Sketchbook play

A couple of new heads, I think they are getting weirder, or perhaps that is what I am looking for, they have been fun but I dont think I am getting any better.
My sandals, for an on line class I am doing, we had to sketch our shoes/sandals, I dont have very many shoes that are not terribly practical but I did find these with a bit more to draw than just a shoe shape.
Another on line class is suggesting we practice for colour and design, I think this is a bit like wallpaper but it again was fun to just doodle and fill in with colour.
Cold and overcast with a bit of drizzle and by the end of the week the weather bureau is suggesting we may get up to 27 degrees, far too warm for the first day or so of September, and we just hope more rain is on the way. The 1 mm we had overnight is not nearly enough.
I am afraid that is the farmers lot, worrying about weather.

The reed beds

I did this yesterday, wet in wet, from the memories of the reed beds down by the mouth of the river Murray we were there several months ago and suddenly yesterday needed to get some paint on paper. I think it has come out a bit light but it may be my monitor.
might look better if you click on it to enlarge it and I really must wipe my scanner, that dot is not on the painting.
We had a new foal born this morning, a rather lovely elegant part welsh filly. I think she is about to give her mother the run around as already she is off for a canter around the paddock.
I am aching this morning, not sure if its the weather or the lessening of the meds, it is cool and windy but we are off for what I hope will be a lovely lunch today.
Better get ready or John will be back from looking at a potential new milk tank and I am still in my work clothes! My good intentions of cutting a few more things back have gone out of the window as my wrists are so uncomfortable. Maybe tomorrow.

Waiting for..

The top sketch was while I was waiting for John to sort out with our IT fellow what was needed on the new computer. He lives at home so this was his next door neighbours bird bath.
The second one was yesterday morning after I had an early (fasting) blood test and I went to have a cup of coffee at the Anchorage and waited for John as the electrics on the console of the ute had given up and he had to take it to see what the mechanics/electricians thought. It was an interesting morning as my car was in to have the thermostat replaced, and then his car played up.
So cars were going in all directions.
So I am managing to get some sketching done even if they are very quick ones.
I am also doing some textile stuff but nothing worth looking at yet.
Oh and do have a look at my daughters blog, Sarah takes wonderful photos, and so she should as she has great equipment, not like my little point and shoot. Her link is on my Back Valley Seasons blog which is on the side bar here, cant remember probably as my other blog!!.
I will try to put the link up on this blog as well.
Cold and cloudy, John is fishing. I have cut back stuff in the garden think I might just go and read a bit more of Jean Auels latest book I got yesterday the fire is still tempting to sit by.
Still some aches but if I take things slowly I am managing well.

Heads 10, 11 and 12

Slowly, very slowly I am getting some of these done. i doubt very much if I will get to 100 but you never know.
At least I can draw these quickly at night when I am tired.
A stunningly beautiful day today and there were whales around, so look at my other blog to see photos.

Junk Mail fun

Here are a few pages from my Junk mail class with Carla sonheim, it has been such fun.
I cant scan the full two page spreads unfortunately as you get a better idea of what we were doing, connecting lines across all the pages basically.
I have enough pages to make another one,a nd possible another one as well!
We have had some lovely weather but I have been so busy with this!
I have some around the farm photos on my other blog ( see the side bar).
Back soon I hope, I havent had the use of my computer to download stuff for a few days as John is getting a new one so he has had mine. I will be glad when we are back to normal!

Three sketches from yesterday

Yesterday John and I dorove for just over 2 hours to the back of Angaston in the Barossa Valley and met with members of the Waterhouse Club, which is a fund raising and expeditioning part of the Adelaide museum. This one was a geology look at a creek in which some small and enigmatic fossils have been found.
The Waterhouse Club functions are always well done and fun. So after we had all assembleed at Moculta we headed over towards the River Murray through bony hills but stopped before we got down to the plains, This was serious Red Gum Country, our red gums are huge and old, it was also wombat country as well and their burrows were in along the creek we were following. An interesting and long walk which with my non active weeks was a bit tough and not seeing well made getting along the creek bed very interesting and I stopped and sketched just before we got to the fossil.
I dont think these have scanned very well but there was an interesting red gum on the other side of the creek, lots of different textures and wriggly old roots and I sort of managed to sketch it. The second one is of the creek itself which at this point had water in it and the third sketch was another very old red gum, half dead but with the most interesting bark and markings on it. It also had a hive of wild bees in it on the other side!
We were given a lovely lunch, (late) but...
We had another over 2 hour drive home and so didnt manage to get to the copper mine the others were going to but instead had a lovely drive home through the hills with all the prunus trees lining many of the small villages and along the side of the road.
A stunning day and lovely country to drive home through, although we were both very tired after our over 3 hour walk and the drive as well.

Head No 9

I have no idea what I did to his ear, so disregard that!
I am still gessoing ans playing with my junk book, so cant show that yet.
A fairly busy couple of days, just doing my thing. eading abnd sewing a bit and generally trying to do things at my own pace.
Nearly had a red kelpie pup, neighbours who shouldnt have dogs let theirs onto the road this morning and some one dropped it in asking if I knew whose it was but I dont really want a pup, and not one that is skin and bone, any way, said neighbour arrived at the back door asking if I had seen them and swooped.
I will go and get one from the pound. I dont really want a kelpie, they dig.
Lost our first foal, didnt get out of the bag, these things happen and I often think that there is a problem when that happens, I also think it was breach.
Sad, but a part of farming any animal.

exercises

Yesterdays exercises for Carla Sonheim were, close a paper not completely in half and draw something you like over both pages, open it out and draw something that sort of connects, our book will have drawings that go from one page to another.
Then draw some new animals, a head of one, a body of another and a tail of a third, and give them names. These were the best I could come up with.
I am way behind as I am still painting my gessoed junk mail and being winter and wet and cold here they are taking ages to dry. Also being on the other side of the world I get my emails at a different time so I am always at least a day behind.
But oh I am having fun!!

From the sublime to the ridiculous!

Well sort of !
I am a bir behing in Carla sonheims class but our first warm up exercise was to do some drawings of various things without lifting our pen from paper, so a vase of flowers, a cat and an elephant. Such fun to do.
Then a few more heads, quiet drawing with these.
I am enjoying not having to do anything 'properly'!
Yesterday W and I went wandering around the SALA shows that we could find, up to Stirling and the book one although small was good, the rest there, well, I sometimes think people have an overly inflated idea of what their paintings are worth, but the trip wasnt for nothing as it is a delightful small town in the hills with lovely gardens around the main street and a good coffee shop.
From there we went back to Willunga and looked at the glass place, which is much improved since the last time I was there, it is set up far better and the glass is good, unfortunately half the places we wanted to see were either closed on Tuesday or didnt seem to be open at all even though they were advertised as being open. The best one was up at Dog Ridge winery where resident artist Jen Wright has more birds, well done and at a price any one should be able to afford. The other outstanding one was Stavros Pippas photographs at Penny's Hill winery.
A lovely damp day full of chat as we dont seem to have a lot of time to get together as often as we would like.

Day 1 and 2 Faces

I have drawn 3 of my 100 faces! I may not get a face done a day but it is nice to fill up one of my tiny sketchbooks with something like this. I found this hilarious photo of Lady Gag in the paper and the others, well one is from my imagination and another is a man in the paper. Not many faces around here to actually draw from life!
So much to do and get done, I am having a slight panic mode feeling at the moment, I guess I will settle eventually.
Had the horrors when I found that the quilt I thought I had made up for Kates little quilt swap wasnt there, so now to re think what I will do, as a non traditional quilter sometimes it is difficult to get thoughts and processes under way.
Cold and damp so I am inside getting a few inside jobs done and also playing a bit with paper and ink and scribbly drawings.
We had a lovely day yesterday, visited a couple of galleries and there are a couple of paper ones I would like to go and see as well. We had lunch out on a lovely sunny day, so different from today. I feel a bit connected to the outside world when we go out for lunch, even if it was only soup and coffee, well we didnt need any more any way.

Practice

I have signed up for two on line classes that involve drawing or at least a variety of things really, one is Alisa Burkes below the surface and the other which is where this post comes in is Carla Sonheims ( spelling! is it ie or ei? I wonder!) week long class for junk mail fun.
I went off to find some new pens and at last the local Woolworths has some black sharpies in different sizes and I also picked up some Pitt Pens to use and so I thought I would try them out, and I also found a small pack of coloured charcoal pencils by Derwent so they had to have a try as well.
What fun, now I have so many pens and pencils I could just about set up a shop.
I love Carla's Drawing Lab and when I feel a bit as if I need some practice I dip into it and have a drawing session and that is what the little angels and the other one are all about.
I see I have missed her 100 faces class, but then I think I could do that on my own and with prompts from her book, so that may be something to play with when I have nothing else to do (heaven forbid!!)
Well I could have visitors tonight, the house is relatively ok, well I chased a duster and a vacuum cleaner around, so now to make a casserole in case they need to be fed.
John is fishing, I have planted a couple of things I got at the market in the garden, just hope we dont have a frost but I think they are hardy enough.
Hope everyone has a great week end.

Sketchbook page

Sitting last night watching Midsommer Murders, dont ask me where these came from but I quietly sketched while watching young women being murdered!
Still cool and wet, but signs of spring are coming, mares are beginning to show signs of being closer to foaling, birds are fighting over nest sites and shoots on trees and shrubs are starting to swell.
A busy few days ahead so I may not have a lot of time for sketching.

Green Goddess Lillies

I picked these from the garden the other day, I think I would like to find time to paint them properly but this was a quick initial sketch.
John and I have just come back from an early afternoon session at the local picture theater to see the best Aussie film in years, called Red Dog, it has a brilliant cast, stunning scenery of the North West of Australia and a story line that makes you weep and feel good and is so very Australian.
Although my dog Jake was black, he was a kelpie cross and the dog in the story reminded me so much of him, an independent rescue dog to the end.
I cant recommend it enough.
A wonderful way to spend a cold and damp afternoon.

Book pages

I have been playing with various inks and a stamp I made for a small book.Not entirely sure what I am doing here but it has been fun just splashing stuff around.
We succesfully collected the boxer pup, and I forgot to take photos, well I forgot the camera.
A long day but a gorgeous pup, just hope my grandson knows how to look after him.
Still busy and getting a little tired but the house is ready for a few visitors thank goodness.
Spent ages in Victor this morning, had to fix up some money matters and get a few things.
It is amazing how long a few jobs take to do. First time I have been driving in for ages so I felt super good. I am not creeping around like a little old woman, I am walking tall and in a new pair of nice jeans, amazing how good one can feel. Just hope it keeps up!!