the gulf, revisited

Two weeks ago I posted a 2” gouache sketch I did from a photo taken on Mustang Island. This past week I repainted the scene, this time using Japanese Gansai watercolors. These were purchased years ago but seldom used. Recently I replaced the brighter colors with muted ones that I’m preferring these days. After the initial painting, seen in the second photo, I added a bit of colored pencil. The previous tiny sketch is shown in the third photo.

overworked

This sketch of leaves (and acorn) seen on the lane while walking my corgi began well enough with a watercolor wash. I removed the masking fluid and added a bit of colored pencil — still going well. I wish I had stopped there.

Instead, I added shadows with the nearest dark pencil, which happened to be a water-soluble Inktense pencil in Bark. I meant to leave it dry but somehow a drop of water hit one bit, so I wet all shadows. Which ruined the light, delicate look I was going for.

tiny house, c. 1840s

This sketch didn’t turn out quite like I had planned, but I’m calling it done and moving on. It’s drawn from a photo I took in 2018. The cabin had a spindly live oak growing behind it with skinnier branches than normal.

The photo was in with others on my phone taken in Old Baylor Park but after I wrote the text, I’m not so sure if that’s where we saw it. It might have been in Round Top.

(watercolor & colored pencil)

drawing my not drawing

Yesterday I listened to a few past videos of Natasha Newton, including a Zoom drawing session recording from 2024. Participants were given a photo of the chosen scene, to be sketched in a certain limited time.

But instead of drawing along with the group, I drew the scene on my iPad, along with the hot cup of cocoa I was drinking and a picture of my closed sketchbook. Just for fun.

back to my nature journal

Almost two weeks ago, as the recent cold snap arrived here with a drizzly sleet, Bill noticed an odd red mushroom and brought it inside for me to sketch, which I did in gouache. Then I set this small nature journal aside — until today.

After watching a recording of Art Toolkit’s workshop on garden journaling with Bethan Burton, I added some sketches from two of her garden photos. I like her style of an ink line drawing with only a small focused bit with color added.

I found James Gurney’s quote online; it seemed to fit the 2-page spread.

tiny bits of gouache

Today has been a cold, sleepy sort of day. I pulled up a photo I took on Mustang Island over ten years ago and tried to paint it in gouache in my 2” sketchbook. Warm memories, though I remember there was a cold October wind blowing.

another cup of tea

Today, a simple sketch of my early morning hot tea — this time, my favorite gunpowder green tea. Sketched with Pitt Artist Pens and a few Derwent Drawing pencils. The other items on the kitchen counter were drawn with a Liliput fountain pen and De Atramentis Document blue gray ink.

Benign Tremor makes my dominant hand shake and is making me look for new ways of sketching. Brush pens and pencils are easier to control than paint brushes for details. But I can still use watercolor in large areas, which is the best way to use granulating pigments!

the freeze is on the way

We have been having a strange winter season so far, even needing to run the air conditioner just a week ago! On Monday, there were new blossoms on the baby peach tree. The leaves of the Mexican sycamore we planted this autumn have not yet fallen; in fact there are fresh green ones!

But a freezing winter storm is streaming towards us — and across half of the country today. The confused trees are in for a shock.

a new brush pen

I just received a small order from jetpens.com which included a new Pentel Pocketbrush pen with sanguine ink. So I grabbed a couple of oak leaves as Butters and I walked back from the mailbox (our mailbox is about a block away — at least that’s how it feels sometimes) and sketched them, then added gouache and a smidgen of colored pencil.

My original Pocketbrush pen with black ink is probably about 18 years old now, purchased in Kansas City on my way to sketching with a buddy in Excelsior Springs, MO. And it is still going strong with a great brush tip!

early morning view

The past few years I have reversed my long-held habits and have become an early riser, usually while it’s still quite dark. A quiet time to sip a cup of hot tea, read, or play a word game on my phone. Our corgi, Butters, and one of our cats, Bardie, love to go explore outside in the morning before it gets light. This is the view we had one morning last week, a wee sliver of a moon over the Arizona cypress tree we planted a few years ago.

The teacup and saucer are the only real cup and saucer I own; I normally use a large mug. I don’t usually use tea bags, but I bought a gift tin of Yorkshire Gold tea bags just for the tin, which features ink drawings by Yorkshire artist John Harrison. The bags have no string and tag; instead, I use a beaded chain with a small clip to hold the corner of the bag.

(watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil in a Seawhite of Brighton travel journal)

✳️ A bit of artistic license was employed in this sketch: the oak tree, which still has some brown leaves hanging on, was moved closer to the cypress to fit the square format and the crepe myrtle we planted was completely ignored. Those pine trees in the far distance are actually much taller than I drew them, and I left out the long driveway with its 12 live oaks and some additional fencing. Trying to simplify!

my Monday, SRO

Just a quick scribble sketch done while waiting through early jury selection process . . . All seats were taken, all hallways filled, standing room only.

We are now on lunch break; I live too far from the county seat to go home so I’m eating a snack in my car and posting this until time to return to the courtroom.

So much fun. (Not!)
 

brotherly mushrooms

These two small mushrooms were seen while Butters and I walked the front pasture — the smaller one seemed to lean into the larger one as if seeking its protection.

(watercolor and colored pencil)

mending time

Time to tackle the small pile of mending that’s collected on my dresser. Which means, time to procrastinate and draw it first. 😂

I was wanting to use the large blue tote bag for Bill’s hospital visits last year (there’s always something extra to stash in my bag) but what I thought was leather straps when I made the bag were not — and they were splitting apart. Real leather straps were hard to find; many were on Etsy but shipped from Eastern Europe or Asia. So I set it aside and ordered the green bag on Etsy (the actual color is an earthy deep forest) which is also bigger than I normally carry.

The green bag has just the right type of pockets, but one inside side pocket tended to gap so I thought a snap might help. And of course, as soon as I ordered it, I found real leather straps to replace those on the knit bag!

early morning walk

Our temperatures are still mostly in the 70s but mornings have been foggy. This is the view during a recent morning walk.

I need practice trying to write with a tiny paintbrush. Very wonky!

distractions

Yes, I love to sketch. I love playing with fountain pens, watercolor, gouache, and pencils. But there are many distractions — many are simply the stuff of normal daily life and some are a bit more intense. 

Routine tests last summer in preparation for back surgery showed that my husband had only one kidney . . . and things weren’t working properly. He’s had to be on a catheter since then, through a successful back surgery. There was a surgical fix for his prostrate but, for that, we switched to a different hospital. The surgeon placed him “top priority” on the list due to having only one kidney and being on a catheter. There was still a glitch or two, but thankfully the surgery, performed New Year’s Eve, was a success and the catheter is gone.

I planned on sketching in waiting rooms and his hospital room, carrying tools and sketchbook with me. But somehow, I just couldn’t focus. I _did_ manage to begin knitting a top though. And even sketching the early results, though the body of the top is curling at this stage.

For this sketch, I lightly drew the shapes with colored pencil, then painted with gouache. A thin ball point pen was used for the knitting needle’s cable, and a bit of colored pencil was added on top.