30 Sketches Projects I-VII

This little dude lives his snail life in Oliver Nature Park.

Dang Day 24!!!!

My husband and I crossed paths with this wonderful bird's nest. I am sure many a fine bird babies were nestled within its stitched walls made of bark, grasses, and sticks.

The studio went on the road for Day Twenty-Two's drawing. This mushroom lived in my backyard but I drew its likeness at my mom's house.

Some days you just have to crumple up and be grateful that you get another shot tomorrow.

Day Twenty's ram drawing comes from a photo taken at the American Museum of Natural History. I had a rough day and the mark-making is a reflection. Thanks for hanging out with me Ram.

I know, I know...Day Four was also a Prickly Pear but you can never have enough. I. Heart. Prickly. Pear. Cacti. 

I hung out with the subject for Day Eighteen's drawing earlier this year. I don't remember ever seeing a flower like it and she was very humble and quiet - not revealing too much about herself which made me like her more.

     My second favorite collection of diorama displays are at Denver Museum of Nature and Science. They're fantastic. They follow the format of American Museum of Natural History in NYC: glass-enclosed scenes of specimens within their indigenous environments. Behind the animals and foliage is a curved painted backdrop, giving the illusion of a 3D space but Denver takes it a step further. The painted backgrounds are beautifully rendered - they could easily stand alone as paintings. The muskox diorama made the top of my list. I. Love. Muskox.

Past the halfway mark with Day Sixteen - Common Mullein aka Verbascum thapsus aka Cowboy Toilet Paper. Mom's place is covered with this plant and the fuzzy leaves catch the light of a sunset in the most perfect way.

     Alright. Day 15. It had already been a long day in the studio and tacking this drawing onto the end of it was a wee bit tiring but I am glad I got to spend time with this little snail shell. Some detail was lost in the photo so I had to bust out a real-life empty snail shell I had on hand to finish up. No drawing on the planet could outshine the awesome of the real thing - I can't even wrap my brain around how many of these little guys are out there in the world.

Day Fourteen is from a photo taken earlier this year in Idaho Springs, CO. I knelt down to look at a barely visible cactus flower and then noticed the delicate sprigs of grass that surrounded it - pure loveliness.

Lucky Day #13!

How are you so amazing little flower?

It was summer time and I was deep in the South Carolina woods wondering exactly how high my chances of getting lime disease were when EGADS!... I stumbled across the most perfect mushroom.

     Ok, Day Ten...beginning to feel the strain of making time for a drawing everyday although I enjoyed sketching this little guy very much. I was doing a residency at Rensing Center in Pickens, SC in 2015. This little mouse was in my studio. He saw me and I saw him and we both EEEK-ed and quickly came to an understanding. He kindly got into a trashcan so I could relocate him back into his natural habitat which was a field just beyond the studio that housed not only mice but baby dang goats.      Sidenote: I am realizing that many of these photos have come from residencies. Now don't think I just galavant around traipsing from one residency to the next. I've done several over the last seven years and for every one I've been accepted to there are four or five that gave me the ole "Thanks for submitting but..." letter. To this day it still blows my mind that artist residency programs even exist. They have gifted me with time to quiet down enough to focus on...

     Baby. Ferns. = one of the Universe's greatest creations. In April of 2014 I did an artist residency at Weir Farm Art Center in Wilton, CT. The Center just so happens to be smack dab in the middle of the Weir Farm National Historic Site which is part of the National Park Service. Long story short, the space is amazing. It's the only national park dedicated to American painting (find out more  here ).      Every residency provides its own unique treasure and you can never anticipate what it will be. For me, Weir Farm was where I discovered the greatness of baby ferns. Daily fern photo shoots became part of my routine and that is where the photo used for Day Nine came from. Walking through the woods, the baby ferns unfurled towards the sky resembling emerging infant dragons - quite a magical experience.