Daily Life, Sunday by Melisa McCurley

Sunday was hot and sunny. We had church, Sunday school, lunch, a finances class for couples that my church is having, then supper and a couple of games for the 3 of us. This game is cooperative so we either all win or all lose and we won both times. Yay!

Daily Life, Friday by Melisa McCurley

Here's my day, which is like most of my Friday's; lunch with the hubby at Toad Hollow (Tuna Tacos for me today) and then grocery shopping at Rouse's. Inktense pencils, which is why the avacado is neon. :)

Animals, Rabbit by Melisa McCurley

I played with my little set of 12 Derwent Drawing Pencils this morning. I love the softness of these pencils. My set is just earth tones but I'd love to have more colors. I'm not sure if they even come in other colors. The reference photo was from this weeks WDE at wetcanvas, hosted by missswiss.

Animals, Galapagos Tortoise by Melisa McCurley

From a photo I took on a trip to the zoo. This thin notebook paper practically disintegrates under watercolor but it works ok with the Pocket Pentel Brush Pen. A tiny bit of collage added, just because. Last night's migraine is coming back so I'll be back later to leave comments.

Animals, Spaniel Planter by Melisa McCurley

I have 3 little vintage animal planters on my desk that I keep pencils, pens, nail files, scissors, and things in. I used Inktense pencils on this but they didn't spread much when wet on this paper.

Animals, Tree Frog by Melisa McCurley

I had a little battle over the lawn chair with this tree frog. I moved the chair into the sun to prop my feet in and, after snapping his photo with my tablet, gently nudged him onto the ground underneath so he wouldn't fry. He promptly jumped back up onto the chair and in a few minutes he jumped onto my leg. I nudged him off. He jumped back on. So then I walked over into the shade, with him clinging to my leg, and nudged him off there. Ha, I get the chair! I guess he didn't realize he was supposed to be afraid of humans. He was just about an inch and a half long, so much smaller than I've sketched him.

Animals, Sophie by Melisa McCurley

Sophie was awake for awhile earlier, so I sketched her. She's asleep again, now. :) She's very old and mostly deaf but she still likes to catch crickets and chase lizards. She used to catch the lizards, too, but they get away now that she's slower.

Animals, Bluebird by Melisa McCurley

My dog has been asleep with her face to the wall for the past 2 hours so I guess she doesn't want to be sketched. I'll start with a bluebird in honor of spring. I love bluebirds but don't see them here very often. Blue Jays are everywhere but bluebirds are a rare treat. Colored pencil on a scrap piece of black charcoal paper (hence the chunk missing from the corner).

Humans and their activities, At the River by Melisa McCurley

I haven't been out of the house today so I sketched from a photo. This is part of one of the photos from this week's WDE at wetcanvas.com. I just bought this little blank paperback moleskine notebook to keep in my car because I keep forgetting to bring a sketchbook when I go out. This is the notebook with thin paper and doesn't take watercolor well, so I added one of my little junk mail dots for color. I use them in my art journal a lot but I've been neglecting the journal for the sketchbook, lately.

Humans and their Activities, coffee time by Melisa McCurley

I did a couple of quick sketches while enjoying an overpriced bottle of water at Barnes and Nobles this afternoon. I added color after I got home.  I didn't have a waterproof pen with me when I did the sketches so the ink ran a lot. I was just glad to finally get a sketch done on theme. It's been a little hectic here!

Gardens & Parks, Afton Villa by Melisa McCurley

Afton Villa, in St. Francisville, LA, is the site of an antebellum home that burned down in 1963. Even though the house is gone, the beautiful gardens and statuary remain and are maintained. It's a great place to picnic and take photos in the spring. During pilgrimage, you will find people there in period costume. My sketch does not do the place justice at all.

Parks & Gardens, From my yard by Melisa McCurley

My "garden" is more of an overgrown swamp right now. I sank into the ground with each step as I walked out back to snip a piece of jasmine. The front yard is a little better and I could reach the loropetalums bush from the doorway. I didn't want to bother looking for a vase so I just stuck the loropetalum branch in my water bottle from lunch. As much as I love flowers, I don't care much for gardening so whatever thrives here does so of it's own accord. I plant things and then tend to forget about them instead of watering and weeding.

Parks & Gardens, Squirrel by Melisa McCurley

I snapped this squirrel with my phone while walking along the Tammany Trace, which is a 31 mile Rails to Trail project where they have turned an old unused train railroad into an asphalt trail for biking and walking.  I walked right up to the squirrel and he chirped angrily at me but refused to leave his little tree.

Kitchen, Lunch by Melisa McCurley

Yesterday, I was here alone and was painting so I didn't take time to stop and cook for lunch (I cook a lot because I have to but hate it) so I fixed myself what I call a picnic food. Since I can't eat sandwiches for picnics, I take things like this. This is a bell pepper stuffed with homemade pimiento cheese, a handful of raw fresh sugar snap peas, and a few cherry tomatoes. I snapped a quick pic with my tablet, snarfed it down, and went back to my oil painting. Sketched it later. :) Oh, and I treated myself by serving it on one of my favorite lunch plates, which I don't use much because DH and DS are both prone to breaking them.

Kitchen, scrubbers by Melisa McCurley

I couldn't get a decent picture of this. The scanner did something garish to it and the camera washed it out (this paper isn't white) but the camera was the better of the two. I didn't do a very good job depicting my pretty black and brown granite countertops. They don't really look like mud. The backsplash behind should be granite also, but I didn't want to make more mud. It looks like I need to use the scrubby to clean it up! :)

Kitchen, Yarn Winder by Melisa McCurley

This might not seem like a kitchen item but my kitchen counter is the only place I can clamp this yarn winder, so it is frequently found clamped to the bar area along with my swift. I wound this ball of yarn and then sketched the winder. I enjoy knitting and crocheting and love pretty yarn.  Especially hand-dyed yarn.

Kitchen, Grandma's things by Melisa McCurley

When my grandma died at 96 a year ago, I brought home a few of her dishes. Just a few, because I don't have anywhere to store or display them. These usually live on top of the refrigerator but I brought them down to the tile top table to sketch them.

Kitchen, Toad Hollow Table by Melisa McCurley

On grocery day, we always eat at Toad Hollow. I love it because it's quaint, has organic food, has Toad in the name, and is one of only 2 restaurants where I can get safe gluten-free food. There is always a tiny vase of flowers on the table. Usually wee roses but today we had pink and green mums. While we didn't eat in the kitchen, I drew what I saw while I waited for the kitchen to get my food ready. Hope that counts!

Kitchen, In Mom's Kitchen Window by Melisa McCurley

We had a long weekend with the 2 extra days off for Mardi Gras so we drove up to MS to see my parents. This is a few of the things on Mom's kitchen window sill. The bulldog is a planter but his plant died and he is waiting for a new one.

Close to Home, French Market Masks by Melisa McCurley

I missed the local Mardi Gras parade last weekend so I sketched these masks in honor of the holiday. This is at a booth at the French Market.