Drawing Cactus and Succulents

I decided to take another little blogging break as I need to have a second surgery.  Not my hip this time, thank goodness.  🙂

I had a Mammogram and the doctor found a small lump that has to be removed.  I am thankful it is not cancer!  Praise God!  It is a good reminder the importance of getting an annual Mammogram.

I recently painted a couple of pages in my art journal:

I just love the texture I got, don’t you?  I started with black gesso, added several colors of acrylic paint with a brayer and used a stencil on some parts.  I started drawing a vine with a black micron pen and flower shapes with a paintbrush and black Sumi ink.

I used leftover paint on my brayer for this page.  It was easier to draw the flowers without so much acrylic paint on the page.

I liked this first book of Botanical Line Drawing so much:

I decided to treat myself and purchase the author’s second book on Drawing Cactus and Succulents.  This book actually has the names of each plant so I can learn as I go.

I like the simple steps of illustration in both books.

Perhaps I will have some interesting journal pages to show you when I return.  I plan on joining my cat with some Cat Napping  while I heal.

Happy Creating!

Cheers! 🙂

A Blogging Break

Hi Friends,

As the cooler temps of autumn arrive here in the Pacific Northwest, I have decided to take a short blogging break…

 

I hope to get caught up on some housecleaning since I have been gone to the lake all summer…

And I need to get into an exercise routine again.

I have gotten behind on reading your blogs…

And I want to enjoy creating art without any deadlines for a little while.

I hope you enjoy these photos from my yard.  Nature’s display of color always brightens my day!  I hope it will for you as well.

Cheers! 🙂

Sending You Holiday Cheer

Dear Friends,

Sending YOU some holiday cheer…

I’ve decided to take a blogging break until the New Year…

I’m not feeling my best and need some rest,

I will keep creating and hope you will too –

Your blogs I love and friendships true,

Toasting you a glass of holiday cheer…

One that will last ALL through next year!

Cheers! 🙂

See you in 2018!! 🎉

Jill

“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! 🙂