Spring is finally here!!!

This year spring was very very very late.It is the beginning of May and the trees are still bare.Small green-reddish buds have just started to show up.Almost the whole month of April was cold,cloudy,rainy and depressing.But let's hope the bad weather is over with and the Spring is here for good.
Yesterday was one of those days full of sunshine,fluffy white clouds,blue skies,hope and joy.It was on the windy side but it did not stop us from enjoying it.My daughter,a friend of hers and I went on a hike to the bluff.We had a picnic in the park at the top.The kids had a lot of fun jumping and climbing,tree hugging and nature watching,playing in the puddles and taking pictures.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you all!!!

Here comes the Sun!

The long and extremely cold winter is over.The spring however is so timid this year and has hard time making  up her mind.Just like a shy maid who does not know if she should stay or should go.It is April already but guess what?We had a winter storm yesterday.It snowed the whole day yesterday,piled up a couple of inches. Thank god it is all gone today and the sun is shining.Please,Spring,stay!!!And let the Sun shine!!!!!
These pictures  are from two weeks ago when my daughter and I took our first spring walk.

Illustration Friday:Red

When I was a little girl my favorite color was red.I had my pink period much later in life.To be exact when I had my daughter.But in my childhood it was all about red!Black and red ink pen Micron and Millennium and a watercolor wash.

Illustration Friday:Gone Fishing

Black ink pen and watercolor on paper.

Sketchbook-2014

Sketchbook is such a delicious, inspiring word. Every time I hear or read it my imagination starts simmering with hundreds of new ideas.They usually come though, when I do not have time to try them.When I have a lot of time they somehow disappear and I have hard time coming up with something to draw or paint.And.... this is how I feel at the moment.....Posting pages of my new/and not so new anymore /sketchbook I am trying to find some inspiration for the weekend.
This sketchbook was an unexpected present to myself for Christmas.I was rushing through Barnes and Nobel looking for a last moment present for my husband.It was so crowded and hard to navigate through the isles. Accidentally I knocked something over with my shoulder and that was It.Nice,simple with beautiful off white paper.
I thought to myself: "Oh,you are so beautiful and so delicious with  all your blank pages!!!You are coming home with me!"

My Winter Olympics

It is too sad that the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi are already over.During this endless and frigid winter they were like a ray of sunshine and joy for me.I love to watch winter sports especially figure skating and downhill skiing.I was glued to the TV whenever I had some time...or whenever my daughter would let me have the TV.I did some sketches while watching the games and also took some pictures from the TV mainly for reference.The opening and the closing ceremonies were epic.The Russians did a great job organizing the games although there were some concerns at the beginning.

*****

We woke up with a bright sunny morning today but it is still cold.She was supposed to have her last basketball game today but it was cancelled due to the poor road conditions.On Thursday night and Friday morning we had the worst winter blizzard for this season.The snow was not the problem but the ice and the strong winds piling high snowdrifts on the roads.It was a dangerous drive home after work yesterday afternoon.Up on the hill our part of the road was covered with  snowdrifts as tall as 3-4 feet and in order to avoid them we had to drive in the opposite lane.The gusts of the wind were creating whiteouts and it was impossible to see if there were cars coming towards us.I almost got a heart attack although my husband was driving and he is a good driver.I have never seen such a thing before!!!
Apparently we will stay home this weekend and enjoy a slow and lazy time.

Happy Valentine's Day !

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!I hope you have a wonderful day with the people you love.Today I decided to share with you a small part of my collection of vintage Valentine's cards.They are very cute,aren't they?Enjoy!

Illustration Friday:Exotic

A sketch of my daughter sleeping.I was wondering what she was dreaming about.Exotic flowers and butterflies?

Arctic cold

Yeaaa,this is the coldest winter I have ever experienced in my life.It was arctic cold the last two or some weeks.-23-24F. And there is more to come.It looks beautiful  and sunny outside at the moment but it is coooold!It makes me want to snuggle up,put warm socks, drink tea and crave hot soups.The good side of the cold weather is that we have more time to read,sketch or browse the web on our tablets.My latest passion is to look at illustration blogs on Tumblr.My favorite ones at the moment are- phoebe bird,Missy Dunaway,someforeignletters,carnetimaginaire.They are so inspiring!