post? Well, they were a little more serious come Wednesday morning. We walked to the street trolley and had to open our umbrellas about two books from our stop. By the time we...

Continue Reading

Thanksgiving SketchWatercolor and InkStillman & Birn sketchbookClick to Enlarge Our Thanksgiving was wonderfully relaxing this year—near bliss after the crazy weeks leading up to the holiday. A small gathering at my brother's home. Nearly perfect weather. We were able to leave the doors open and enjoy the breeze. (It can be hot enough to run the air conditioner on Thanksgiving here in Florida!)...

Continue Reading

Sketched on LocationClick to enlarge Oak Alley is a (still-working) sugar cane plantation upriver from New Orleans. There are 28 Live Oaks that line the path to the house from the river that were planted by a settler back in the 1700's. They're estimated to be 300 years old. Front of the HomeImage courtesy of the Oak Alley Plantation The Roman family later...

Continue Reading

...for me, anyway! I know other artists that do quite well sketching and eating at the same time. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing as this poor sketch proves: Southwestern SoupInk and watercolor5.5 x 5.5 inches I would love to tell you it's a contour sketch, but it's not. It's just....sad. This is what happens to me when I try to divide...

Continue Reading

Click to Enlarge Page started on location, finished after the trip We actually started off at Tujague's for dinner on Sunday night. Because I haven't finished that page yet, I've skipped ahead to Monday morning. We started the day off at Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World! We started with a video tour about the Kern family and the history of Mardi Gras. We...

Continue Reading

I had made plans to go into NOLA early to make sure that everything was in place and to check a couple of logistical matters that I couldn't check out any other way. Boy, am I glad I did! I arrived tired—emotional, physically and mentally. You see, both of my parents had experienced major health crises the week before I left. Since life...

Continue Reading

....I wasn't sure if you would want chocolate, traditional, creamy, rum, coconut or spicy! I've just returned from New Orleans and the BEST ever 1st Imaginary Trip Made Real, NOLA Live!! I'm not sure where to begin to describe the fun we all had, the things we saw, the food we ate, the places we visited and all the cool things we learned...

Continue Reading

The other day, Chris and I went to LongHorn® Steakhouse for dinner. For some reason, the hostess always seems to seat us in one of the booths in the bar area. This was my view and I fell in love with the color on those boots! Of course, I pulled out my sketchbook and started to draw them in pen and after our...

Continue Reading

She fought her way to Chris in a torrential downpour because she wanted to live. She was feisty and she was willing to fight for what she wanted. She was little, maybe 5 weeks old, soaked to the skin and cold as ice by the time Chris picked her up. We didn't know if she'd make it home. She did. She was chewing...

Continue Reading

PamplemousseBFK Rives PaperWatercolor withwhite and brown-black inkClick to enlarge I don't know about you, but I've been around citrus all my life and I'd never heard the word "pamplemousse." Today, when I needed a subject for a quick paper test, I decided to use some grapefruit that were sitting on the kitchen counter. I was rather surprised to find that pamplemousse is French...

Continue Reading

Kitten and YarnWatercolor and Carbon Black InkBFK Rives 175 g paper With the upcoming trip to New Orleans getting ever closer, my search for a sketchbook paper that makes me happy is picking up pace. The kitten above was sketched in carbon black ink and then painted with watercolors. The BFK Rives is a printmaking paper and accepts watercolor well. The paper has a very...

Continue Reading

Autumn arrived in Florida on October 1st with much cooler temperatures and lower humidity! I didn't need much more of a reason than that to get outside and get in some sketching. Osprey Drive ParkStillman & Birn SketchbookWatercolor and Ink7 x 7 inchesClick to enlarge I didn't get a particularly early start, but it didn't seem to matter. I went to one of...

Continue Reading

Imagine my surprise when I happened to glance at my waterbrush the other day and saw all these black floaty things INSIDE the barrel of the brush! Yuck! Click to enlarge I usually wear the point off from the brush tip long before I get gunk in the barrel of a waterbrush. This brush has a very small tip that is used for...

Continue Reading

Stillman & Birn Sketchbooks Beta Series on the left; Alpha Series on the right Click to enlarge any and all photos There has been a lot of discussion about the Stillman & Birn sketchbooks on several blogs and FB groups that I play with, so I decided to order a couple and see what they were like. I purchased a 7 x 7...

Continue Reading

Food SculpturebyChris FerlitaClick to enlarge We had a family celebration last night, and of course, there's always lots of hugs, laughter and mischief going on. Chris contributed one of his (in)famous food sculptures. This is made of lemon, zucchini, tomatoes and rib bones. Don't you want to come and join us for our next dinner? Oddly enough, the waiters and waitress always seem...

Continue Reading

  Well, actually, I think maybe the humidity has just dropped as the high for today is suppose to reach 92º! Still, you can see and feel the changes....you just really have to be paying attention. Some of you though, have really begun to feel the chill and see the changes. And all this means it's time to start preparing for An Imaginary...

Continue Reading

Front DetailClick to enlarge Inside FrontClick to enlarge Outside FrontClick to enlarge Pockets Galore!Click to enlarge  More Inside PocketsClick to enlarge Outside Pocket DetailClick to enlarge Bag BackClick to enlarge Sam's been a busy gal! We just finished this art bag up last weekend. It's colorful, fun and functions super well—just what the muse wanted (almost)! For new subscriber's to the blog, Sam...

Continue Reading