Sketch outing

Today was another lovely autumn day with plenty of sunshine.

 A friend and I went to a local outdoor market to sketch. It was so nice of them to have

 hay bales, pumpkins and a scarecrow set up.

There were some interesting shapes and colors with the pumpkins on the bench. 

Yes, the second from the right was light green (almost blue) and pink.

Most important was the opportunity to settle down and be in the moment. 

No pressure and no time limit. 

Zentangles

I was roaming the internet and came upon See Jane Run by Jane Eileen. Her biography says that she Nona of 2 A+mazing grandwonderfuls. She won my heart even before I attempted the zentangle. This design is quite a challenge, as you can see below.

Confusion, a little idea, better understanding and then more practice to get a better grasp of the design. Yet, I think that it's worth the effort.

Today I mailed a card to my dear 99 year old friend, Esther, using this zentangle.

This type of drawing has helped me to settle down today. I seemed to have to much energy to settle on any one project.There is just so much to do!!!

Zentangle and figure drawing

This week I did another zentangle mandala. I cut a snowflake from tissue paper, traced it with a pencil and then connected points with my ink pen. This approach means that if I traced it a second time, I would most likely have a different design. I've used ink and colored pencil.

Figure drawing still draws my interest. One of my big hang ups is making the head to skinny. Oh well, I'll keep trying.

Seasons challenge

My art quilt group issued a challenge with the theme of "Seasons" in a 20 by 20" format. My mind went to dividing the space into four sections and depicting each season. Nope. Then I thought of doing a picture of my neighbors crab apple tree in full bloom. Not just what I wanted to do. Then I found a quote by Helen Hayes: Childhood is the shortest season. Perfect. While visiting the grand kids, I took them to a park. The twins were swinging and enjoying. I did a close up of Isla and added the lettering.

We had our reveal last week and it was delightful to see how many different ways "Seasons" could be presented. To see work by the others, go to: Pins and Needles Art Quilters. Yes, drawing can be done with more than the traditional media:)