Michelle at Panera

Here is a colored pencil drawing of a friend from work reading at Panera Bread.  She modeled for me and then we had lunch. It was a very nice afternoon.

Mollie: About Eight Weeks Old

This is a little pen sketch I did of Mollie when she was about 8 weeks old.  It is so easy to remember her as a puppy when I look at this. 

Tree Portrait, Washington Irving Park

I did this tree yesterday with water soluble pencils, pen and gouache.  The subject lives in Washinton Irving Park in Bixby, Oklahoma where I often walk, run or ride my bike.

Portrait of Mollie

Recently I tried this portrait of Mollie with  brush pen and some finer pens in Black, Sepia and Sanguine.  I have been drawing her since she was a puppy and she is 12 years old now.  I will search for one of the earlier drawings and put one of those up soon too.

Autumn Street Scene, Eureka Springs

Here is an ink and watercolor pencil drawing done from a photo reference I took in Eureka Springs this fall. The preliminary drawing was done with a drawing stick made out of a walnut twig from the back yard and walnut drawing ink. Then I added the color and finally picked out a few details with sepia and black Pitt pens.  This was taken on the day Mack and I were walking around town with a day pass for the trollie, we had a great time once the sun came out and it warmed up a bit.

Tis the Season for Christmas Cactus

My Christmas Cactus is full of blooms and so beautiful right now that I decided to do a sketch. This one is graphite pencil with some colored pencil added.

More Pearl Napping

Here are some more sketches of Pearl Napping.  She is a very good napper and is practising as I write this in the sunny window next to the computer. The top sketch is permanent India Ink with colored pencil and the bottom is water soluble ink with some washes added.

Behind War Eagle Mill

I did this sketch on location at War Eagle Mill and then finished with watercolor and colored pencil later.  It was a beautiful day and we had just had lunch at the Mill restaurant; beans, cornbread and cole slaw.  I sat behind the Mill afterwards and did a small pencil sketch and then this sketch on watercolor paper.  It is about 8" by 10.5".  I did have some curious onlookers but they were very nice and it was so relaxed I hated to quit.  We left War Eagle and drove to Eureka Springs where we checked into our hotel about 5pm.

Eureka Springs Here We Come

A sketch of our suitcase on the night before we leave. I can't wait !

Turpentine Wildlife Rescue

This was a fascinating place with over 100 big cats rescued from bad conditions and gave me a wonderful opportunity to practice some fast sketching. I need alot more practice.

Here is the Gingerbread Waffle I had on the morning we left. We were so glad to discover Local Flavor Cafe` with excellent coffee, a great waitress and this waffle was so good it didn't even need syrup!

Eating was also an important activity while in Eureka. Another good reason to leave before I couldn't fit into my jeans. I played with my food a couple of times and here is the results. This first on is the Hummus Salad at Mudd Street Cafe`.

Back From Eureka !!!

Here is ST Elizabeth's Catholic Church my only complete painting from the trip.

I really did not want to leave, but I was beggining to miss Mollie , Prissie and Purlie. I had so much fun sketching and painting around the town. I have one complete painting and a couple of color sketches, also some pencil sketches of big cats from Turpentine Wildlife Rescue. My fast sketching skills are rusty but I was beggining to get back in the groove. One more painting is still in progress of some geese behind War Eagle Mill. The only bad thing I brought back is some poisin ivy. It was completely worth it though and I have hundreds of photos which could influence some future work.

The Cat Who Would Be Queen

Here is a sketch of Purlie Mae during her ritual morning nap. We adopted her from the German Shepard Rescue Society at Brush Creek Art Fair about four years ago. When we met she was housed in a kennel with a German Shepard puppy and she was the tiniest kitten I had ever seen. That puppy seemed very subdued and it occured to me that she would probably not have a problem with our two dogs Mollie and Prissie. I brought her home. Since then we have All learned that there is really only one way to do things and that is Purlie's way. Everyone is content with that.

Views From My Bike

The weather has been lovely lately for getting on the bike. I usually take a sketchbook and I try to travel light. Next week we will be going to Eureka Springs Arkansas and I hope to do some riding, sketching and painting.