Lucy

Today I did a quick portrait of a lady named Lucy.

Lucy worries about the state of the world every time she turns on the news.

She worries about her own country and about the people who suffer atrocities

in other countries. She worries about injustices, racism, poverty

and war. She worries about the environment and what kind of world she will

leave to her children and grandchildren.

Lucy is determined to do what she can to change things, to resist and to make her voice heard.

She wants and needs to be part of the solution.

Maggie

Actually, I think I've done a Maggie before,

but the name seemed to fit this little lady!

Maggie

"Maggie could not wait for the work day to end

so that she could get back home to her six cats."

Day three of 100 Days of Faces - so glad I have sketchbooks to refer back to for ideas!

Hope your day is going well!

Grandpa

I wanted to do a painted sketch of my grandfather today,

but, while this picture has some of his characteristics,

it is a younger and more simplistic version of him than I remember.

However, what I write about him does tell a bit of his story.

Grandpa Joe

He was a genial grandpa who smoked cigars, played the horses 

and called his bookie every day on the rotary phone on his hall table.

He stuffed our pockets with m&m's when we came to visit

and told us jokes and fantastical stories from his rocking chair in the living room.

His great grandchildren called him GG

and he had the same childlike sense of mischief that they had.

People said that he was a "character".

He never owned a car or learned to drive, so he took the streetcar to 

work every day and held an impressive position in his company.

He lived a very full life, 

charmed many people

and was a very colorful man.

Marilyn

And it's the first of 100 days of faces!

"In defiance of the very dreary day,

Marilyn decided to wear her 

favorite tulip shirt."

100 Days of Faces!

I'm joining a group on Instagram, a challenge called

The 100 Day Challenge.

Yes, 100 days, and my choice of subject is "Faces".

As I read about this project, what struck me was that

this is a good way to really improve in doing something,

and I would like to improve in my ability to draw faces.

I'm not quite sure how I'll go about this - some days a sketch,

some a painting or stitched piece - I'll have to see.

My head is full of ideas and my goal is to loosen up

and have fun.

Hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

Happy Spring!

As I hear rain and sleet flicking against the window behind me and watch the weatherman on TV predicting snow all day tomorrow,  I try to convince myself that it is, indeed, Spring. I have purchased a little primrose plant and some tulips from the supermarket, to tide me over until shoots actually push through the hard winter soil. Spring will come, but it is definitely taking its time!

This morning we had a beautiful dawn, as recorded by my neighbor in this photo of my house. This is the back of the house and you can see the porch I love so much over to the right. Unfortunately I was still sleeping at the time this was taken and missed the lovely show!

I've been taking an evening class in Paper Collage this month and it's been a lot of fun. We have one more class left, then we'll go on to a new one - possibly drawing. The same core group of people  (including me) take classes together, so we have great camaraderie and many laughs as we work.

The first piece is the one I'm working on, and a sampling of others' creations are below

We are doing these pieces on canvas with an acrylic medium holding the paper in place.

I hope all who read this will have a great weekend.

I'm crossing my fingers that this will be our last snowfall of the year!

Happy Spring!!

Back Home!

I've been away with my husband on a trip to California where we visited family and had a lovely, restful week. I had my iPad with me and somehow was not able to capture my photos on Blogger (I'm used to using my laptop at home), so was unable to blog.

I did some sketches while away, and a tiny bit of embroidery. Here are the drawings I did on the plane.

I'm hoping to turn them into colored drawings soon. My re-entry back into "real" life has been a bit challenging, especially when leaving behind beautiful sunshine and returning to freezing temps and, today, snow! And promises of a hearty Nor'easter next week!

I'll post again soon with photos from our trip.

Wishing everyone a great weekend!!