Frantic or panicked (it was hard to tell which) cheeping brought me to the windows overlooking our backyard. 

Do you have a voice that whispers to you sometimes? "Do this", "don't do that", "go ahead and give this new thing a whirl" are often the spoken words I hear in my mind, but never so clearly as I heard them a few weeks ago.

It's been ridiculously hot in Florida lately and I had just returned from my father's doctor appointment.

I. Was. Hot.

The dog needed and wanted to go outside, but having just come in from the hell-on-earth, I wasn't to keen on the idea. As I opened the backdoor, a wall of stifling, hot air, like I imagine a breeze on the surface of the sun would feel, washed over me.

Shelby eagerly stepped out and turned back to look at me as if to say, "aren't you coming?" I had no intention of going out in the yard...until I heard that small, quiet voice in my head urging me to do just that.

"Go look," it urged. "Go and see," the voice kept insisting. I could almost feel a gentle pressure on the center of my back just below my shoulder blades. No one else was home so I was quite aware there wasn't anyone attempting to push me out the door.

Given the insistence and the urgency in the voice, I gave in and stepped out. I wandered over to the south side of our property where there is a long stand of trees and in less than twenty steps, I stood looking down at a small, broken, bird egg.

I bent down and carefully picked up the broken pieces and laid them in my hand. This was what the voice was urging me to go and find though I didn't understand the urgency. Until Shelby arrived a minute later.

She could smell the broken egg and immediately zeroed in on the location of where the egg had been.  She began to dig almost before I could register that her nose had shown her what my eyes had seen. If I'd been any slower in finding this small, broken treasure, there would have been nothing but a few tiny shards left after she was done excavating.

Leaving the dog to continue her explorations, I carried my prize inside and sorted it out on the counter. I knew as soon as I'd set eyes on the shell fragments that I'd be drawing and painting it into my journal. A little research lead me to decide it was a Cardinal's egg and since we have a large population, it wasn't to much of a stretch to think that was what type of shell I had found.  

After I creating the art in my journal, I pondered what to do with the leftover pieces. I didn't really want to part with them, but nor were they suitable for any type of display. I finally decided I would add them to the actual page of the journal, but I hesitated.

My journal tumbles around in my purse and goes everywhere with me. I didn't feel the shells would have much of a chance of remaining on the page since the journal is only about a third-of-the-way complete.

Instead, I coated a round piece of paper I had previously stamped with matte medium. I carefully placed the shell shards on the paper while the medium was still wet. In some cases, I had to break the shells to get them to lay flat to the paper. Once the first coat was dry, I add a second and set it aside.

Rather than adding the paper, I'm going to wait until I am finished with the journal and will then glue it into a place I've reserved for this small treasure.

And the next time I get a message to do something I don't want to do? I may be a little more receptive  to doing what the voice asks me to do!

Hello, everyone! I hope you’re staying cool in this lovely August heat we’re having. I wanted to send out a quick update to let you know there will be TWO (Live) Art Journaling Classes this week! (More reason to be inside and enjoying the air conditioning!)
First up, I’ll be at the Indian Rocks Beach Art Center on Thursday, from 1 to 4 pm, to create this long-legged critter in the Beach Treasures series. We’ll work on colorful black and whites as well as water ripples. Don’t miss out!
Black Neck Stilt @ Beach Art Center, Thursday, August 9th, 1 - 4:00 PM

You can find more info here.


Our next class will be on Saturday, August 25th at 9:30 am! Make sure to mark it on your calendar!

Wow, it's been a busy week! I hope you can join me for one of the following treats:

Painting A Fabulous Flamingo
These gangly creatures are so much fun to capture on the page! It may seem like a lot of work, but by using broken color washes, it's actually not so hard at all. In this class, we learn to suggest texture as well as work with contrast to give our bird that gorgeous and warm, sunlit look.

If you struggle with developing your drawing skills, this may just be the class for you. I introduce using a simplified grid system that gives you a support system to develop your drawing skills, and also helps you to develop your skills more quickly than tracing an image.

If you'd like to get your pink on and be a fabulous flamingo, come and join the fun here in The Imaginary Realm! 

I will also be teaching this class live at Keeton's Office and Art Supply on Saturday, March 11th! I hope you'll join me if you're going to be in the area! Click here to get the details.

Painting Postcards In The Garden
While much of the country has been dealing with crazy up-and-down temperatures with the occasional snow dump the day after wearing shorts, Florida has already ushered in spring! The flowers are blooming, trees are busting out with new leaves and everything is that bright, brilliant green!

I can hardly wait to go to Selby Gardens on March 10th and 11th for the two-day workshop, Painting Postcards in the Garden! This workshop will cover making friends with your palette, working on location, how to create a more finished postcard (or page) and basic drawing skills. This workshop combines time in the garden with plenty of classroom time.

It's also a wonderful opportunity to soak up some sun, enjoy being outside, enjoying the gardens and spend time with other artists. Interested? Click this link for more info and to register!

Using A Glue Resist With Hand-Lettering - A Free Tutorial!
As promised, I have created a tutorial showing how I used a Tombow® Glue Pen to create a fun resist with hand-lettering. I'm the first to admit I'm not a letter artist as that takes way more hours and patience than I can imagine, but I LOVE to play with letters as an art form.

This tutorial will take you through the steps of setting up a drawing a word and using both water-soluble markers along with the glue resist to get some great effects. There's even an ombre technique in there!

It's FREE and it's available here! (I have no affiliation with Tombow or their products.)


I hope to see you—online or in person—and I hope you enjoy these learning opportunities!

Do you have supplies left over from your scrapbooking days now that you've moved on to sketching? Wondering what to do with them?

Tomorrow, down at Keeton's in Bradenton, I'll be doing a live class and we're going to be working on a mixed-media page using scrapbooking paper as the main design with watercolor, stencils and colored markers to make a fun and festive page.

Come and join me if you can! More info here. Hope to see you there!

Swallow Tailed Kite Ink in Stillman & Birn Zeta Sketchbook 8.5 x 5.5 inches

Back in the spring while out and about on errands, I happen to glance up and see the most beautiful, acrobatic show put on by a couple of sea gulls. I had never noticed gulls being so graceful before! They would dive and hang out on the thermals before falling away and gliding around in slow, flowing twirls and twists.

They combined grace, ballet and acrobatics into a beautiful dance.

As I continued to watch, I noticed their tails were odd. Finally, I caught a glance of one from almost straight above me and I noticed the swallow shape of the tail feathers.

By the time I realized they weren't gulls at all, they were too far away for me to see any real detail and I didn't even bother to reach for my sketchbook. I did, however, make myself a promise that if I saw them again, I'd be ready!

Last week, I happened across another one! According to my brothers these kites have been around for a while—it was me who was missing!

Anyway, I grabbed my sketchbook and a black pen. My first attempt is at the bottom and just line work. You can see where I struggled to get the shape right of the wing. I didn't get it quite long enough with my first drawn line and tried again. Also, the area where the tail and body meet is not quite right.

Mind you, this guy wasn't just sitting still. S/he was doing cartwheels in the sky while I attempted my sketching.

My second attempt was better, though still not right. The tail shape still isn't working quite right and her/his neck is odd. (Many of my inaccurate lines are covered by the black wash of ink.)

My third attempt was a side view and s/he was gone before I could blink. I attempted to go on from memory and realized it was a lost cause.

My last attempt was the tail at the top of the page. Since I knew I wasn't getting that area right, I focused in on just that area.

Then…s/he was gone. Too far away for me to see much more than a speck.

Arriving home, I pulled out my Pentel Color Brush and painted in the wings and tail on two of the line drawings. I added the title only to realize this morning I had it wrong!

Sigh.

I used my white Sharpie Marker, but the ink bled and now I have a nice gray smudge.

Still, it was fun attempting to capture this gorgeous creature in my sketchbook. I knew before I started the page that chances were good great it wasn't going to be a "pretty" page, that it would be full of "mistakes" as I'd never drawn a kite before.

I decided it was more important to me to get the bird down on paper and I'd figure out the mistakes later. But you can bet the next time I see them I'm gonna try again!

You can learn more about swallow-tailed kites here.

Have you taken any chances with your sketchbook lately?

WIP - Beach Visit Watercolor in Stillman & Birn Zeta Sketchbook

Ah, yes, summertime is upon us here with a vengeance. It's hot. It's humid. It's like walking through a furnace whenever you go outside. 

Torn tape to make the faux deckled edges

Creating Faux Deckled Edges*

Sigh.

Momma said there would be days like this.

What she didn't say was that I should have known better, but I'd do it anyway.

Let me start at the beginning...

Woodswallows 8.5 x 5.5 inches Watercolor and Ink Stillman & Birns Zeta Sketchbook

I recently received an email from Carole M. of Snap Happy Birding Blog and she hinted she had an image she thought I'd like…

She was right! And I was thrilled when she gave my permission to use her photos as inspiration for my sketch. I chose to use them as inspiration and drew my own interpretation using several of Carole's photos so that my sketch is not a direct copy of any of her images.

Carole had the opportunity to snap some fun shots of these white-breasted woodswallows huddling together. You can learn more here as well as hear them.

As the day was overcast when Carole took the shot, the birds didn't have a lot of variation in the black/dark gray color of their feathers so I decided to use my artistic license and make them colorful.

If I didn't say anything, and you just glanced at the image above, you probably didn't notice the various colors in the feathers. Take a closer look below:

Notice the blues, reds, lavenders, and turquoise

Now, I could have used just black: 

Just a hint of color in the tail feathers

Baby Blue Heron Watercolor and lots and lots of ink Stillman and Birn Zeta Sketchbook 5.5 x 8.5 inches

My brother went down to the Venice Rookery over the weekend and came home with some fabulous shots. This one of the baby Blue Heron just captured my heart. I decided on the spur of the moment—did you know moment's had spurs?—to create a sketch out of this cute, little bugger.

I had originally planned to sketch the bird much bigger with a lot less nest showing. How I managed to wind up with a small bird and lots of nest showing beats me, but I did it.

Beginning with the bird, I sketch him out in pencil and then added general outlines of the nest without a lot of detail (my first miscalculation). Since the background is all suggested shapes, I didn't draw anything back there.

Next, I painted the bird. Since he was my COI (center of interest), I knew if I messed him up the rest of the sketch wouldn't matter.

With the main sections of the bird painted (details to be added last), I moved on to the background. It was easy to do by just mingling colors.

Then it was time to do the nest.

If I had drawn in even a partial bit of the nest, I think I would have realized the chore I had set for myself. But I didn't.

I was using a waterbrush and those do NOT have a fine tips and so don't do fine details easily. Choosing to save my sanity, I grabbed a traditional brush to tackle those finer details.

In short order, I realized my sanity was still in question because if I continued to sketch the nest with a brush, I would have HOURS invested in this page.

Not ideal and not what I was going for. It's a sketch for goodness sake!

Rather than lavish hours on a sketch, I went to the studio and gathered up markers and pens in colors that would harmonize with the colors in the image. Then I went to work.

Some of the tools I used in the creation of the page

On the right page, you can see a few of the tools I used. Pens, markers, and two brushes.

All told I have about two hours in this and I'm itching to go back in and make a few more "adjustments."

If I had continued to work in just paint, I'm guessing I'd still be working on it and you might have seen it tomorrow.

Editing "Perfect Images"
As you can see, the photo is a pretty darn good one and who am I to fool around with a great image?

The artist with a creative license!

I edited the photo to make a more compact sketch. I moved the baby to the edge of the nest and moved the support underneath him so it didn't look lopsided. I also simplified the nest details greatly and it's still very busy.

When I set out to sketch, I generally have a goal in mind of being quick, of capturing the essence of a place, thing, etc. However, I do occasionally get into something that can't be "created" as quickly as I'd like. At least, not by me.

That's when I change up my method of working. I'm not a big pen and ink artist. I like it, but it's rare for me to work this way.

Realizing I was going to have to make a choice of abandoning my goal of quick or change my method of creating, I opted for the latter.

Is there anything wrong with spending several hours on a sketch/page? No.

Why was it a problem? It's not, but because I wanted this to be a quick sketch and not a painting I had to make a choice.

The longer I work on something, the more detail I tend to put into something and the greater chance I have of overworking the piece and regretting the hours I invested. 

There is a constant decision process going on when we create. The more aware we become of our choices, the more freedom we have when we're in the flow. Realizing we have more than one way to create goes a long way towards helping us to tackle subject matter that we would otherwise avoid.

Do you vary your approach and/or the tools when you're sketching? How so?

Nearly Live Practice of Sketching Puffins Watercolor and Ink Stillman and Birn Zeta Bound Sketchbook 5.5 x 8.5 inches

I am planning a trip to Acadia National Park towards the end of this summer and I have always, always, Always, ALWAYS wanted to see puffins in the wild.

When I stumbled across a couple of puffin cams here and here, it seemed like a good idea to get in some practice. The cams are not live yet, but they have several videos of the highlights and it's just like sketching from real life.

Just as I started to get a pose down, the bird would move or fly away. Sometimes, the video would change to a completely different location.

Sigh.

There is no "one" bird on the page. Instead, I used an eye from one bird, a beak or wing from another until I had "most" of the creature showing on the page. I even tried sketching from memory with limited success.

When I couldn't finish a pose, I'd start on some of the different body parts and that's how I managed to come up with a puffin body that's less than an inch and peg-legged—the creature moved before I could even get his feet sketched!

The nerve of some birds. ; •)

When doing this type of sketching I always (attempt to) approach the page with the thought that it will be an adventure and I may or may not have a finished page that I like, let alone love. And that's okay because it's more about what I can learn about my subject matter, strengthening my observation skill as well as my hand and eye coordination.

I gotta tell you, it was amazing fun! And time FLEW by! It was like being there and with the help of technology, I was! Just amazing. Without disturbing or threatening the habitat of these wonderful "little friars," I was able to enjoy sketching them.

There are a number of different cams that spotlight the lives of ospreys, eagles and other birds as well as bears, dogs and all manner of beasties that I intend to take advantage of when I'm wondering what I'm going to sketch or when I don't feel like braving Florida's high humidity and temperatures in the middle of summer.

Getting back to the puffins…they live in the park in the summer months and their summer runs from April to August. They'll have "puffed" before I get there.

Dagnabit!

I missed them in Alaska too. Apparently, I'm going to have to plan a Puffin Tour at some point if I'm ever going to see the cute little rascals for myself. They live most of their lives on the open sea only coming back to land to breed.

Did you know puffin swim using their wings to propel them through the water much as they do when they fly? Their feet as used as rudders. How cool is that?!

Did I mention that I really want to see puffins in the wild?

What bird or animal do you want to see in the wild with your eyes?

Okay, let me explain…
I wasn't sketching the woman. I was sketching her scarf. It was gorgeous with colors of blues, turquoise and aquas.
Unfortunately, the scarf happened to be worn by the woman and so I had to sketch her as well. Otherwise, the scarf would look like it was levitating on the page and since I didn't plan well, she didn't turn out so great.
She turned out like some kind of demonic mutant in my first attempt.


When I showed it to my husband, he had the audacity to laugh—can you believe that?!

I can. She's pretty funny looking.

By the way, in case you're wondering…it does not bother me that she turned out like a mutant or that she doesn't look a whole lot like herself in real life. You see, I don't know her from Adam's house cat. It's okay that she doesn't look like anyone I know.

Now, if I knew her…that would be a completely different kettle of fish!

After the sketch bomb on the left, I attempted to redeem myself by re-sketching her face to the right. This one turned out a little better and more proportional to her body.

The lady at the bottom was engrossed in her phone and had no idea anyone else was even in the café.
HINT: Folks who are playing with their phones make great sketching subjects! They seldom look up find you staring at them.

On Sunday, Chris and I went to one of our favorite Greek restaurants and sat out on the patio. The little English Sparrows were busy, busy, busy! The chirping was so loud at times it was a bit distracting.
I waited until we'd finished eating to get out my journal* and start sketching. I only had his** little face sketched when the birds disappeared. I'm can only guess it became too crowded for them. We sat for a little longer before I gave up and we went on about our day.

The odd thing about this is that even though I don't consider either of these pages to be anything to crow about, I really like them!

They were done in the flow of my day rather than a "special trip" just to sketch. My favorite sketches are almost always those that happen in the in-between moments of my day rather than those I create when I make a grand production of going out just to sketch.

How about you? Which are your favorites—the ones you plan out or those that happen organically?

*I've recently had some back issues so I switched to a smaller purse. This forced a change to a smaller journal as my usual Stillman & Birn Zeta would not fit in the smaller bag.

The journal seen above is a no-name watercolor journal from one of the big craft chains. It's 4.24 by 5.5 inches. It's okay, but not my favorite sketchbook by any means.

The palette is a converted lipstick sampler. I cleaned out the leftover makeup and painted the mirror and lid white before adding my paint. It works in a pinch when I want to add just a hint of color to the page.

**I say "his," but in reality this is a composite of several different birds.

                                                                                        Henry David Thoreau

Window By The Pond at Bok Tower and Gardens

The day Chris and I were there, the day was sunny and bright, but there was not a bird, squirrel or bug in site. The photo you see above was taken on a cold, rainy day when I went back with Kathy at Catching Happiness to visit Pinewood Estate. 

"Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting" by Chris Ferlita

Window By The Pond Bok Tower

Much different!