bluebonnet time

On Thursday I got together with a good friend but we spent more time catching up with each other than sketching. She happens to live surrounded by the most beautiful of Texas wildflowers but I only sketched a couple of them while we chatted; the rest, I drew from photos later at home, including some fun decorative bits from her new kitchen.

The second photo shows only a small portion of their land of wildflowers.

a little bit of play

Here, I was trying new ways of sketching some wildflowers seen on a walk yesterday.

First, simply drawing with Pitt Artist brush pens. Then, details in colored pencils but it didn’t show well on this toned paper.

So I broke out my safari green Lamy filled with Noodler’s El Lawrence green ink. Overworked, probably, but I had fun trying.

peach blossoms

A couple of weeks ago I snapped photos of trees in our front pasture while out with our corgi, Butters. But I didn’t get around to sketching from one until today. This is the baby peach tree’s blossoms; I was too late to get shots of the apple trees.

bits of last week

Just some bits of nothing much sketched in my journal . . .

My vision has been a bit fuzzy lately. I have glaucoma and early macular degeneration, for which I am under treatment and have regular checkups. I was relieved at last week’s check that the slightly out-of-focus fuzziness was part of the seasonal allergies I’ve been going through. Very irritated dry eyes (which sounds weird when my eyes water so much!) and lots of oak tree pollen. Hot compresses and extra eye drops, including one for allergies — simple fix!

I also played around with new palette arrangements, just for fun. And tried out my new Kaweco Brass Sport fountain pen. As reliable as my beloved Liliputs but slightly chunky and heavier, better for benign tremor shaky hands.

an old stone house

For the first few years after moving to Brenham, Texas, we often drove around the small communities nearby exploring. This sketch is from a photo taken 7 years ago in Belleville, where we found several old historic homes. Just around the corner from this native stone cottage is an original dogtrot log cabin, photo shown below. It is currently being used so doors have been modernized.

De Atramentis Document brown ink, watercolor, and colored pencil in a Seawhite Travel Journal.

another early cuppa

It was very early in the morning, only me and the cats stirring. Butters, our corgi, actually gave me a dirty look when I turned on a small lamp as she moved from the couch to her darker kennel!

This time, I had a cup of my new favorite black tea, Taylor’s of Harrogate spiced Christmas tea. Drawn with an odd assortment of tools in my tiny 2” sketchbook.

nothin’ but us chickens!

Yesterday we took our corgi to the vet’s for her yearly checkup and a vaccination. We must’ve been taken to the chicken exam room (yes, our vet has a chicken specialist on staff) judging by the chicken decor! 

My Duke 209 fude fountain pen was still causing me problems, even after repeated cleanings and changing ink brands. Seemed like a good excuse to buy this Sailor fude de Mannen pen . . . Besides, it comes in BROWN! Perfect for using with brown ink. Like the navy version, this one has a 40° bend which I prefer over the bamboo green 55° degree nib. I found the pen at Jet Pens.