7-15-2022 Art and Chicken Huggets

This morning we made some hand-sewn art journals

from cardboard and paper and embroidery floss...

then we went to the Figgee Art Museum 

(free admission this month!)

and we each looked for different things...

J looked for dragons,

D looked for cats,

I looked for birds...

and if we found them, we would sketch them

into our art journals!

If we didn't find any dragons, cats, or birds,

we would ask,

"What did the artist use to make this art?"

and/or

"How did the artist do this?"

(click on the pictures to enlarge them)

After returning home for some of Oma's soup for lunch

the GDs began making dinner...

chicken nuggets,

smashed potatoes, 

green beans,

brownies...

and when mommy came to pick them up,

we played 'restaurant'

and they served her (and Oma and Papa)

dinner that they had made.

Once they had served us,

they sat down and fed themselves. :-)

7-14-2022 Sissy Blissy and Silly Willy

 

7-13-2022 Mommy and Daddy Longlegs

7-12-2022 Killy Willy and Bunzo Bunny

 

7-11-2022 Daisies

The daisies in my flower garden are blooming...

they bring to mind my BFF in Wisconsin!

Love you and miss you!

I cut a few and brought them inside,

and put them in a small stone vase

on my kitchen sink windowsill

(where I spend quite a bit of time each day

as I prepare meals and wash dishes afterward)

so that I can think of my BFF

and send her loving energy.

7-10-2022 More Poppy Playtime Characters

All 4 of my GKids

know and love this game

and these characters.

Meanwhile,

educators and police

are asking parents to

NOT allow their children to watch

these 'cute characters'

aimed at bringing children

into a horror game.

Hmmm....

I find myself learning more and more 

about these characters and this game

as I study them in order to draw them.

I'll need to decide what my opinion is

after I've sketched them all and learned more.

7-9-2022 Yeti

Today I saw Yeti

riding the rails

as I waited at a railroad crossing

on my way to the compost center

to drop off some branches from tree pruning!

7-8-2022 Poppy Playtime

The GDs love the show "Poppy Playtime"

and told me the names of all the characters...

so I could draw them...

So...to begin with, here's Poppy Playtime...

Mommy and Daddy Longlegs...

Huggy Wuggy and Kissy Missy...

7-7-2022 Fairy #4 and...

Here's Fairy #4 from the FunFabFairyChallenge

and her 4 variations from the original.

For some reason, I began resisting the hair and flowers

so I just left them off!

I love drawing faces...

you never know who is going to come out

of the end of your pencil.

7-6-2022 Mourning...Dove

Each and every morning

I empty, wash, and refill my birdbath.

This morning I found a dead Mourning Dove

at the base of my birdbath.

I left it there and went to sit on the front porch

while deciding what to do with it.

Its mate (I assume) came down and circled the corpse,

pecking it gently as if trying to get it to wake up.

It then stood nearby and did its typical Mourning Dove coo

which sounded extra mournful to me.

I wonder if birds feel sadness and loss

like other animals do.

7-5-2022 Tractor Parade?

 

7-4-2022 Another Mass Shooting

Another mass shooting

this time at innocent folks

gathered to watch a 4th of July parade

in a beautiful Chicago suburb.

The night before,

I was in Chicago

at a 4th (well, 3rd) of July fireworks display

with my Chicago family

and as we sat facing the direction of the fireworks show

I heard pops off to our right.

I turned to my dear daughter-in-law and said,

"Isn't it sad that the first thing I thought of was...

if that gunfire and that this would be a perfect setting

for another mass shooting?!?!?" 

Only in America.

When will this insanity end?

When will the government stand up to the NRA

and pass some sane gun laws?!?!

STOP selling automatic assault guns 

to anyone who wants them!

What has happened to my beloved country?

7-3-2022 Fireworks Display

Tonight we attended a beautiful fireworks display

in Chicago with our son and family.

Thank you so much for a lovely evening!

7-2-2022 GIMP Tutorial

Today my son gave me a one-on-one tutorial

on how to use GIMP and a sketchpad

to create digital art.

It was all new to me...and fascinating!

This particular method involves

looking at the computer monitor

while your hand and the sketchpad are elsewhere

so you are not looking at your hand and the sketchpad

while you are drawing...so it felt really strange!

My turn to try drawing digitally...

Watching the computer monitor while my hand is sketching elsewhere...

The result of my very first attempt 

at trying and exploring digital drawing...is laughable...

but I'm proud of trying to learn something new.

7-1-2022 Twister

Arrived in Chicago today

to visit our son and family

for the 4th of July weekend

and celebrate the grandsons'

summer birthdays.

The oldest GS is an artist

who creates and draws 'characters'

and then sends me a picture of his drawing

and asks me to 'make them.'

This was his latest ask: Twister...

6-30-2022 Eastern Red Milkweed Longhorn Beetle

The GDs and I saw this bug out on the back deck

and wondered what the heck it is!

So, we too this picture and did a Google Image search

and came up with the

Eastern Red Milkseed Longhorn Beetle!

Here are other online images of this bug...

quite the bright little bug, yes?

I may have to try sketching it!

The www says, 

"They're generally considered a beneficial insect 

because their feeding activity 

can end the life cycle of milkweed plants. 

This helps to control the milkweed plant, 

which can be invasive 

but is also an important food source 

and breeding location for monarch butterflies."

6-29-2022 Penny

yeh, yeh, I know...

she looks nothing AT ALL like Penny

on the Big Bang Theory...

but I keep on keeping on

practicing, practicing, practicing

free-hand sketching/drawing faces.

Eventually, I will get to where

it actually looks like the person,

even if it's just a caricature.

Each sketch I do teaches me something new.

6-28-2022 Sheldon Cooper

My free-hand sketch of Sheldon Cooper

(and reference photo)

while watching the Big Band Theory on tv tonight...

it's a hot mess, but I still love it!

6-27-2022 Layer 2 on Mandala ~ Fairies!