Jump Ahead…

Hello Friends!

I’ve been enjoying time off from blogging and working on my Alphabet Journal.  You can read more about my project here:  Creating A Recipe Of Fun…

I am posting “an alphabetical recipe” with watercolor each day on Instagram but I have gotten a bit behind on the collage part…

Today, I decided to jump ahead to the letter, “J”:

Letter “J” is for creating art with JOY of course!

I had fun drawing this illustration, painting it in watercolor and adding an abstract collage.

I will post my letters “E” through “I” when I add collage to them.

I hope you are all well…

Cheers! 🙂

Rainier Cherries

I so LOVE the blushing red and golden yellow, sweet cherries that are considered a premium type of cherry in the Pacific Northwest!  Yesterday, we received a box of them from a friend.

According to Wikipedia.com, Rainier Cherries are a cross between “bing” and “van” cultivars.  This sweet cherry was developed in 1952 at Washington State University by Harold Fogle… I did not know this! 😉

This cherry is named after Mount Rainier.  This mountain is the highest mountain in my state, located 59 miles south to south-east of Seattle.  It has a summit elevation of 14,411 feet.  Mount Rainier is of the Cascade range on the western side of Washington state… I live on the eastern side (close to the Idaho border).

I found these cherries to be a good subject to paint in watercolor for the letter, “C”:

I enjoyed creating this colorful page… the quote is one of my favorites!

Cheers! 🙂

Relax!

It was “rewarding” to complete a page in my Alphabet Journal this week…

But then I “realized” that there was something missing! 😮

“R” you wondering WHAT that is?!

Well, while I was preparing for my weekend “retreat” at the lake, I discovered a “remarkable” feather…. so I got out my bird feather book:

And in my “research” I discovered the identity of the “Rare” bird from Wednesday:

I hope this gives you a smile today!  🙂

Relax and enjoy your weekend…

Cheers Friends!

One Red-Hot Radish

I purchased some radishes at the store this week so I could draw them as they do start with the letter, “R”!

I decided to paint one of them with my Rembrandt watercolor paints and pasted it in my Alphabet Journal:

It was so much fun that I decided to paint another one and splatter some paint around my handmade art journal:

I hope you splash some paint around this weekend!

Cheers! 🙂

A Rosy Review

Continuing with my “R’s” in my Alphabet Journal yesterday, I decided to experiment drawing ROSES using the instruction from this RECENT book I purchased on Amazon:

I really like how the author, Peggy Dean simplifies flowers and leaves into basic shapes such as how to draw this rose:

I believe this book will give me some excellent ideas for future doodles like these roses I drew with an ink pen and colored with Prismacolor pencils:

Happy Drawing!

Cheers! 🙂

A Rare Recipe

I’ve been enjoying some delicious recipes from Jodi at LifeInbetween.me and Jenna at The Painted Apron so I decided to whip up my own creative recipe for today’s weird rare bird!

I’m continuing with the “R” theme for my Recipe in the Alphabet Journal.  “R” you READY for some fun?!

Really?  I can hear you now… so where is this Rare bird!  Here he or she is:

He is on the back of the recipe card in my Alphabet Journal:

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!!

Hope you have a REMARKABLE day – And don’t forget to smile REPEATEDLY!

Cheers!  🙂

Common “Redpoll” – 2

I haven’t drawn a bird for “Draw A Bird” day in awhile… so yesterday I decided to give it a try in my Alphabet Journal:

The letter “R” is for (Common) Redpoll:

I sketched my bird in pencil, added Micron pen in brown and black ink, color pencils and white gel pen.  It was a good way to de-stress from my day! 😉

I painted this bird in a more whimsical style that you can find, here from 2016.

What a great little red hat this bird wears!

Cheers!  🙂

P.S. I almost didn’t create a post for today because my hubby and I were busy moving his mother into a retirement home so she could receive more care.  But I needed time to unwind so this was my way to relax!  Phew! 😯

“R” Is For Rest And…

I have been taking a little blogging break to rest and recover from a recent car accident where I was rear-ended.

I needed this time to heal my body and recover from the trauma.  Although I’m still not fully recovered, I am starting to feel better so I returned to work today.

Yesterday, I realized that it would be fun to complete a page in my Alphabet Journal that I started in 2016… Why not create a page of “R‘s” that I add to each day this week?

Really, I could do this!  So here is my beginning in a 11×14 inch journal:

I drew the flowers on a separate  piece of lightweight paper in pencil.  I darkened the lines with color pencil.  I stitched over the flowers using “Sewable Swedish Tracing Paper” that I purchased on Amazon for one of my online classes and previously painted in watercolor.

The flower stems were cut from purchased handmade paper that I also painted with watercolor.  I attached the flowers and stems with dark green thread on my sewing machine and then glued the paper to my journal:

I finished my piece by adding details with color pencil.

It was fun to experiment and I look forward to seeing where tomorrow’s reflection will take me.  I hope you join me!

Cheers! 🙂

Funny Fish Tales

I like to collect old postcards as I find them good material for my art collages.  I happened upon these “Tall-Tale” postcards on one of my art “fishing” expeditions:

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society (www.wisconsinhistory.org), “Tall-tale postcards emerged around the turn of the 20th century, when postcards came to function as surrogates for travel. People soon realized that postcards could be used to create or sustain a certain utopian myth about a town or region, and crafty photographers began to physically manipulate their photographs. Nowhere did these modified images, or “tall-tale postcards” as they came to be called, become more prevalent than in rural communities that hoped to forge an identity as places of agricultural abundance to encourage settlement and growth. Food sources specific to the region — vegetables, fruits, or fish — were the most common subjects.”

I found these two postcards extra funny:

With the added bonus of handwritten notes on the back of the cards:

These postcards inspired me to revisit my Alphabet Art Journal and create my own “Tall-Tale” for the letter, “F.”

It says, “Frank hoped his funky fish hat would help him catch more fish on Father’s Day.”

Wishing all fathers a “swell” Father’s Day and that’s no exaggeration!

Happy Fishing!  🙂

B is for Buttercups

One of my favorite flowers to discover in the woods is a bright, yellow Buttercup!  It means Spring is on its way!  YAY!

Now, I realize that I’m jumping ahead a month or two but I couldn’t resist drawing a Buttercup today in my “Alphabet Journal.”  Carla Sonheim recommended keeping one this year in the “Y is for Yellow” class.  It is a good place to write names of artists I like and other ideas I want to explore further.

One idea I’d like to explore in greater depth is keeping a nature journal.  I always enjoy seeing Cynthia’s flower and plant sketches at Sand Salt Moon.  Be sure to check out her blog if you haven’t already!  🙂

Using an internet photo as a reference, I drew my Buttercup with a black pen.  I tried to look mainly at my subject and not too much at my paper.  I colored it with Prismacolor pencils.

One of my favorite “B” illustrators of nature is Marjolein Bastin.  You probably know her from her Hallmark cards.

I found a short YouTube video about her that I thought you might like:

I enjoyed hearing her perspective about creating art.  I hope you do too!

Do you have a favorite artist that starts with the letter, “B”?  I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Sketching!  🙂