a touch of magic

A final sketch from camp . . .

 One evening we were sitting outside the RV (there would have been a campfire if there hadn’t been a burn ban) when I saw what looked like a string of fairy lights strung in the forest undergrowth. A few minutes later, as the sun was going down, the white twinkly “lights” became red berries once again. Just a trick of the setting sun’s reflections . . . or was it magic?

snippets of camping this week

This week, we’re camping at Buescher State Park, part of the same Lost Pines ecosystem as Bastrop State Park where we have camped previously. I just sketched whatever caught my eye, adding a bit at a time to this 2-page spread. 

The second photo shows what art supplies I brought. There is also a brass fountain pen in the zip pocket, filled with waterproof De Atramentis Document ink, a good thing after finding that the ink in my Lumos Duo fineliner wasn’t exactly waterproof (discovered when raindrops started hitting my page as I was adding paint). 

testing TN paper

I finally got around to trying that Gansai Tambi paint set I put together last month on the non-watercolor paper in my card sized Traveler’s Notebook. Being more gouache-like, it works much better than watercolor on this lightweight paper; I prefer it’s brightness over gouache when working this tiny. 

After it was dry, I tried a water-soluble ink in a Lumos fineliner over the paint — then wished I hadn’t. I liked it better without ink. I also tried the water-soluble ink in a quick sketch of one of our visiting armadillos, teasing out some wash with a waterbrush. Good for quick sketches while holding a minimal amount of tools.

For more info on the Gansai Tambi set, click HERE. 

campsite tree

Eventually, I got around to sketching that massive live oak we were camping under last week, from the view of sitting under the RV’s awning during a gentle rain. Today I added a bit of colored pencil for texture detail. During our walks, we came across other trees even bigger and older than this one. 

And two trees of completely different types that somehow melded together as they grew up, now sharing a base though each growing totally different leaves. The following photos show the joined tree, then the leaves on the left followed by leaves & berries on the right.

Calmtober: costume

For the “costume” prompt, our granddaughter’s cat, Pumpkin, dressed as a human! A Maine Coon with very long easily-matted coat, he had to be shaved to get rid of painful mats. The sweatshirt kept him comfortable until a new coat grew in.

Pumpkin has been unwell for a long time; sadly, we recently learned that he has multiple cancers. The second photo shows him years ago with his buddy, Mocha, who died earlier this year. I took the photo of them watching Bradley, a Great Pyrenees mix, bonding with his new best friend, a 2 lb. kitten named Reeces. Reeces has grown considerably since then.

Calmtober: croissant

Not the best lighting for these photos — it’s been overcast or gently raining during our days here at Brazos Bend State Park. Which is normal for the wetland / bottom-land forest. We have enjoyed many peaceful walks and just relaxing under the trees.

My lines were a bit wonky here, and I added a color not in the set I’ve been using for Calmtober for my favorite Fiesta Ware.

Loving the handmade watercolors I see others using but wanting to stay with these magnetic Pocket Palettes, I put together a palette of my own from Letter Sparrow, one of the few makers of handmade watercolors offering them in metal pans. Two of the paints are from my regular stash.

Calmtober: thread

I drew these before leaving on our trip. It seems like there has always been various threads in my life, from the card-and-string toys I “sewed” as a toddler to sewing my own clothes as a teenager. Later, I sewed vintage-style teddy bears and spent years doing embroidery and cross-stitch. 

These days, the only sewing I enjoy is making my own sketchbooks. I don’t do that nearly often enough.

Calmtober: woodpecker

A permanent resident of the East Texas Piney Woods, Red-headed Woodpeckers have been declining over the past 40-50 years. Possibly because deforestation is pushing them out to the Oaks & Prairies region.

Last year quite a few of these acrobatic birds were regular visitors to our bird feeder; this year we’ve only had a few. They are quite comical hanging nearly upside down as they eat.

A day early, but we are busy getting ready for a camping trip.

Calmtober: sketchbook

I went for the obvious here — I drew my current sketchbooks. The middle one, for Calmtober, is really black but I wanted it to show against the larger one.

Calmtober: squash

We don’t eat much squash other than zucchini or summer squash. But Bill brought these home for me to sketch just for this challenge . . . then he plans to cook them for us. Since retiring, he enjoys doing most of the cooking and I take care of the baking.