Fashion girls

Here you can see some more random sketches.This time I used some fashion catalogs for inspiration-JCPenney and Joules.I painted them straight with the
brush but in the first one I used colored
pencils for the fine details.

Three new sketches

For the first two ones I used a couple of pictures from the British edition of Country Living magazine as reference photos.For the cow I used my own reference photo.
In the first two I used watercolor crayons and ink in the third one watercolor pencils and ink.The size is about 6x9.

Just for fun

This is another image from last weekend.After sketching for a couple of hours from life i felt like doing something else using some imagination.I called it "A plump princess or a happy birthday to you."I wanted the image to be as flat as possible.I used ink pen ,watercolor pencils and stamps.

Four sketches from the last weekend

Last Saturday my husband took my daughter fishing and I had some more ME time.I used it sketching from life in our back yard.I did not take long to find an interesting subject matter.When I was done with one thing I just had to turn my chair around and start to paint a another one.I had been trying to do that for several weekends but every time something would happen and would stop me from doing that.I used my favourite watercolor pencils Faber Castell and ink pen Pilot.

Summer Challenge #14 and #15-quickies

These two sketches were done with my non dominant hand ,in my case my right one.I read in a magazine that it is a good warm up if you experience a creative block.I have tried that before and I liked the effect you get using your so called "weaker hand". To draw and paint these sketches I used some faces from a magazine as an inspiration.I used ink pen, Pilot, and my favourite watercolor pencils Faber Castell.The first one was done in my sketch book and the second one on regular note book paper.The size is 6x9.

Watching the parade-summer challenge#12 and #13

Here you can find some sketches drawn from life.They were completed with Pilot ink pen and Faber Castell watercolor pencils in my sketch book ,size 6x9. Last weekend we had a parade in our city.

As I am a parade lover I try not to miss it and take advantage of it.I usually take a lot of pictures for my reference files.Really,where can you find so many people of different ages sitting and standing in so many different poses,clowns,beauty queens ,school bends,old cars ,old fire trucks and what not?So,this year I even managed to make some sketches from life.I could have done more if my daughter was not so excited and loud attracting people's attention to us,especially to me sketching.

Some Sketches From The Swimming Pool

I did these sketches from life when waiting for my daughter at the swimming pool.I used Pigma Micron ink pen and Faber Castell watercolor pencils.The size of my sketchbook is 6x9.

Summer Challenge#6 and #7

These are the last two sketches of my summer challenge.They were completed in my Mead sketch book with Pilot ink pen and Faber Castell water color pencils.I used my reference photos from our trip to the small city of Decorah,Iowa.It is a charming little city with preserved old buildings,art galleries and cute gift and antique shops down town.In the first sketch you can see an interesting building downtown Decorah and in the second a couple of musicians singing for some kind of charity at the Farmers' Market.

Summer Challenge#4 and #5

These are my next ones from my summer challenge in water media.Both sketches are done in my Mead sketch book,size 6x9.The first one is completed with ink pen Pilot and watercolor pencils and the second one with ink pen and light watercolor washes.I like the ink pen pilot for its bleeding features when disturbed with water.It gives more character to the drawing.

There's no place like home

Finally we are back to our house.After seven months of living with relatives and in a FEMA trailer we moved back in on Saturday before Easter,March 23 .It feels wonderful to be home again.Everything on the first floor is brand new.I love my new kitchen with the new snack bar,beautiful cabinets and new appliances. The living room and the downstairs bedroom are pretty too.And I also got a small studio for my soul.It is a small closet with no windows but big enough for me and my art supplies. It is amazing how we sometimes get what we dream about but the hardest way.
Gradually we are going back to our usual way of life,our old routines and traditions.We still have a long way to go.The house is not completely fixed up,there is some exterior work to be done,siding ,windows on the second floor.And also the yard needs landscaping but my husband is working on it.
The watercolor sketch I'm posting today is not of my house.This house is a block away from mine waiting to be torn down.The owners of the house decided they did not want to fix it after the flood.And it is an usual sight in our neighbourhood. Many beautiful old houses got demolished because people could not afford to fix them.
I painted this piece using a reference photo from the fall two years ago.