Change of Seasons

The zip of autumn was in the air today. I felt as if I was coming back to life after weeks and weeks of heat. While I was sketching, cicadas were buzzing in the trees, crickets were chirping in the grass, and Canada geese were honking on the bay: a real "Change of Seasons" Symphony.

Have You Seen the Rain?

I went to see my old choir singing at the Women's Art Festival. It was great. One of their new songs is "Have You Seen the Rain?" and luckily I finished my sketch before the heavens answered yes. Umbrellas mushroomed all over the park just as the concert was ending.

Some Like it Hot

Some like it hot...but tonight the cool breeze was a welcome relief after weeks of heat-wave. Market Square was crowded with people just hanging out, greeting friends, and watching the movie. Delightful!

Ripples of Hope

A few weeks ago a message came through the Illustration Friday blog, asking people to donate sketches of ocean creatures and birds. The proceeds would go to help wildlife that has been affected by the oil spill in the Gulf.

It took me a while to get my act together, but I finally sent my contribution. In the meantime, I was able to watch the Ripple blog grow from a few sketches to nearly 900. It has raised nearly $10,000, which is apparently enough money to wash the oil off a thousand birds.

I love that!

Lazy Hazy Days

I sketched this one a few weeks ago, and finally got around to putting the colour on it this weekend. Check out the size of that seagull. It was begging for a bite of my muffin and I guess that made it seem larger than life. I made it the size of a goose!

Illustration Friday - Breakfast

The Illustration Friday theme this week is breakfast. Too bad they couldn't have come up with one that would suit me better. Heh-heh.

Just kidding. I loved going to my usual bakery to do my usual sketching while my clothes were in the dryer at the laundromat as usual.

I was just getting ready to snap one of my usual photos of the sketch-in-progress when a woman walked into the shot. For some reason I suddenly felt self-conscious about taking the picture, so I snapped the photo quickly without actually looking at it and stuffed the camera into my bag.

I didn't see the result until I got home. Isn't it great? The mug looks so shiny! And you can see the reflection of my sketchbook in it. As for the people...um. Not so much.

Illustration Friday - Diary

This one is a bit of a cheat, because I wasn't actually writing in my diary at the time. But I might have been. I might have been writing "Dear Diary: Aaauuughhh! Save me from the buskers!"



For four days each year, they set up their amplifiers and gather their screaming crowds right under my window. They are so loud that I can't listen to the radio, watch TV, sleep or think. This year they did it during a heat wave. So on Sunday I escaped to Wolfe Island and sat at a picnic table in the shade until a different kind of visitor came and joined me. This one was much quieter than the buskers--but equally determined to keep me from working!