My World

I am really getting into this sketching thing. It is relaxing and so consumes me that I forget about the world around me. That’s not a bad thing these days. It becomes a great destresser.

I’ve drawn companion pieces for the hummingbird and egret I displayed in a previous post. My plan is to frame several sketches in grey matted black frames with museum glass. Next time you are near a framing shop or department ask to see a sample f you have never heard of museum glass. It is amazing in its ability to completely disappear with no frost or glare.

I’m working on the possibility of having a mixed medium individual art showing at the local city art museum once I get several more sketches done. I have lots of framed photography and oil paintings I can throw into the mix for a proper display. While the oils are varied sizes, all the sketches are 11 by 14 canvas.

We have a massive fog tree in our yard and I’m always hearing the hummingbirds chirping and flying by my head as I harvest figs. I’ve not yet seen a nest there but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one. They are so tiny it would be hard to see it among the large leaves and branches.

Blue herons are so very majestic and shy. I’m always on the lookout for them when walking along the river bank.

I’m working on using varied shades and pressure of pencil strokes rather than straight line outline for the edges. A mentor told me once that outlines were cheating unless you are drawing cartoons. I’m noticing that, like my oils, I prefer the realistic look in my sketches so I push to adhere to that rule.

Since these latest sketches are even more detailed than the first ones, I may draw another egret in more detail to go with the blue heron above.

The downy woodpecker is the first attempt at adding a touch of color and is companion to the mourning dove. It has been a few years ago that I had the honor of actually touching and carrying a downy woodpecker. He ran into our double atrium doors leading to the 2nd story deck as he was attempting to escape a ham that was after him. We saw him hit and drop so ran out to see if he survived. He was sitting stunned with blood on his beak as the hawk circled above us. My husband brought me a cup with water and an eye dropper. I sat gently rubbing the birds head as I dripped water into his beak. He revived enough to drink what was offered until he was able to sit up without help. We took him to the ground level covered patio and tucked him into a corner so the hawk couldn’t see him and let him rest for a long while. When we returned he was hopping on the floor, looked at us as if to say thank you and then flew away into the massive oak tree in our back yard. All these memories flooded my mind as I watched him come to life on my canvas.

I haven’t heard the beautiful call of a mourning dove in many many years. We noticed this year that we have a pair of mourning doves living on our property. We can hear them cooing early in the morning and as the sun sets. It is such a surreal peaceful song. I’m so excited to have our on resident couple now.

I’m undecided on the two below. I’ve had several friends comment on how much they like them. While my preference is black and white only sketches, they have grown on me slightly but I am not sure if they are art show framing worthy. I do love dragonflies and wild fungi of all shapes and sizes. Thoughts anyone?

The pièce de résistance is this bald eagle. It warms my ❤️ to look at him in all his majesty with our American flag as the back drop. I will most likely choose a slightly different frame for him since he is special to my heart.

I want to possibly sketch a full body eagle companion piece. I’ll have to wait to see what flows from my finger tips as all of my sketches come from my heart.