Another Pixie...Unfinished

Today I went to the painting class/group at the senior center. I took another sketch I've been working on. I don't have it finished yet so you just get a sneak peek at it...

I only have one side of her about 95% finished and the other side only has about 5% finished. I have lots more shading and darkening of lines to do plus I have to finish her face.

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Today as I continue with photos of The Arboretum I have the Victorian house to show you...

(click photos to view larger)

It sits beside a small lake, nestled among the trees.

The day we were there it was not open to the public...

although you could walk all around the outside...

and up on the porch which wraps around the house.

This is the view of the lake from the porch.

and this is the rounded ceiling of the center of the porch.

I was able to peek in the window and take this picture

probably the parlor...

if you look at the reflection in the mirror you can

seen stained glass windows.

and this was one of the bedrooms.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is the house that was used in the opening of the old TV program, Fantasy Island when the little man said "De plane, de plane"...you might not be old enough to remember that program!! I think it was back in the 70's.

Now I'm off to sketch some more and think about something for dinner tonight...ugh!

A Little Bit More...

I'm working on another pixie girl but so far she's just a very light sketch so I can't show you much. Tomorrow I'll work on her at the senior center during the painting/art get-together. So stayed tuned.

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In the meantime I thought I'd share some more pics from our field trip to The Arboretum. There was so much to see and I took over 200 photos...I promise I won't bore you with all of them!!

(click photos to view larger)

This family of ducks/geese (I'm never sure which) caught my eye.

This looks like a quiet place to sit and watch the water.

I'm always attracted by trees and there were some 

beautiful ones at The Arboretum.

Some flowering trees...

And some towering trees...

some with unusual bark...

And some with unusual shapes.

I'm sure some of these trees will appear in art at some point. I guess I must be a Tree Hugger because I love trees.

In a few days I'll share more of these photos...I've tried to group them in subjects. I still have the Victorian house and some rather unusual plants...so more to come.

Now I'm off to work on my drawing. See you soon... 

Another Pixie Girl...

I'm not sure if she's completely finished yet but here is what I did last night while watching TV with HB...

It's so frustrating when I do these pen drawings...I can not see them in color!

How strange is that!!

Celebrating Earth Day...

Last week I mentioned that HB and I had gone on a field trip to The Arboretum...I had been there before but it was many years ago. HB had never been. It's a beautiful area to stroll around, take photos, and generally enjoy Mother Nature so I thought it only appropriate to do a post about it today since it's Earth Day.

The Arboretum is located very close to Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia, CA. As you begin walking into the park this is the first thing you see...

(click on photos to view larger)

Then as you walk along you come to the actual entrance...

When you step out through the back of the building 

you are surrounded by beautiful plants and walkways...

Everywhere you go there are wild peacocks 

roaming freely about the grounds...

Can you see the one hidden among the trees?

Unfortunately most of them were keeping to the shade.

Because it was the middle of the day the light was very harsh

but you can see how beautiful his tail is.

There are so many different types of plants.

I especially liked this cactus.

This close-up makes me think of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings.

There were several people with high-powered cameras

taking close-ups of these cactus blossoms.

Everywhere you go there are carpets of flowers, 

grasses, and unusual plants.

And scattered among it all is water in various forms...fountains, ponds, streams, a waterfall and a small lake.

I'll try to show you a bit more of this beautiful park in the next few days. Until then Happy Earth Day!!

I'm Still Here!

I know I've been a bad blogger! I've been getting lots of comments and emails asking if I'm okay...and yes, I am. Just busy.

HB and I have discovered our local senior center! So far we've attended some digital photography classes and I joined a painting group. This past Tuesday we went on a field trip to The Arboretum and I have lots of pictures to share with you but so far they're still in my camera!

The painting group is a lot of fun...great instructor, very helpful...lots of wonderful people doing all kinds of art...just what I've been needing to get me inspired again.

I didn't take anything to paint the first day. I just took a sketch I had been working on...

 Because of the light this looks very blue but it isn't. I did it on plain ol' sketch paper. I worked on this in the painting group and everyone liked it.

So that's what I've been up to lately. We were out of the house almost every day this past week so I'm very behind in visiting blogs and commenting. But the way things are going in Blogland I might not be alone. It seems to be getting quieter and quieter! Facebook and Twitter seem to be taking over everything. When that happens I'll just fade away along with my blog.!

I'll try to get some of the pictures ready for a blog post tomorrow. The Arboretum is where they used to film the opening for Fantasy Island...you know, when the little guy would say "Da plane, da plane!" It's a beautiful place to visit with lots of amazing plants and wild peacocks roaming freely everywhere.

Until then I hope you're having a fun weekend.

Sketching a Little Bit...

I know I'm always apologizing for not being around much lately but things just keep coming up and they keep me away from the computer. I'm terribly behind in answering comments and visiting your blogs. I hope you understand, and please know that I'll get around as soon as I can.

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The big painting has been put away for a bit. I was getting bored with it! I'll finish it but it won't be tomorrow.

Last night I drew a face in my sketch pad...

I like how she turned out 

so maybe I'll try to do her with paint later on.

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So far I've received nine of the ten postcards from iHanna's postcard swap. Here are the most recent two I've received...

This one is from Holly

This one is from Elizabeth...no blog address included.

So far I've heard from nine of the ten people I sent postcards to, and I've received nine. This is a better percentage than most years I've participated. I hate it when I send postcards off and never know if they arrived or not.

Thanks for hanging in there with me! I hope to be a better blog pal during the next week.

A Sneak Peek and Some Postcards...

It's been several days since my last post and you might think I've been busy in the studio...but you would be wrong! "Life" has been keeping me busy and not art.

I did finally get started on that big 30" x 40" canvas and I'll just give you a sneak peek at what I'm doing...

This is just a very small portion of the canvas. 

More to come later.

Postcards have started to come in from Hanna's postcard swap and from Karen's postcard swaps.

This one is from Dusty...no blog address was given.

This one is from Matthew

I think this is my first postcard from a guy!

This one is stitched and is from Tammy

Tammy also included this printed postcard

so it was a two-fer!

And this one is from my friend TJ

(I don't think her blog is active right now.)

This postcard got beat up by the post office!

It's from one of the Mail Me Some Art swaps.

I'm almost ashamed to admit how long ago I 

received this postcard!

It's from Phoenix Peacock

It's always fun to see what goodies are in the mail and to meet new people through these swaps. I enjoy doing them and I'd like to publicly thank Hanna and Karen for all the work they do to organize these swaps. Thanks to everyone who has sent me postcards...I love them all and have them propped up all around the studio right now so I can see them.