Bumpersticker

The gaily turbaned driver waved and smiled, as I let her into the line ahead of us, to exit the mall parking lot. Appropriately, we were--each and every one--in one of two turning lanes.
God bless her.
To everything, there is a season. . . .

Garden growing wild

A volunteer sunflower has sprung up among the weeds in the back garden.

My spiral Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook is almost full. I'm not as observant about paper quality as some sketchers, but the paint color does seem more intense than in any other sketchbook I've tried so far. I don't know if this is from a higher rag/cotton content, or what.

Ink and watercolor pencils.
Related reading: Weed Challenge Winners (James Gurney's weed challenge, along with Richard Bell's spring weed video, gave me the idea of drawing weeds.)

Last year's geranium

Survivor, a little spindly from a combination of heat and benign neglect (underwatering).

Ice cream

(Notes are from a conversation about traditions and taboo [against marrying cousins] going on at a nearby table.)

Pizza Diner

Visited for memory's sake, a little trip back in time.

Condos

Trying out an Escoda travel brush I've had for awhile.

Kileville in summer

A cluster of homes around a grain elevator, about to be engulfed by a suburb.

Waiting for pizza

Here, I decided to work on a perspective challenge while waiting for the pizza to bake, partly because the textures and color were interesting. (On the wonky side.) The wall and baseboard turned a corner, as they met the counter, where a chair was pulled up.  After the pizza came, as eating slowed, I drew a piece.

Sunny Street Cafe

Need to practice ellipses.

Kileville, again

Sometimes you just need to get out to the country and breathe. Looking north over spring fields, across 161, the path Tecumseh blazed and an old Pony Express route. The insulated cable traversing the lower right corner marks the parking spot. (Oops, the horizon line is too near the middle.)

“Setting aside time each day to become absorbed in just being- in the present moment, alone in nature, - will leave you refreshed and refocused. . . . . Nothing spectacular, everything spectacular. The essential magic occurs when pencil meets paper and the eye really sees a tree. The Process of Seeing is what counts, not how good a drawing Is. Being A Witness brings a sense of belonging, of compassion, of responsibility.” -Clare Walker Leslie 

 More reading: Jan Blencowe, Three easy ways to begin keeping a nature journal.

Village salad, Panini Opa

St. Brigid's, thumbnail sketches

Zephirine Drouhin on windowsill