new chicks!

My sister brought these chicks to me last night from the Houston Livestock Show.  They hatched this past week at the show in incubators.  They are so cute!  

charcoal sketch #2

I did this charcoal sketch from a photo of Britt...she was standing outside around noon when I took the picture.  It's on an 11x8 piece of gray Canson paper...I used the wrong side, so I'm not happy with it, but I'm not going to re-sketch it.  Britt will be home this weekend, so I plan on taking more photos of her in different dresses.  I'm also, planning on trying to copy a Edgar Degas pastel painting.  I keep hearing and reading that you can learn a lot from copying a piece done by a master artist.  Degas was a french artist who died in 1917.      

charcoal sketch

I did this sketch using a 4B, 6B and white charcoal pencils with a touch of a soft white pastel.  My reference photo was taken by Britt at my parents lake house in 2007 of Kris and her friend Casey.  This is the first time I have worked with charcoals...I used a gray 14x20 piece of Canson Mi-Teintes paper to help with the mid tones...it took me about 50 minutes.  They were looking into the sun, so there's not a lot of light.  I see some things I would change, but since it's just a sketch, I'll leave it alone.  I plan on doing another charcoal sketch from a photo I took of Britt...she has on one of her long ball dresses, so it has a lot of fabric folds.   

inside my sketchbooks...

I sketched this while looking out the window in my laundry room...Juanita's house across the street.  Large wc moleskine.
I sketched this from a photo I took at Discovery Green Park last summer.  Large wc moleskine.
Last week, I decided I needed a sausage biscuit from McDonald's after I finished shopping at Wal-Mart.  After I finished eating it, I remembered why I hadn't eaten one in a long time...I reached for an acid reflux pill.  Large wc moleskine.
I know some people don't like to have to wait, but I don't mind, it gives me a chance to sketch.  This man needed to be in Angleton at the courthouse instead of causing such a scene at the tax office.  Sketched in my red sketchbook.  

 

random monday...

Riley is a 9 week old westie...he belongs to K's boyfriend, but she thinks Riley's hers.  
Update on our garden...so far, we have planted peas, beans, strawberries, onion, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, cucumber and broccoli. 
My Dad holding Carson (my great nephew)...he was baptized Saturday.
This house is by the Alvin Library...I just love the porch and white picket fence...if you click on the picture, you can see a little Scottie on the front porch.  I rolled down my window and called to him...he didn't like it and started barking at me, but that's okay, he was just doing his job.

random sunday...

It finally rained!  After I fed the chickens this morning, I grabbed my camera and went back outside.  These are raindrops on the garden gate. 
One of the hens posing for me.  They will be 13 weeks old this week.
I sketched this Wednesday down by the creek...this house is on our side of the creek and all I can see is the rooftop. I'm hoping the weather will stay warmer, so I can get out more with my sketchbook.  Sketched in my 5x8 wc moleskine.
I took this picture on the other side of the berm...all you can see is the top of our roof.  I love to go wandering around in the woods.  This is about where I was standing when I did the sketch above.  
DH made this boot scrapper for me...I definitely needed it this morning.  

on my needles

Last night, I finished the back of my sweater and started the right front.  So far, this has been easy to knit while watching TV at night.

Yarn: Classic Silk by Classic Elite Yarns

Needles: size 8 

Pattern: Slouchy Cardigan in the book Greetings from Knit Cafe
I started this simple 2x2 rib pair of socks about a month ago...I decided that any socks that I knit this year have to be a pattern that I can memorize or I'm not knitting it!  I knitted a few rows this morning, while talking to Kris on Skype.  I try to knit a few rows a day.  I'm in no hurry to finish these, so I knit when I can.

Yarn: Lornas Laces sports weight

Needles: size 2.75 mm

Pattern: mine