a sunflower for a native Kansan

This was a wonderful gift. Having grown up in Kansas, a sunflower has special significance somehow. Love the glowing yellow!

early morning at Arches National Park

Yes, it was a fabulous visit to Moab, Utah.

random closeups of surfaces

stop a minute to decorate

Amid all the knitting and painting, I managed to get a wreath up.

(a week ago)

strange ice formations

This morning we had snow, then sleet, then rain. This is what happened on the driveway. I've never seen anything like this before--polkadot slush!

new fish at Hampton

Back in March we had an amazingly warm day in the 70s. I went to Hampton Beach and took this shot of the beach-raking machine and one of the new ornamental fish along the walkway.

I'm loving this warm NH spring! 70s today, we're a full month or more ahead of our usual temperatures. We saved so much on winter heat, it's unprecedented.

And I'm practicing how to post on the new Blogger.

Leaping forward on Leap Day!

Yellow roses I gave myself just for the joy of life!

I'm back from a super stay at Kripalu Center for Yoga, where all sorts of mind, body and spirit healing happens.

I'm celebrating a leap forward in expanded awareness and health!

the model creates his own setup

Chaucer liked that spot and stayed there long enough for me to do a quick sketch, PLUS photo! Now that's accommodating.

Yes, I do have 2 monitors, 2 keyboards, 2 speakers, and the real and sketched cats attached to one laptop.

Charcoal pencil on Strathmore drawing paper.

October snow on the pumpkin

I drew a cat face on this pumpkin and set it out about 3 weeks ago. Last night we had our first snow. Barely an inch, but wa-ay too early, even for NH!

More is forecast for tomorrow.

the model I work from

Why so many of my drawings look something like this (if I'm lucky).

I only draw from the live model, never a photograph.

It's boring to copy a 2D past-moment image when there's a challenge of sketching a live, twitching, may-escape-at-any-time animal.

chocolate mint

The man who demonstrates pot making (bean pots, chamber pots, pitchers) at Old Sturbridge Village is also an herb gardener. And he works his own farm.

Here he's planting some chocolate mint herb in a mini-pot. Very yummy stuff!

Chaucer up high

He rarely gets up here. I was glad to catch the moment.

Chaucer on one of his perches

For once I managed to catch him on my phone camera when he didn't realize what I was doing.

making mini watercolor palettes

I find old eyeshadow packages (or cheap ones at dollar stores), clean them out and squeeze in good watercolors. These are all Daniel Smith paints.

The top one is from Angora Water Colors, found in an old Ben Franklin store. Perfect size, weight, and number of slots.

These are so handy for traveling with a waterbrush. Color in a sketch wherever you are.

the glacier is almost gone

There's a lot more snow in the shade on the east side of the house, but this is all that's left of the huge plow-mound on the west side.

And a little sad debris to be swept away.

cool poster

A picture I found in my phone, of a poster in a restaurant bathroom. Don't remember where, maybe in Boston?

April 1 snow

Out the front door--that tree is a frosted red maple.

The deck, frosted as well.

Thanks, Jester.

woodstove coma

With 23 degrees and a wind this morning, the woodstove had to be started. Which puts Chaucer right into an intense long-extension nap.

Usually I'm done burning by mid-March. Not this year!

the accumulation so far, now it's March

As of today, the mound at the end of the driveway is still higher than my CRV. That's a lot to melt away. There's crocus bulbs under there, fa-ar under there.

They may see the sun by June.

icicles blocking my view

Outside the third story window in the back. This picture was taken about 2 weeks ago. The icicles got a lot thicker, then we had some melting last Sunday and we knocked all of these off.

They're growing again . . .