old stone house

Last month we drove to the small town of Florence, KS to meet friends for dinner. Since they were non-sketchers, I took a few photos to sketch from later . . . . and didn't get around to doing it until now.

This old Victorian house may be older than the town itself. It sits in the downtown area, boarded up now. Mostly the same as it was when new, except for the odd wooden fence.

We passed this old grain elevator driving north along Highway 77, looking quite abandoned on the prairie.

Springtime . . .

. . . accompanied by the latest snow storm. The Kansas prairie seems to be conspiring to encourage Bill to move to warmer parts of Texas when he retires.

Actually, he has already acknowledged that we WILL move to Texas sometime in the future. After raising our 4 children here in Kansas, all four have settled in various parts of Texas. Now, with 5 grandchildren born there, it seems only natural to move there ourselves. Bill resisted the idea for a long time, loving Kansas, but it looks like the Lord has changed his thinking lately.

(Honest!!! I have stopped talking about it to him myself, learning to be thankful for our being here at the present. So it must be the Lord's doing . . . )

addicted to reading?

Lately, I can't seem to put a good book down. Maybe since being told I have both glaucoma and a posterior cataract, I appreciate my eyesight more? Books have always been my good friends, but lately I can't seem to stop reading . . . . even to sketch.

While in Houston recently, our daughter Kristen (who has real library room!) loaned me some new books to read. I also purchased a couple of new audible books for my iPod, to listen to during the long drive. Helps to pass the many miles.

granny-nanny journal

 

I spent the past week in Texas, helping to care for three of our grandchildren while their daddy took a group of students to Alaska. As wonderfully capable as daughter-in-law Carrie is, it's hard to be in more than one place at a time --- The boys' daycare is in one direction, Jayna's school in another, and Carrie's workplace in a third direction. Plus the laundry, dishes, etc. that Jason usually takes care of.

Keeping up with three small children truly eats up time! I had forgotten how much. I had planned on sketching our grandchildren in this small journal (purchased on eBay from Cathy 'Kate' Johnson), but ended up only capturing a few of their toys --- drawn while they were at school and daycare!

  

(click on any picture to see larger)

 Josiah and Judah love throwing these angry birds across the room . . . . and playing the games on iPads or iPods. Ages 3 and 1 1/2, both are quite proficient at electronic games.

 

At the end of the week, Jason came home bearing many gifts, including three snow bears and a book telling their tale. Also, a mug for me made of marble.

Jason teaches physics at Fort Bend Christian -- the high school sponsors mission trips all over the globe each spring during "Eagle Week". Kids work with needy children, paint and roof buildings, and many other public service works --- the Alaska team helps set up for the start of the Iditarod dogsled race among other tasks. Students unable to raise funds for the trips spend the week working on service projects at home in Sugarland, Texas.

evening out with friends

A few weeks ago, we met friends in the small Flint Hills town of Florence, KS --- fantastic steak! As it should be, having been cooked by actual cattlemen, at the Merchantile.

The restaurant is open on a limited basis, owned and run by a large ranching family. Only one item on menu: really good steak! (They also offer chicken for finicky people) -- plus old-fashioned goodies as hors d' oeuvres, home-cooked sides and dessert.

The small town's water tower boasts that their water is 99.96% pure spring water.

Grandma's china . . . sketched for Liz

Grandma didn't have many nice things as she raised her family, took care of her aging mother-in-law, then took on my mom, brother, and me after my parents' divorce.

Later in life, Grandpa bought her this set of china. I've had it for several years and never used it --- I prefer Fiestaware. But our 2nd granddaughter LOVES frilly, dainty, girly stuff --- I'm sending the set to Texas for her to save for when she grows up.

Being a REAL tea cup and saucer, not the mugs I usually drink tea from, I decided to draw this one in the same fashion that Liz / Borromini Bear has been doing lately -- I used a water-soluble pencil for light guidelines and then straight watercolor.

New art journal

A bit slow at getting started though . . . . I've had a bit of "artist's block" lately. Started several sketches but didn't finish them right away. I've spent more time reading or looking out at the snow. We received 21" in the last week!

Anyway, this is the inside cover of the journal I just began, with my favorite palettes and brushes.

last journal pages

Lots of people know I begin each of my artist's journals with some kind of illustration of my palette. Lately, I have used the last page as a place to collect memorable quotes or thoughts. These are usually gathered over a period of time, so they are generally scattered in a hap-hazard fashion.

Lo's cane

One of our church members, Lo (short for Lola), walks with a cane -- she has circulation problems in her legs and feet due to diabetes. As it was leaning against a wall at church, I thought how lovely the wood grain is! Looks sort of like sycamore but we aren't sure -- Bill thinks it may have been made from a root rather than a branch.

gotta love a good plaid

I did NOT need another bag and had not planned on buying one . . . but I have such a love for plaid! This flannel and leather bag, as well as the plaid cap (in muted grays and purples), were found on clearance sale last week.

I was experimenting with ways to illustrate plaid in this journal spread. The bag's colors are muted, so I tried simple layering of colors. The pale yellowish lines in the sett were drawn first with a colored pencil, which I though would act as a resist -- it did not work so I redrew the lines on top.

Then with the cap, I wondered if I could capture the feel of plaid using just ink lines.