Beating the Bounds, St. Michael's of the North Gate, Oxford

The  members of St. Michael's of the North Gate, Oxford, have beaten the bounds of their parish on May 1st, for the past 600 years. The priest blesses the inhabitants of the buildings holding the boundary stones, and the people tap the marking stones with willow rods. The annual reminder keeps the perimeter from moving or being forgotten. In the past, the lines were used to gather and distribute local taxes.

Flower bed in April

Creeping phlox, daffodils, tulips, grape hyacinth, dandelions.

Love can be defined as sustained, compassionate attention. Paying sincere attention to another person...helps us to build understanding and kindness. Similarly, I feel understanding, care, and compassion when I journal and turn deep attention to nature. Love of the natural world is the spring that waters commitment to stewardship. . . .  John Muir Laws in The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling.

Church at Mill Run, Lutheran

Drawn quickly from observation, light wash; layers added from memory, later.

Waiting room

Cinnamon swirl bread

"I Am the Bread of Life." The Great Harvest Bread Company, a bakery-cum-restaurant, has three murals on the side wall: Israelites gathering manna; Elijah fed by ravens; and Jesus feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. Grand Haven, MI.
(I was going to draw the lighthouse in the background, but gazed at the Lake instead.  Three of the four fishermen at the end of the dock were absorbed by their cell phones.)
Still trying to figure out the paper.

Bibibop

Trying out the paper in my new Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook.

National Draw A Bird Day

Starling, from photo

I drew this iridescent starling for National Draw A Bird Day last year, from a photo shared by artist (and naturalist) Cathy Johnson. The bird had a piece of corn on its beak, I think.

Sketching is as much permission to gaze as it is permission to draw. I developed a new appreciation for the creativity God put into the lowly starling. (Looks like I got confused about the species!) This is the first sketch I remember trying to figure out the best medium for the subject. I ended up choosing colored pencils.

Related tutorial: Anna Mason, How to paint shiny colored feathers in watercolor

Orange

Checkout lines, Whole Foods (a difficult place to sketch, with so much visual stimuli to be filtered).

Pot of flowers

Thank you, staff at Chick-Fil-A, for a bright spot in the day.