Taking Time

Hello again,

On Saturdays or Sundays, I take time out.  I call it a spa day for the spirit. If you have read The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron she calls the time out an "artist date."  I think a lot of people do, now and then, take time out for beauty and renewal. And after reading the book, you understand how important that time is and how it works to heighten creativity.

Sometimes, I take the time to look at beautiful blogs, but if I am not careful I can get lost there. But even if I do stay longer, I always come away feeling better. Here are two of favourite picture blogs:  Ana-rosa  (for A.R. click on the archive) and The Little Hermitage. 

Depending on the season, I find other things to do such as walking or driving along the river, visiting gardens/greenhouses, bird watching, a walk in the woods, museums, etc., or I might flip through beautiful books. In January when the longing for spring strikes, (way too early I might add) I turn to gardening books.

So last Saturday I made a pot of tea and settled down to admire books that I borrowed from the library as well as a few well-loved ones from my own stash.

O blue! No need to say more.

As you can see, in a simple way, I've been playing with the Apple Pencil. The surface on the iPad is very slick--a whole different medium.

I like the Procreate app; there you can paint/draw/write (Calligraphy) with all mediums and textures.  Also good, Adobe Sketch, Brushes, and there are many, many more. 

It amazes me what some people create with these apps and how quick they learn.

Moving on to Monarch butterfly beginnings, with black, yellow, and orange watercolours.

Finished the Calla lilies and a few flowery doodles.

After another hour or so spent painting and drawing, (with temperatures on the plus side--definitely in my favour), I decided to take my time out seriously and go visit the birds. I've been missing them.

~ Last summer, I met an elderly lady in line at the hardware store. Cupping a small bag of seeds in her hand, she proudly pointed out that the seeds were for two sparrows who visit her every evening. "They know me," she said. :)

Mr. Dee Dee Dee. Dressed to the nines in his tuxedo. (Pic from the archives.)

(A bit of data. This little Chickadee and his mate have the capacity to remember hundreds of places where they have stashed seeds to get them through the winter. Next season they can erase those memories to make room for new ones. (No, the birdies are not bird brains.) For details, visit birdnote.org - Old and New Memories of Black-capped Chickadees Fernando Nottebohm. ) Remarkable I say!  

(Apparently if it gets too warm in winter, their stashed seeds will rot, so if you are out in the woods, please carry a few seeds with you.)

An older sketch. 2015, I think, with fall leaves and Milkweed seed casings.

I only saw this hungry sparrow and a few chickadees on Saturday, but I was pleased to see them.     Birds always make me smile.

Bird and Butterfly

Thank you for your lovely comments about my Rosetta Mitts pattern! There has been a lot of downloads on Raverly. I'd love to see these mitts knit with different yarns and colours. I am knitting another pair in Superman Yellow, using Classic Elite Yarns Fresco.

 Before I post a picture of my latest painting, I want to share a few pictures of wild flowers and something unusual that I ran into lately. That's the great thing about nature if you are looking you just might see something that you've never seen before. In this case, it was my son who pointed out this unusual bug to me. Apparently, some of us have our heads in the clouds.

While I was trying to capture a picture of this monarch butterfly, a dragonfly landed on my hand. He left and came back and was on my hand when I took this pic.  My son took a picture with his phone, but unfortunately it's fuzzy.

I think these are wild cucumber.

A leaf bug. I couldn't believe it...we actually saw two.  As you can see from his eye, he has a giant attitude.

My painting "board" is foam board. Balanced on the tray, it's the perfect height for me.  I can draw on it and because it's so cheap, I'll throw it out when it gets dirty. 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'd like to open an Etsy shoppe, so I've been busy looking for printers etc. We have several printers in town, but, unfortunately, not one focuses on watercolour prints. In particular, I would like to order Giclee prints. I am in the process of sourcing printers in Toronto. Hopefully, I'll have something on the go soon.

Enjoy the week...