Every spring I plant the front row of my garden with zinnias. All summer long, they flourish without any care, producing masses of bright blooms that cheer me up every time I pass that way. I love to pick big bunches of them to bring in the house. Arranged in an old blue and white […]
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75 Day Sketch Challenge: Day 55
I recently took a few hours to visit the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh to see the Impressionism exhibit that’s currently showing. It was wonderful, and I’m so glad I made the time to do it. When I stand in front of an original painting by Renoir or Monet or Cassatt, it’s hard to […]
75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 52-54
A couple of years back, some of the students from my Summerhill Weekend Sewing Retreats nicknamed our attic guest room “The Penthouse”, and we still call it that today. It’s way up at the tippy top of our Victorian style home, which sits on a hill, so the view from the attic window almost makes […]
75 Day Sketch Challenge: Day 51
My birthday and my husband’s are just one day apart, so we always enjoy celebrating together, usually with lunch or dinner out (plus gifts, of course!) This year we decided to try a new Japanese steakhouse in our area. I was up for being adventurous and trying the sushi, while he ordered the hibachi lunch […]
75 Day Sketch Challenge: Day 50
I can’t think of a better way to spend a summer Saturday than sitting on a grassy hillside with my dog at my side, listening to some awesome, foot-stomping, live bluegrass music while looking out over a gorgeous lake and the green hills beyond. I attended my first bluegrass festival a few weeks ago at […]
75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 47-49
This pretty guest room, which used to be my daughter’s when she lived at home, is a beautiful, serene space with a high ceiling and a tall arched window looking out over the woods and fields to the north of our house. This antique dressing table was a lucky flea market find whose pale aqua […]
75 Day Sketch Challenge: Day 46
My house is surrounded by hydrangeas of all shapes, sizes, and colors. They start blooming in June and don’t stop until the first frost in October. All through the summer, I’m treated to those gorgeous blooms of periwinkle blue, deep pink, and soft ivory. This beautiful blue lace-cap grows next to our front porch, surrounded […]
75 Day Sketch Challenge: Day 44
Recipe for a perfect summer evening: A big front porch White wicker furniture with comfy cushions Wooden rocking chairs A porch swing Pots overflowing with flowers A big goofy dog At least one cat Birds Fireflies A good book A glass of wine or iced tea A gorgeous sunset Time to enjoy all of the […]
75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 43 & 45
Here are a few more glimpses of spots around the house, drawn with my Noodler’s flex pen and Lexington Gray ink in my Stillman & Birn Alpha series sketchbook. The flex pen allows me to vary the lines in a drawing from thick and heavy to barely there. What it doesn’t do is correct lettering […]
75 Day Sketch Challenge: Days 41-42
Working in my sketchbook every day this summer has given me an opportunity to try out lots of different page layouts and text styles. It’s made me realize that, by taking a few minutes to think and plan before I draw, I can make a much more interesting page. Leafing through my sketchbook now, you […]
