on the shore of Lake Raven

A quick sketch from a photo taken last November — this was our late afternoon view while camping at Huntsville State Park. These days we have been piecing together plans for a longer camping trip to Bastrop, which is slowly recovering from forest fires a few years back, then on to Hill Country and Fredericksburg.

Complicated by degenerative and bulging discs in Bill’s back. There may be back surgery in his future; we’re taking this adventure before whatever that brings.

Oh, and that tiny mini pan of paint added to my folio palette, sitting in the mixing pan? It’s a smidgen of Schmincke Volcano Violet. I was trying to match the colors of 3 Fiestaware dishes in the dish drainer: turquoise, a soft yellow, and heather. I had cobalt turquoise light and Naples yellow in the palette already, but the volcano violet was the closest I could come to the muted reddish-purple heather. An interesting triad that I may play around with sometime.

Dave’s birthday card

It’s time to get the annual hand-sketched birthday card for my brother, Dave, in the mail (I always think of him as David but, as we have a step-brother named David, my real brother prefers to go by Dave).

Dave loves to go fishing. I’m not so good at fish; I saw a hand-carved wooden sculpture of these two fish and thought they looked cool together. (I regret not noting the artist’s name.) That brown fish made me laugh with its eyes shifting over to the same side. Apparently this really happens.

growing prickly babies

This year’s crop of tiny prickly pear cactus “pom poms” seem to all be developing into full pads. The first year the tiny sprouts just fell away. These photos represent maybe a quarter of the beds in front of our barndo — all from 6 small potted plants planted 4 years ago. They obviously like it here! We broke several pads off to start new beds on either side of our driveway entrance.

on breaking rules

When it comes to sketching, I do not play by the “rules” followed by so many sketchbook artists. I seldom sketch on location (allergies to seasonal stuff and insect bites get in the way); in fact I often sketch from photos (😱) I take with my phone. I seem to never finish a sketch from beginning to end all in one go — the above sketch has been worked in bits and pieces over a week. I never sketch in public places like coffee houses because I am a happy little hermit who loves it here in the country. 

My palette is always changing! When I was first introduced to watercolor 20 years ago, I used the palette of 12 colors that my teacher, John Lokke, used. Great and versatile choices, but it’s so much fun to try new ones! My preference leans towards single, transparent pigments but there is often a form of opaque white included. There are usually several tube greens, though they may be tweaked with other colors, and I don’t always mix my own black. Many times I grab a waterbrush instead of really nice brushes because it’s quick and easy.

Though I have completed several large paintings that hang on the wall, and for a time sold sketches on Etsy, I much prefer simply drawing line and wash bits in my sketchbook — common things that reflect my day or things that capture my interest. (And yes, I draw my art tools a lot simply because I want to.)

I have worked directly in ink many times but usually use a pencil to lightly draw my subject first. Changes might be made when adding ink lines and the lines don’t necessarily follow the pencil layout — I tend to make it up as I go along. Pencil lines are usually erased before adding watercolor . . . if I remember to. Many times, some bit of text is written in ink when the idea of a sketch is only a few pencil lines — my sketchbooks are more like personal illustrated diaries.

But apart from sketchbooks, I’m having fun with tiny sketches that serve no purpose and are kept loose in a small tin box. I found a very small clipboard on Etsy that helps hold on to the piece while working, sold by bluestarcraftsmx who has designed a lot of cool sketching items. My Kaweco Liliput fountain pen fits the front loop perfectly. This particular pen has an extra fine nib and is filled with a subtle gray ink that works well in tiny work.

another tiny sketch

Sketched from a photo, this shows the very beginning of our aloe vera flowering. Soon the whole length of stalk was filled with yellow “petals”, now gone.

The second photo is of a very tiny clipboard I found on Etsy — it helps hold on to these 1 3/4 x 2 1/2” pieces of watercolor paper. The craftsman sells this and other sketching paraphernalia under the name “bluestarcraftsmx”.

The last photo shows the plant as it looked 3 1/2 weeks ago.

more cards

Continuing to recycle old sketches into greeting cards, I often forget to take photos before posting them in the mail! But I remembered these two for a couple of April birthdays.

It seems like such a struggle to find an acceptable commercial greeting card to send loved ones that isn’t stupid or offensive, so this seems like a good alternative.

a creepy critter’s tower

As I was walking with my corgi in the south pasture, I found what appeared to be a tiny tower hidden among some clover. At first I wondered if it had something to do with the frogs who burrow in the ground. 

But after searching online, I found out that this tiny mud structure is built by a prairie crayfish! An actual land-dwelling crayfish! They live underground in deep, water-filled burrows. These “chimneys” provide air circulation as well as offering shelter to other wildlife — including those burrowing frogs.

I’m just glad the wee creature didn’t make an appearance while I was studying his handiwork — this photo of one I found online is positively creepy!

more tiny sketches

Here are a few more tiny paintings, done over the past week. I found that a fine Mark’s Tous Les Jours ballpoint pen works better for me in tiny work than finepoint liners or fountain pens. 

The tea tin next to the cup and saucer is one of my favorite teas of late: Justea Purple Chocolate, a loose leaf purple tea with cacao shells and rose petals. Great with a splash of milk and very low caffeine. Each tin comes with a hand-carved wooden spoon to measure the tea.

one more from camp

This sketch is an composite of two different views near our campsite. I especially liked the strange sculpture-look of those oak burls. Another tree full of them is in the second photo.

a recent distraction

A sketch begun before we left home and finished just now, this is one of the recent distractions that have kept me from sketching. When we upgraded from a pull-behind camper to an RV, we knew we’d eventually want a small car we could tow behind it for longer trips.

Many advised getting a Jeep so we test-drove one. Nope. Not happening. Even with the added running board, I could not easily climb into the thing. And the salesman was extremely PUSHY! We told him it would be a cash deal and he said they would require us to finance at least 4 months so they could recover some of their “loss”. Uh, huh? At these ridiculous prices, what loss? Since when is cash not welcome?

We headed to another dealer where we found that this Chevrolet Trax would also be easy to add a tow package to and cost MUCH less. More cooperative salesman too.

All this happened the past couple of weeks. And this morning, Bill again got a phone call from that pushy Jeep dealer. No! We are not interested, thank you very much!

I did the tiny continuous-line sketch of my keyless key fob right after we brought the Trax home. It seems weird to have to carry it around but not use it. Hence, my “new car key that isn’t”.

*️⃣ a friend just asked me what the car’s name was; Bill immediately replied “Bluebell!” But is it for a favorite wildflower or his favorite ice cream?