week 6 in sketches

cattails | cherry blossom | peony | pyracantha | thistle | tigerlily

asparagus | aubergine (eggplant) | banana | passion fruit | pomegranate

artichoke | lemon | lychee | parsimmon | rutabaga

hippopotamus | marmoset | narwhal | otter | (huge) puffin

angler fish | fungi the dingle dolphin | puffin (take II)

So my 'sketch of the day' has turned into something else... quality not quanitity? I have five for this week, but as it turns out it's a lot of sketches in each.  My Facebook Sketch Challenges have been very fruitful indeed, and I'm enjoying them 

(as I hope the participants are) !

What do YOU think? Comments more than welcomed!

week 5 in sketches - FB sketch challenge

seed pod of some sort. I drew it from a photo I'd taken years ago, but I still can't figure out exactly what it is.

Came up with the idea the other day to ask my FB friends to pick some animals for me to draw, and it seems it's something people want to do! So, above is the result of the first challenge. I had to do: pangolin, ladybird, chicken, rhino and Bostie. The Bostie became an alien. Let's just call it artistic licence. Overall, pretty happy with it. :)

The second challenge gave me saddleback pig (a la wheelie), bumblebee, lemur, bongo and giraffe. If anyone wants to play,  I'll probably be doing them quite a lot. Just go to my BBE Facebook page to see what's up. There's usually going to be a pretty tight time frame in which I'm collecting 'subjects' ... so get in early!

My friend Victor wanted an axelotl. Couldn't resist that even though he missed the cut. Need to work on it, it's simply not nearly as cute as the real thing... although I do have a soft spot for the little fella on the right.

Howletts autumn walk

Alrighty, I'm back. The absence was due to getting older (I'm now a whopping 40!) and a trip overseas to visit family. Dan bought me a new iphone for my birthday which is probably going to transform (somewhat) my presence online (which is kind of why I've wanted one in the first place). Case in point: today we took a trip to Howletts where I had (and took) the opportunity to play around with Hipstamatic, an app I'm sure is old news to many, but VERY new to me. Just LOOK at that majestic old tree and fall foliage above! 

 the handsome honey badger on his trot

 more luscious fall foliage

 NEW little red river hogs! We had no idea they had arrived and they are already losing their spots! 

the lynx showing off and being prissy all in the same stance

the humble (and always lovely) capybara

A Long Walk - Bridge, Bishopsbourne and Pett Bottom

One of the first scenic views, surrounded by sheep and the perfect temperature. Ahead of us we had 9 miles of lovely surprises.

Some of the sheep. Had to snap the only one with the black head.

"Oswalds", the home of novelist Joseph Conrad for five years until his death in 1924. | Bishopsbourne

Sign in Bishopsbourne

Bishopsbourne

Someone greeting us on our way.

He was rushing over to meet Dan on the other side of the ditch where he was rewarded with a nice pat on the head.

The Invisible Man

An artsy snap that caught my eye.

THE BEST SURPRISE OF THE DAY! ALPACA LOVELINESS!!

They are so stinking cute :)

Scenic view

We really couldn't resist, and this one took four bites!

Inspiring colours!

Inspiring shapes!

Exactly the dose of reality I needed.

sloth bear meets bird

What it says on the tin, really. I think sloth bear is done...with the small (very small) addition of a little bird. I didn't really want to mess with bear too much because I liked his rough quality (and sweet disposition). I did realise that my memory put his nose kind of out of shape, but I still like how he looks and  it just makes me want to experiment more. Dan said the bird looked a little bit stuck on, to which I responded ... "well he is"! I didn't want to complicate the bird too much. Simpler the better, and every time I put my brush near him again I felt like I was in danger of ruining the whole thing. Good time to stop. I sent these off on an order for cards last night, and I played with the colour digitally to see what the resulting cards would look like. The green is the original watercolour wash... the orangey pink was changed by the magic of the computer. Kind of crazy, that. I'm not entirely sure about this example, but I do like the idea of playing with colours digitally for prints and cards. What do you think? 

the sloth bear

This sloth bear made his way onto some watercolour paper I had prepared earlier in a green shade. Just when I thought I needed to get to sleep he wouldn't let me go...

...and the two designs above have been prepared for greeting cards 

to be listed on Etsy very soon.

(let's hope the first experimental batch ordered is exceptional!)

easter lambs

They don't get much newer than this! 

Yes, gooey and bloody can still be cute! Just be glad YOU don't have to lick them.

BLISS!

Up relatively bright (not so much) and early (but not as early as a usual day) to find some easter lambs! As you can see above, we weren't disappointed. It was a grey and drizzly morning, but the cuteness cut through those minor inconveniences...and it was nice to have my camera out again!

1 kitty 1 bird 1 mouse

tick tock tick tock tick tock

I feel a bit like I've been caught up in a whirlwind until today, when I slept in later than I have in recent memory. I guess I needed it. Listed 1 kitty 1 bird 1 mouse in the shop just a few minutes ago, and I think the painting above is finished. I have some time dedicated to nothing but creativity (and perhaps some overdue housecleaning)soon, so expect to see lots more where these came from! :)

The Carrot Thief - Part 1

When ideas are coming fast and furious... best strike when the iron's hot, no?