EDM #15 Draw a tree or trees

We went to the Mission Inn for Sunday Brunch and the weather was great so we sat outside. I love to go there, every spot is a drawing opportunity. I could just spend the whole day ( which I may) drawing different areas. They have inside courtyards, and arch covered walkways with huge wisteria growing over them. A wonderful pool area and several chapels etc. Here is my quick sketch/painting. Normally we have never been disappointed in their food but I must say nothing went right today. Our reservation was wrong and they didn't specify a wheelchair, so they couldn't seat us, so we went to a different area where we were finally seated. Then they had a grease backup, and this carmel looking gooey grease started to creep out of the sewage covers right by where we were sitting, yuck, so they moved us again. Needless to say it wasn't the nicest of visits but we wont hold it against them. I am not done drawing!

Velda Newmans class

I went to a wonderful quilt class in Glendale, Calif. last week. We took Velda Newmans class and learned a bunch of new techniques for achieving specific looks on our fabric. It was a fun day and I think I will use more of her methods in my quilts. I really love her work anyway. She is so nice and down to earth. She was recovering from brain surgery where they had recently found a tumor and had to operate. She seemed to be doing great except she would have a hard time finding the right word occasionally, but I do that all the time and have never had brain surgery. I sat during part of lunch and drew this sketch of items around the room. A friend won 1st place at the show and we worked on painting realistic apples.

EDM # 58 Draw a frame

Well I am not overly happy with the results of my attempt at drawing a frame and picture. It was a challenge thats for sure. The frame holds a picture of my mom who is standing behind a beautiful poinsettia at Christmas. My sister took the picture and it turned out so good. She had it blown up and framed and sent me one. My mom is such a beautiful woman, she was a professional model and Miss Flordia back in her day. Whenever you take a picture of her she knows how to pose and she has the head tilt thing down pat. My sister and I always laugh and try to figure out how to tilt our head just the right way so we look good. Its not unusual to have our family photos turn out with all of us tilting our head from one side or the other. We all look like we can't hold our heads up anymore. LOL I will always love this picture, my mom in red, at the holidays, in my kitchen cooking! Memories.

EDM #59 Draw something Spring

Well here in Southern California we enjoy early springs and flowers year round. But I do love the first burst of color that the spring brings along with all the trees budding up to burst open in bloom too. I sat today and decided I was going to draw my iceland poppies, I need to dead-head them to encourage continuous blooms. Since its so nice and warm today, thats my project. The seed heads are almost as interesting to draw as the flowers. Our whole side yard is full of poppies, petuna's and rannacula's that I planted back in November, the yard is full of color. Dianne

The same retreat, new drawing

Well, they said it wasn't exactly what they were looking for, so in an effort to give them what they invision I redrew it. I also added color to both just incase they decide to add it. Free stuff is always more labor intensive that the stuff we get paid for!

EDM #29 Draw something architectural

Casa Colina:This is the new rehab hospital just opened this last year. They tore down the old one and built this beautiful facility. They now have these wonderful areas for everyone to sit and its beautifully landscaped. It's done in a California Mission style with courtyards and lots of bouganvia (sp). I sat and visited with another mom as our daughters visited for awhile. For being so beautiful, it holds so much pain and suffering, yet hope and renewal too.
We have been going here so long its like a second home, with many friends and family.

EDM #58 Draw a hat or cap

This is a picture of my daughter who received a red hat and scarf from my mom for Christmas. She looked so beautiful in it and really loves it. I did the drawing in pencil and the hat and scarf in colored pencil. The drawing really does not do her justice and I am still trying to capture the thing that makes us uniquely us! Whatever that is and where ever it may be. LOL But the fun is in the process.

Womens Retreat

I was asked by the women to draw a logo depicting their scripture for the womens retreat. I am often asked to design logos or do artwork for the church. I love it, what better gift than to give it back to the one who gave it to me in the first place! It had to be a simple sketch, no color, since the cost of printing color is prohibitive.

EDM # Draw Chaos! Here's more Chaos

I have decided I love chaos! It either makes me feel like I am not the only one out there that has lots of it or I think it makes for interesting drawings, can't decide. I was sitting in the Orthotics office with Jennifer, trying to get her prothestetic leg fitted properly when I spyed the chaos under the exam table! Wow, we all have a ton of stuff we are always trying to find places for! I will probably draw lots more chaos in the future. I will probably be on the hunt for it now.

The little girl sketched in the circle above was done earlier while we sat in the waiting room. She was staring a hole through Jennifer. Kids are always so fasinated by the fact that Jennifer is missing her leg. They are so cute and curious, and often walk right up to her and stare at her missing leg, and touch her and say, "Where did it go" or " Where is it"?? I wish adults could be as open as kids.

EDM #30 Draw a chair

Sitting outside on a rainy day while Jennifer was having therapy I decided to draw the outdoor furniture, getting wet.

Illustration Friday challenge "Insect"

My daughters favorite "dead pets".

EDM #27 draw anything else you want

Well I haven't played with my watercolors on real watercolor paper in along time. So I decided last night while making dinner I would draw and paint these wonderfully colored peppers I got at the infamous Costco trip.

EDM #56 Self Portrait 2006

I finally made myself do this, I think I always draw parts of myself when I draw other people. My eyes for example, but it is so hard to put it all together and make it look like that person. I don't think I did it this time, I need to work harder at capturing my true likeness. I think I made my face thinner than it is, funny how I see myself!! I wish if that would work on my the rest of me.

EDM #33 Draw an eye

I was watching a show on raising giraffee's and this baby lost his mother, as I watched the show its their eyes that get you, those long eyelashes. So I thought I will draw that eye! I did a quick sketch with pastels, I have not used them too often as you can tell!

EDM #36 draw out in public

Its that time of year when all of us women need to go get their mamograms. I try and do it at the beginning of each year, it gets it out of the way and starts the year fresh. As I was sitting in the waiting room, I decided to draw the women reading sitting across from me. I still feel uncomfortable drawing people when they don't know, I would probably feel worse if they knew! I would hate for them to say "Oh, let me see how I look!" and then I would have to recesitate them after they see what I drew! So I try and do it incognito, but its hard to draw something without really studying it. I find that I am assuming where the line should be so I don't have to stare at her chest! That kind of thing. I found a blog where the guy drew the people on the subway, oh my, was he great. He was able to capture them perfectly, although many were sleeping, that always helps.

EDM #44 Draw an animal, a pet, zoo animal, ...

It is unusually stormy for us here in southern California the rain is giving us a much needed watering. It is not overly cold but when we do get a storm, our kitty, who loves being outside, decides she wants to cohabitate with us mere humans. She is a calico, which should say it all, if you have ever owned one. A bit temperamental, and aloof, overly needy when she desires it, but normally only allows affection on her terms. She has a talent of choosing those times when, for instance, my husband was fixing a broken sprinkler, he was laying on the ground, with his arm in a hole trying to get to the broken PVC pipe, when Skittles started rubbing on his face and head butting him. Nothing like a arm full of mud and cat hair up your nose! Anyway, here she is, some loose sketches of her on Jenn's bed, cleaning herself and curled up and all comfy on this raining night.

EDM #26 Draw anything you like, more chaos!

Well I had a fun trip to Costco where I preceeded to buy more food than I needed, in quantities I will now have to store. But I love going for some reason. The worst part is all the left over boxes when your done putting things away! I always just stack them on a bench in my hallway to take out to the recycler in one load. As I was making my way down the hall I thought it would make an interesting drawing. So here is my Costco Trip Residue.

EDM #55 Draw a doorknob

Ok, I finally got to the door knob. I had dreams of grandeur, I planned on taking my sketchpad everywhere with me this week and drawing all the doorknobs I ran into. It didn't happen, for one reason or another. So here is my anything but grand doorknob on my back door. It is actually a door lever.

I am soooo excited, I had to share

Hi all, well I wanted to share my quilt with you, it just won in one of the catagories in a big show back east. I had painted the fabric and painted the faces on the birds. I designed it and quilted it too. It was a big juried show so I feel very honored to have made it. I posted new drawing too, but I am still working on the doorknob. I want to find something cool like Teri's awesome one!

EDM #17 draw a musical instrument

As we were having lunch at the rehab hospital, where Jennifer goes for therapy, I noticed the piano. It sits in the corner of the cafeteria, usually silent. I don't know why they have it but it is a piece of furniture that traveled over from the old hospital before they tore it down. I always thought it would be nice for the patients to have someone playing while we all ate. So today, I thought I would make good use of its inactivity. As I was in the middle of drawing, a young man, I presume to be a patient, probably with a brain injury sat at the piano and started to tap randomly at the keys. At first there was no rythmn or recognizable song just noise, as his mom came in she just stood and watched him and never said a word. He continued to touch the keys, but now there seemed to be the sound of those songs we all had to learn, scales, over and over. Then more banging, then a song, a real song, it was as though his brain remembered playing the piano and every few minutes it was able to make his fingers move correctly over the keys to play the melody. Brain injury is so very hard, for everyone. He must be just as frustrated that it does not come as easily as it used to. He played off and on for about 10 minutes and then got up to leave. We clapped and thanked him for his wonderful playing and he turned with a huge smile and said "You're welcome". I think I now know why that piano sits in the corner, even if only to bring joy for a few minutes to all of us.

EDM # 14 draw what you see in the morning when you get up

Well, this is it, the armour that holds my books and the TV. I know the "don't have a TV in your room" theory already, its too late. Sometimes I just can't sleep so its nice to have a late night movie to curl up with. Now I have my TV, or my husband or my sketch book! ;0)

EDM #24 Draw a piece of fruit

Well, I did a two for one, in "The Creative License", Gregory tells us to draw our breakfast and since it was grapefruit I got the #24 challenge done also. I added a garlic bulb from the previous nights dinner preparation that didn't get put away, and my splenda packet. I don't know if the garlic was overly successful with all of the papery coverings it is a challenge in its self, I want to try to draw more garlic and onions.

EDM # 39 draw your toothbrush

Here is Jennifer's toothbrush, mine is the old fashion kind, I need to draw it too. I bought this for her because of her limited hand movements but it has to make you think about how lazy as a society we have gotten. I mean now we can't even move our hand up and down to brush our teeth! This toothbrush even internally holds the toothpaste so there is no need to be bothered with that extra motion either. You just stick it in your mouth and it does all the work, it is even timed so that when 3 minutes are up it stops. Guess that is all it thinks you need! Man, no wonder we have all become overweight and lazy as a society. I guess that is progress for you, or is it?

EDM #9 Draw a bit of organized chaos

Well, I am trying to catch up and draw everyday so here is #9, can you tell they are in no particular order! I have lots of chaos around the house, some organized so as I sat last night watching the Olympics I drew the table next to the TV. I had to include my ice cream bowl from which I consumed that frozen food from the gods with relish!

EDM # 3 Corrected: My (almost) first sketchcrawl, their third

Well our group did our first sketchcrawl and I couldn't go due to the rain. I was up and all dressed to go when a friend, who lives almost next door to the gardens, talked me out of it. It would of been really hard for Jennifer to get around in the rain in her wheelchair, so we will wait for the next one. Instead I stayed home in front of the fire and did tax stuff, enjoying the occasional hail storms. I thought of everyone out there having a wet, rainy, fun day and wished I could have met everyone. I did manage to draw my backpack, waiting so patiently to go to the gardens. It is full of pads and pencils and pens so I opened it up and had a sketchcrawl in front of the fire.

EDM #54 A sketch of my Valentine!

After church and brunch...... we collapsed onto the sofa to digest like a bunch of lions after a kill. When we woke up we vowed to not go to brunch next Sunday so now we are over it. As my hubby slept I quickly sketched and painted, as he rolled over one of his eyes opened just slightly and he said "I better not find my rear-end in your sketch book" and proceeded to fall back to sleep. He-he. I love this guy, he is so good to me, Happy Valentines Day!

EDM #42 Draw something you are thankful for!

Well, that has to be the fact that we still have Jennifer with us after someone decided to drink and drive. It left her with a broken life and body that we still struggle to help her gain some more control over. Dispite a year in the hospital and all her physical disabilities she is cognitive, and a delight to be around. God has blessed her with a tremedous spirit and an amazing inner strength. She is never depressed, only determined to someday be able to be a functioning part of society again, needed and appreciated. Today we had therapy again, this is almost our 5th year of therapy, 3 times a week, we are so thankful for therapy. Therapy offers us hope, hope for tommorrow, hope for progress and hope for recovery. She struggles everyday with a body that fights her every wish. A body that no longer knows how to perform the simpilist things. But she never complains, she just keeps trying. We are still trying to get her to a place where she could take enough steps with help to get her into a public bathroom. Its amazing the things that most of us take for granted. Although this was a quick sketch and doesn't capture her very well, I managed to do it while helping the therapist work with her! God is so good, we are so blessed by her, we have so much to be thankful for today, what are you thankful for today?

EDM #16 draw your favorite tool

Ok, I know you all think I am crazy but I love my iron. I make quilts and love to iron the pieces of fabric. I love the way it can take a wrinkley piece of fabric and turn it into a wonderfully, flat, crisp,managable thing. Similar to the way God turns up the heat in my own life to quickly iron things out.

EDM #27 Draw anything

I was sitting at bible study and listening to everyone talk and noticed that one of the women was directly across from me and I grabbed my book, without being noticed and began to draw. I was feeling guilty for drawing when I needed to be listening but I sketched her out quickly as she sat on my leather chair. The founders website, you can also join the yahoo group everyday matters. http://www.dannygregory.com

EDM # 53 Lips

Ok I joined a sketch group called "Everyday Matters" which encourages us to draw everyday. This is my first challenge, # 53 draw lips, I drew mine and journaled some things I thought about my lips. I need this right now in my life to keep the focus on being creative and not allowing that part of me to die.

I was so upset last night because my husband took me to a wonderful dinner at the Mission Inn where we sat outside next to the fire pit and ate. There was so many things I saw there that I wanted to draw and I didn't have my camera or sketchpad with me, and they used cloth napkins so I couldn't even improvise! That will teach me