Hiking & Painting in Nature – Chicago
Let's do what we love best in the whole world.....paint nature! Are you with me? Yeah! This demonstration is a watercolor painting of a purple coneflower that I grew in my own backyard! Even though this is a summer flower with spring quickly approaching and buds staring to pop, I've been crazy about flowers lately. So … Continue reading Let’s Paint the Purple Coneflower!
When I saw this scene I had to say..."Whoa!" And take a picture of course! This picture was taken at Centennial Park in Orland Park, IL. The lake at centennial acts like a mirror reflecting a powerful setting sun on a minimal windy day. How awesome is our planet and temporary home. This will most definitely be … Continue reading Sunset to Live For
Don't forget to participate in Earth Hour this Saturday, March 28, 2009 from 8:30pm-9:30pm. What is Earth Hour? It's a collection of households and businesses turning off their electricity for one particular hour. Many buildings did so last year and the Chicago skyline was changed! Pretty neat. It's also neat to see data from the … Continue reading Earth Hour this Saturday
OH BOY! Look who came to visit me this morning at my house! It's an Eastern Towhee. The first one I spotted this year. Welcome Mr. Towhee! I first noticed him in my pine tree. At first I thought it was a sparrow, but then noticed his long tail flick several times. Humm...that's no sparrow. … Continue reading Eastern Towhee Sketch
Orland Park, IL Geese? I think they made a left turn. AHAAA! HAA! HA HA! This picture was taken after watching thousands of geese migrate at sunset. It looks as if these geese are pointing in the direction of their flight pattern. The interesting part was that every group was flying in the same exact direction, Northwest. Every minute … Continue reading Migrating Geese
This is one moment out of several in a 24 hour day. I think I like this one the best. At the end of my day, did I ponder about any thing I did at work? Did I reflect upon the jerk that cut me off in traffic? Did I worry about the bill that's … Continue reading Peaceful Moments
Today I'm going to show you a simple little twig sketch anybody can do. Not only is it not complicated but we are going to use one color: "chestnut" a Graphitint water soluble pencil by Derwent. Step 1: Make a light sketch with a regular pencil. My twig came from the shrub I found last … Continue reading Let’s Paint a Simple Twig Sketch
I'm on a gall mission. I'm determined to find an insect in an un-evacuated gall. When I saw these shrubs covered in beautiful galls I thought I had my chance: Studying hundreds of galls with tiny holes (escape exits made by the insect) I finally found two without holes! Oh boy! Hello...Is anybody in there? … Continue reading No Bugs Only Blood…Mine
Spring. I can feel it. I even heard it this morning when I woke up...the birds are calling! Yesssss! Hello birdie outside my window. We are having a little taste of warm weather for the next few days and it is welcomed. Right now it is already 62°F how wonderful. I know it's too early … Continue reading It’s In the Air
