Lovin' Florida's Birds...

I absolutely love the ocean - I love the majesty of the water, the sights, sounds & smells.  We are presently on vacation in Florida right now, and although we have just arrived, it has already been so much fun.

We are amateur ornithologists in our home - we have watched, searched out and tried to identify new-to-us birds for many years. Here in Florida, we have already spotted so many warm climate & coastal birds.

Here are a few that Tim & I were able to photograph today:

I saw this Anhinga perching over a pond as we sped down a road and asked Tim to turn around and go back so we could get a closer look.  It was on my list of birds I hoped to see in Florida!

These Brown Pelicans were sitting on a pier, hoping to get some bits of food from all the people who were fishing.  They were so tame and would look right at you as they were "keeping an eye on you".

These little guys are Sanderlings, and apparently, they felt they needed to watch me too!

Ruddy Turnstones - male & female (sitting)

Female Boat-tailed Grackle - not as showy as some of the birds we saw, but it was our first sighting of this species.

We saw Sandhill Cranes for the first time last year on Manitoulin Island during the summer. I guess these ones haven't migrated north for the season yet.

Cattle Egret - you can see why they get their name.

My amateur ornithologists greeting the ocean that we all love so much.

Silvia

He makes all things new...

For the past few nights, I have been staying up late working on this painting which I created for a friend who has been bed-ridden for several months with sickness. We are going on vacation soon and I wanted her to have it before we left.

The text comes from Revelation 21:5 and I when read it I knew it was for her, and that it would be the basis for my painting.  Before I began I put a song called "All Things New" on repeat and let the words invade my spirit.  And then I began to paint ...

I used acrylic & mixed media.

 

Believing for her complete her recovery. Be healed, my friend!

Silvia

A Little bit of Whimsy

I am taking a whimsical art on-line course. The course is by an artist I follow named Alisa Burke (see her blog here). It has been a lot of fun and I am so enjoying looking at life with different lenses! The course has different classes in it and I thought I'd share one of my assignments from the "Whimsical Places" class. Here is a page out of my art journal I've called Red Door Town.  It's done in watercolour & black ink.

Have a happy and creative weekend!

Silvia

Being Thankful

The last few years have been a journey into God's goodness for us as family.  We have worked hard to choose joy over sadness, hopefulness over despair and to laugh at the fears that rear their ugly heads at us.

We have seen God's goodness in our lives all over the place and the last verse of the well-known Psalm 23 has become regular table talk for us:  "sure goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life."  We firmly believe that, and we see the reality of it regularly.

Part of my journey into God's goodness is thankfulness.  Thankfulness brightens every day and allows me to look at what I have instead of what I lack.  I have a journal that I attempt to write in daily, for the sole purpose of listing what I am thankful for. And although I don't always feel inspired, once I begin, gratitude flows and it is easy to see how goodness has woven its way into my day.

I have learned this: thankfulness changes things! We become a target of God's goodness when are thankful.  We notice blessings which we might have overlooked in the past, and we give attention to them, which in turn draws more blessings.  And quite honestly, we are just a whole lot happier!

I started a new art journal this week.  The first page of a new art journal has often intimated me, and many times I've just left it blank.  But not this time.  Here is how I decided to start my new journal:

Have a great, and thankful, weekend!

Silvia

These are a few of my favorite things...

In my last post, I mentioned my "Art Bag" which I carry pretty much everywhere I go.  For fun, I thought I'd post some pictures of my favourite must-have supplies that I always keep in it:

Sketch books (the two smaller ones are examples of what I keep in my purse, for those few times I don't have my Art Bag with me) ...

  

My sketching pencils ....

Charcoal pencils ...

My watercolours: a set of travel water colours and watercolour crayons ...

My brushes ...

These ones come with their own reservoir of water - I can travel very simply with these...

My little water pot & spray bottle ...

My black drawing markers ...

My brown drawing markers ...

My favourite white opaque markers ...

To sharpen my pencils ...

To erase ...

I can do a lot with these supplies and I love being prepared to snag any moment I might get to practise capturing life around me!

Silvia

Sketch, sketch, sketch

One of the things I do A LOT of these days is sketch. Mostly, I am working quickly to try to capture the essence of what I am looking at.  Working quickly forces me to get the overall feeling of the picture, without getting caught on the detail.  Fast sketches also get the right side of my brain kicked into gear, which as you know is the creative side.  I am amazed at the difference in my work when I work right-brained, not left-brained.  (I know, I know ... it's only one brain...).

I am working hard at growing and improving my skills as they had laid dormant for many years (until I began creating again.) As part of my development, I am studying under a local artist.  One of the exercises he has me do is one minute sketches. A few of those are included in the set below.

Here are some samples of what I've been sketching ...

I loved the bird house tree so much, that I took a little bit of time sketched it in some more detail. 

I carry a couple of sketch book with me at all times (pretty much no exceptions) so that at any moment, I can start to draw.  I keep a Strathmore 5.5" x 8.5 inch in my "art bag" which I bring with me pretty much everywhere I go. My art bag also holds  a small pencil case, and my travel watercolour paints, as well as a few brushes and tiny water pot.  I put other supplies in my bag as well, depending on my mood & needs, but those are my "must haves."

And, just in case, I don't have my art bag with me, I keep a small sketchbook and black Faber-Castell Pitt permanent marker in my purse at all times.

Here a a few tips if you want to improve your drawing abilities:

• Always carry something to draw with!  There are many moments in the day that you can snag to do a quick sketch ... waiting in line, on a bus ride, if you are early for an appointment ...
• Sketch quickly!  Don't worry about details, just capture the overall feel of what you are sketching.  Fast sketching shuts down the detail-needing left side of your brain and allow your right side to kick in.
• Use all your senses when you sketch - touch the object if you can, breath deeply, listen to the sounds around you. You heightened senses will all positively affect your ability to draw.

I'd love to hear from you if this inspires you to begin sketching!

Silvia

Valentine Creations

More and more I am loving home-made decorations. In our home, every holiday and celebration is a chance to put up decorations and I love to personalize & create some of ours.

For Valentines Day, I got busy painting.  Pretty much anything can be painted and I went to town with my acrylics.  Here is my dining room table centrepiece:

The vase was initially clear and had been sitting in my studio for months as I had planned on using it for a different project but didn't. I painted it with crimson acrylic paint and used my fingers, giving it a bit of a streaked look. I also painted two white candles that I had in my bathroom.

I have the beginnings of a nature collection forming in my studio and all parts of it are available for painting or altering.  I painted the dried rose crimson red, I painted the sticks white and pink and I even painted the reeds.

I had a lot of fun decorating the rocks, using markers as well as acrylic paint, and then coating them with a sealant.  

And tucked in behind is a heart, made on pink & red construction paper that I doodled on.

Lastly, I added four store bought white hearts that I've had for years, as well as some glass balls.

.

Look around your home and see what you can use to personalize your decorations.  A little bit of paint can go a long way!

Silvia