A Snowy Owl

It has been snowing a lot in the Pacific Northwest where I live…

And look who showed up today! All dressed in holiday attire:

This weird snowy owl knows how to keep warm!

I went for a walk all bundled up at Priest Lake, Idaho last weekend:

Lucky for me it was only 23 degrees and not the 7 degrees that is predicted for tomorrow!

I do think the snow is beautiful, especially at the lake.

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday and a Merry Christmas!

Cheers!

Abstract Landscapes

I am creating mixed media abstract landscapes for my November square-a-day project.

I have discovered how much I enjoy creating these simple landscapes with copic markers and color pencils:

Most of the landscapes are from my imagination. I enjoy trying different color combinations to create a feeling or memory.

Sometimes I will finish them with a little collage. I added Gelli-printed deli paper to this square:

It reminds me of the lake and the repetitive sound of the waves on the sandy beach.

Cheers! 🙂

Nature Inspired Doodles

Remember my nature inspired watercolor pumpkins and leaves that I posted last week:

I enjoyed adding doodles with ink and white gel pen:

It was so fun that I did another page of leaves with a couple of mushrooms:

And a page of seed pods:

Nature photos from Pinterest inspired my patterns but my imagination created my doodles!

Yesterday was the first day of Autumn…

It was sure in the air! Aren’t the reflection of the clouds on the lake amazing?!

Cheers! 🙂

Sweet Summer Time…

Summers in the Pacific Northwest where I live, seem sooo short!

I can’t believe we are already in the middle of July…

The lake water is FINALLY getting warm with SUN at last!

I have decided to take a short blogging break and enjoy –

Sweet Summer Time!

And paint! I look forward to sharing more discoveries in my watercolor nature journal with you:

Happy Summer!

Cheers! 🙂

Planting Patterns

I have declared the month of June to be doodle month for my Square-A-Day project.  I look forward to showing you all my squares at the end of this month… but here is a sneak preview:

Drawing doodles or patterns is something I find calming and relaxing.  I did this one in my art journal with color pencils recently:

It looks like I am planting patterns like rows of flowers or vegetables in a garden!

Patterns and inspiration are everywhere… 

Like this photo I took recently at the lake.  The moon was almost full!

There are patterns in the water, the trees and the sky!

I hope you will be inspired by the patterns in your world!

Cheers! 🙂

 

Red, White and Blue

Today is Memorial Day in the United States when we proudly wave our American flag to thank ALL who have served our country so we can live in freedom!

Hoorah for the red, white and blue!!

On a side note, it has been a windy, rainy and cool weekend at the lake.  We have spent much of it indoors; reading, napping and eating! 😉

What have you been doing over the weekend to relax?

Cheers! 🙂

Inspired by Place

I started a mixed media class last week with Lendon Noe, hosted by Carla Sonheim.  The online class is called, “Inspired by Place.”

I find it an intriguing subject.

Is place a home, perhaps a memory such as a childhood home?  Is place a feeling, a sense of calm from being with nature?  Or is place from your imagination?  There are many other possibilities!

I was inspired to create this collaged landscape of a place I hold dear to my heart in my art journal:

It is a view of Chimney Rock at Priest Lake, Idaho.

I love this place!  It holds a special memory where I have been spending my summers since childhood.  It brings me a feeling of peace when I see it in person and from photographs such as this one:

And it is a place that I sometimes go in my imagination when I need to relax.

What place inspires you?  I hope you share it with me!

Cheers! 🙂

“When you leave a beautiful place, you carry it with you wherever you go.” – Alexandra Stoddard

Landscape Vignettes

Perhaps you recall the online landscape art class I told you about from Anita Lehmann?  If not, you can learn more about it here:  Exploring Landscape

I enjoyed painting these 1.5 x 1.5 inch landscape vignettes in watercolor; the first 2 rows were from my imagination and the last 3 rows were free photo images of lake and wheat field images from unsplash.com

I discovered a limited color palette and subject matter made the exercise more cohesive and less busy in my last 3 rows:

New materials I used for this project were removable tape – 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch in diameter that I purchased locally at Michaels and Art Graf watercolor graphite that I purchased online from Dick Blick:

I encourage you to give this exercise a try…

I learned to see landscape shapes and elements of design instead of focusing on small details.  It also helped me to work quickly and get a feel of the landscape instead of focusing on minute details.

Cheers! 🙂

Sense It

The lake once calm and smooth like glass,

Feels the wind upon its surface,

It hears the rumbling of the clouds,

And its waves turn into white caps…

It tastes the raindrops from above,

And smells a fresh clean scent…

Then it sees the sun peak through the clouds,

And knows that it can rest.

I wrote this poem about the lake when I was 13-years-old.  Sometimes the lake seems sense it before the weather changes.

Cheers! 🙂

Summer Clouds Reflect

Summer clouds reflect,

Another season ending…

Autumn’s chill arrives.

My hubby and I went kayaking Saturday before the big chill arrived at the lake.  The early morning rain shower on Sunday brought a new layer of cool autumn air.

We close up at the lake soon.  I always feel a little sad to see another summer season end…

We feel blessed to have so many wonderful memories and seasons with our friends at the lake!

Cheers to good memories! 🙂

P.S. What memories do you cherish with friends?  I hope you share them with me! ❤️