Vacation week is almost over and here is some of the artwork I got done in my Art Journal (all except the angel!).  I saw the two at the top on the internet and loved them so much that I had to draw them in my journal.  Love the humor of them!   I will use them for journaling pages also.   I'm really pleased with the one at the bottom.  She turned out much better than I anticipated!  Scott makes fun of my people with no hands.    I just wanted simple....nothing complicated.  

The first page was inspired by the book "CreateYour Own Artist's Journal" by Erin O'Toole. The book is borrowed from the library and now it is a MUST HAVE! She had alot of illustrations using Gouache on Nideggan paper and I really like the look! I meant to look for some Nideggan paper when I was at the art store in Columbus this morning. DRAT! I forgot! The tan color of the paper makes the drawing look a bit vintage...

My vacation is over, except for the weekend, and I really can't say I got much done except for these pages. I sat and browsed through lots of books I brought home from the library, scrubbed the deck out back and lounged there in the afternoons. Sooooo relaxing! It's amazing how many different birds I observed just in our back yard! A little wren came and perched on one of the birdhouses I had sitting on a corner of the deck...sat there and scolded me. Too bad I didn't have my sketchbook, but I will sketch the birdhouse this weekend (hopefully) and add a wren by looking at my birding book.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

Trying to do one piece of art each day isn't easy. I went out to sit on the deck this afternoon, taking my journal and set of drawing pencils with me. I thought I would sit and sketch the barn which is less than 50 feet from our deck, only to find that the large tree totally hid the "good" view of the barn. So, since this tree and wagon wheel was within my sight, that is what I attempted to draw, with not so good results. It turned out rather dark, but that is because I originally intended it to be just a pencil sketch. Then I thought, I'll just add a little color to the leaves, and the next thing I knew I was adding color after color of pencils and then acrylics. I never know when to stop!!

The sketch of Maggie was a quick one that I did while watching her watching the hummingbirds EARLY yesterday morning. I'm getting rather lazy on the journaling part and taking up more space for my drawings. Guess my next journal needs to be a bit bigger!

Saturday's Thoughts

This background was fun to make. All I did was dab several layers of turquoise, copper, yellow and black acrylics. I should have stopped earlier with the layers as I am not as satisfied with the finished result. It turned out darker than I wanted and my lettering is atrocious so that pretty much ruined the whole thing with my lettering. Again, the little girl clown is an image that attracted me in an issue of Somerset Studio.

It was a busy day but I did manage to get some artwork done. Casey and I traveled to the Vet early this morning for shots and medicine for her allergies. She was so good!

My heart went out to a lady who came in with her peach poodle wrapped up in a blanket. I could see that the dog was very old and blind in one eye. I overheard the receptionist and her talking.....'do you know someone who has a farm where you can bury her?" "No" "Then we will need to cremate her...do you want to stay with her for a while?" "Yes" And she sat down in a room full of other owners with their lively dogs and cats. I glanced over at her a few times as I was waiting to see the Vet. Her eyes were full of unshed tears as she held the beloved pet close to her heart. Every so often she would bend her head down and whisper comforting words to it. I choked back tears also and looked around to see if anyone noticed this lady who was about to lose her much loved pet. When that time comes for Casey (who is now 13), I hope she will know that she is and was very much loved. Why do we get so attached to our pets?

As soon as we got home, I made my DH decide what he wanted for suppers for the week, (Can't believe he gave me ideas for every single night!!) then headed back to town. I headed off to my nephew's house to return one of his paintings that he dropped off at the house for me to see. He showed me all his other paintings....WOW! He sure does have an eye for color!