…..every day I do a little bit more with the paintings
When I’m not painting I keep my creativity going with more slow drawings and mark making. Thanks to Amy Maricle for her inspiration.



…before drawing butterflies in my next art piece I decided that maybe I should do some practice drawings first
Here is my first attempt at a butterfly. I think it is a bright idea to practise first. I discovered that adding colour after using my new fountain pen could be a problem because the ink from the pen bleeds when it comes in contact with water.
Thanks to Becky B for hosting BrightSquare for the month of April https://beckybofwinchester.com/2021/04/09/bright-square-9/
….day 4 of Sketchbook Revival with Tamara Laporte
In one of today’s Sketchbook Revival classes we meet Tamara Laporte. I’ve watched some of her classes before but I think this is the first time I’ve completed an assignment. It was a lot of fun and I think I may go back to her site and try some more.
This owl was first sketched with pencil and then watercolour was applied. Along the way marker, ink, pencil and acrylic paint pens were used to add detail.
…I haven’t posted any art for awhile
I haven’t worked on any large pieces lately. My focus has been mainly on drawing in my sketchbook. I signed up for two classes. One was with Lewis Rossignol called
Sketchbooking and the other is a two week class with Karen Abend called Sketchbook Revival. The latter is a free set of classes with 27 artists that each give a lesson that takes about 30 minutes. Sketchbook Revival is free and you can still sign up. https://www.karenabend.com/sketchbook-revival-2021/
Lewis’s focus is on being loose and not too precious with your sketchbooks. In fact he encourages you to mess up your pages a bit so that it is easier to start drawing. He likes to work in ink, pen, and pencil and he uses collage to add interest and balance.
Here are a few of the sketches that I did after watching his lessons.
I will post my art from Day 1 of Sketchbook Revival in a post tomorrow.
….on Thursday with a bonus bird for Winnie
Some days I don’t even get out of my pyjamas until noon and I don’t get moving until dinner time. I’m not depressed but I am under a lot of stress. Our daughter and her husband are looking for a house and the buying market is absolutely crazy. I’m not talking about just Toronto but north, east and west of the city the bids are going $100 000 to $175 000 above the asking price. How young people can afford to buy a house these days is beyond me.
I digress. This post is suppose to be about Kevin’s wacky bird for Wednesday. I know it’s Thursday but I think I felt compelled to tell you why I’m so late. This is Armchair Bird.
Earlier in the week, Winnie was down in the dumps. Her mother told us that even the most random thoughts would make her cry. On Tuesday she started to cry when she found out that Pluto is not considered a planet. I know it’s old news but she’s only five. To cheer her up she requested that her papa draw her a bird that looked like a parrot and that it be called Bonkers. So here is Bonkers the Parrot. By the way, it did the trick.