Colored Pencils

I have been slowly getting a few Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils. I like them for the different colors they have. They cost twice as much as most of the other pencils (around $3 apiece). But each time I make an order with Dick Blick, I order a couple of the pricey pencils.

I have also been building up a supply of Caran d'Ache Pablos. I like colored pencils that are dryer and not as waxy. Derwent Studios, Pablos, and Prismacolor Verithins are all favorites of mine.

As most colored pencil artists know...you can never have enough pencils.

Marching Band Trade

I needed 7 ATC cards for a Marching Band Trade for May on Drawspace Forum. I finished them today and will mail tomorrow.

Camp Trailer

Well I am still trying to sell all my husband's toys. His pickup was sold first and tonight I finalized the sale of the camp trailer. Now just 2 motorcycles to go.

I haven't done any art lately but I have been staying busy. Cleaning a little, doing errands, and today I met a friend for lunch. We had a nice lunch and lots of catching up conversation. I had fish tacos.

When I first heard of fish tacos, I thought they sounded gross. I don't even like fish. But after having one at this restaurant, I was hooked and I have had them every time I have been there. That is the only place I will have them as I had a bad one at another place.

Keepsake

I finally did an item for the latest Scavenger Hunt. Nothing like waiting till the last minute. It is probably the only one I will get finished this hunt as the new one starts the 24th.

One item on the list was for a keepsake. I have hundreds of keepsakes. I just went thru my boxes of them yesterday seeing if I could downsize. Well I "downsized" only about two items and those aren't out of the house yet.

Here is a more recent one. My husband's wallet.

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is/was my birthday. Almost over now and nothing exciting happened. Just a quiet day. I did plant some of the funeral plants and that made me sore. Went to a couple of stores and browsed. nothing exciting there.

I was supposed to go to dinner with my nephew and his fiance but she had dental work done today and she wasn't able to eat. So we will put dinner off until she's better able to use her teeth. They did bring by milkshakes and the baby and we had a nice visit.

And I never did get to any artwork.

The Virtual Paintout - The Czech Republic

This month The Virtual Paintout took a tour of The Czech Republic. The Google Street Map covers a very small area on this one but it did have a variety of things to choose from. I decided I wanted to do this one because of all the clouds.

I used colored pencils on blue mat board. It is 4x4 inches.

Business Day

Dizzy went to the groomer today and after I dropped her off, I went to Target. I needed Hepa filters for my air purifier I have in the house. It catches the hair and dust so I won't have to breathe it. It was long overdue for new filters.

After I picked up Dizzy, I spent the rest of the day making phone calls and paying bills. I'm still waiting for finances to finalize and they said it could be 3 months. I'm still waiting for 2 phone calls to be returned. Such fun to deal with people who are not in a hurry since they aren't the ones waiting.

I didn't do any art today but who knows, it's still sort of early.

27th World Wide Sketchcrawl

I did not feel like going anywhere today so did my sketchcrawl from home. I did two full pages in my Moleskine sketchbook with graphite and colored pencil and put the journal writing with ballpoint pen.

Shopping Day

I did a little shopping today. Some things I needed for the house and a few groceries. I haven't felt too perky today. I have taken a couple of naps and still feel like I could go take another. I have no energy and part of that is due to the heat. We have had heat in the 80s the last two days and without the cooler running, it's a little too much. Fans just don't take care of it unless you sit in once spot with the fan facing you.

Scavenger Hunt #176

Well here we are pushing closer and closer to Scavenger Hunt #200. I can remember when we were inching our way to #100 and I was hoping that we would make that many. Now we are almost to 200. And lots of new people have joined and it seems to have take on a nice fresh, energetic surge.

So nice for artists to get their sketching from life practice. And most who join find that their skills increase as they go along. Plus we have so much fun. Lots of great artwork and getting to know each other.

I did a few items for the current list #176.

Windows

I haven't been doing any art except a few of the Windows cards. Tonight I spent more Google Street Maps time. After seeing Leslie Hawes latest piece of art, I decided to browse thru the area of the UK that she has been finding inspiration. I found quite a few references and now just have to get myself motivated.

I'm still not ready to jump back into doing my blog every day. I want to but can't seem to be able to handle it yet. And there are so many things I want to draw but even that isn't pulling me out of my standstill. Not a whole lot keeps my attention right now. I just seem to be wandering thru my life and not concentrating on any one thing.

I spent this week feeling itchy and paranoid. I found two ticks on my Dizzy. I got them off but and haven't seen any more. But the dogs sleep with me and Dizzy is a cuddler. She likes me to hold her just like a baby and she puts her neck and head on my shoulder. I immediately put some Advantage on both dogs, but the lady at the vet said it wouldn't get ticks. So I had to go get a tick collar for both dogs.

The next day (Friday), I had the pest control out to spray. So hopefully I have seen the last of them. Now if the ants would permanently disappear.

Next Saturday is the 27th WW Sketchcrawl. I have a week to figure out some place to go and sketch. I don't want to do this one at home. And I don't want to drive around randomly looking for something to spark my interest. I would like to have a plan for this one. Somewhere that I won't feel uncomfortable and isolated. Somewhere I have a variety of things to choose from.

Annual Barbecue 5-1-2010

On Saturday I was at a barbecue on a cattle ranch in the mountains. It was a fun time and I saw lots of friends that I don't see except at these barbecues. Nice company, fresh mountain air, and good food.

There are quite a few musicians who come to the barbecue too. The hosts have a wooden band area set up and there is music and singing off and on thru out the 3-day get together. I did a quick sketch of some of the band.