Its Spring!

I found these in a garden center, nestled in the Astilbe.

We had quite a good time building a bonfire. Here I am (lower left) watching everyone partying. One of our friends brought along his dog. It didn't seem to mind the cold, but it was not in the mood to play.

 The sun was out, so today I went on a picnic by the shores of beautiful Lake Michigan.

A way to check your drawing

Ok. These are two iPhone pictures of a test drawing. The first one has a weird cheek bone on the right side of her face. The second drawing is the corrected drawing, i.e. without a weird cheek bone anymore. Its more rounded. And my point is its really easier to see flaws in your drawing if you photograph it or look at it in a mirror. I didn't notice the cheek was funny looking until I took a picture, and then I was horrified. Well, sorta horrified. More like exasperated. This drawing was a test done on Strathmore 500 Bistol board with charcoal. I don't really like the results. They are ok, but not spectacular.

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii December 7, 1941

Pearl Harbor,  December 7, 1941

And now for something completely different... a scratch board sheltie. 9x12

Pink rose in pastel. This is also 9x12

Red Rose- Pastel Drawing

A pastel painting of a rose. 

Its 9x12 and so much fun to do.

Flower Arrangement with Celery Root

Love that celery root!

This is a garden bouquet. I'm really pleased it turned out this nicely.

A pastel drawing of pansies. I liked doing this. Pastels always photograph weirdly and never as nice as they look in real life. I wonder what the trick is for photographing them.