Tuesday, September 11, 2012

2012 Chatsworth Cranberry Festival


The 2012 Cranberry Festival Booklet Cover
and three inside pages are done!! YAY!!!

I decided to stay with the flat tire painting this year,
but finished the other one with the couple too.
(That'll be backup for next year.)


Here's a sneak peek . . . 
Each year I add something fun to the book.
Designing a crossword puzzle was a new one for me!

Do you ever get started on something and have second
thoughts, wondering where you get these bright ideas?

It was a little scary at first. I never do crosswords myself.
Keeping it simple, the challenge was met
and it actually ended up being fun!

This new JD image is now available here on iStock.

Got any Jersey Devil stories?
I'd love to come up with a special theme for next year!
It'll be the 30th Annual festival.

(Please Send me your ideas.)
Here's my new ad for this year's book, using
one of my best selling images on iStockphoto.
What do you think?

It just seemed natural to share these pages here.
Most of these were posted this summer as drawings.
Sometimes it's nice to see how images evolve
and a variety of ways they might be used.

X ♥ O


As always, your comments are most appreciated!

P.S. Be sure to go to my other blog and see how

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The Jersey Devil and the Flat Tire

Another summer of SketchingEveryday has come to an end.
It went by so fast! Posting every few days made it a lot easier.
I may keep posting here from time to time throughout the year.
In the meantime, you may want to follow my main blog here.

I just announced my first Fall Giveaway yesterday!
Be sure to check it out and add your comment to enter.


Ending the 2012 Summer Sketching Series,
here's another idea I had featuring the Jersey Devil
for the Cranberry Festival booklet cover.
Do you think it's spooky enough?

There's another Jersey Devil painting on the boards too!
Stay tuned, because I may need your input
to help me decide which one to use.

I hope you enjoyed this year's offerings.
I am grateful for your comments and friendship!

"Delicious autumn! 
My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns."  ~ George Eliot

Wishing You Abundance Always, 


Thursday, August 30, 2012

A Crow in Hand


A Crow in Hand
5.5 x 7.5" - transparent watercolor on 140lb Arches paper, matted to 8 x 10"
Today's watercolor was inspired by 


yesterday's sketch.



Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet Again

Merry Magick
5.5 x 7.5" - transparent watercolor on 140lb Arches paper, matted to 8 x 10"

Have you gotten into the fun Halloween spirit yet?

- Free Coloring Pages for Your Personal Pleasure -

Please feel free to print out the following line drawings for yourself, a friend, your children's or grandchildren's coloring fun! Each line drawing fits nicely on a standard 8.5 x 11" sheet.


This drawing is a take off from last week's "Three Witches" sketch.


And here's the "Crazy Cat Lady Witch".


An idea for this year's Cranberry Festival booklet cover.



Or possibly this one? According to tradition,


On Thursday, Jerry and I celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary. As always, he showered me with love and gifts; including, flowers, candy, beer and a great Mexican meal. Here's the colorful sunflower painting done from this drawing.



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Too Many Ideas

"The Chicken's Dream" After Pablo Picasso
"The Dream" Pablo Picasso
The Chickens arrived last Monday.
After being here for five days,
I was informed that it was time
for the troupe to move on.

I thought we would have more time together.
I was expecting a week of showing them the sites
in and around Southern NJ.

We barely made it off the Sandarosa.

"The Chicken Meets Kin"
Oh well, I guess I got carried away.
I did too much, had too much fun and 
simply had too many ideas. 

"The Chicken's Wedding Day"

We did have some exciting times while they were here!
I'm really glad they came to visit.


So on Tuesday morning, they were sent on their way.

Stay tuned - more details and pictures
coming to my web log tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Rhinoceros Success


Many years ago, I read an awesome little book called:

Here are a few excerpts from the book
accompanying my stuffed animal sketches.

"You are a rhinoceros!
There is nothing you cannot tackle."

"You put everything you've got into everything you do.
Shoot and ask questions later."


"The more energy you put into something,
the more you are going to get out of it. "

"Stop giving and you will stop getting."

"Your life is like a river.
Keep the water flowing
and you will be refreshing,
life-giving, clear and beautiful.
Dam it up and you will stagnate."

"You are audacious, aggressive and enthusiastic.
Best of all, you believe in yourself
and in what you are doing."


"Luckily for you, you've got that two-inch thick rhinoceros skin,
because with your damn-the-torpedos charging,
you occasionally catch a torpedo or two."

"Never mind.
You are a rhinoceros!"

Charge on!




Friday, August 10, 2012

Sagging Sunflower Sketches


From the the big non-responce I got here from my last couple of posts on the Traveling Chicken I thought I'd better do a few normal posts, so everyone doesn't think I've completely Flown the Coop!

Jerry brought me a bunch of large sunflowers earlier in the week. They are very cool and really pretty but they are awfully droopy! It was hard to sketch them with their leaves all wilting and their heads hanging so limply, bent down real low. I put a couple of big "A" clamps on one as a stand and set it up high above my eye level to get this angle. 

"People from a planet without flowers
would think we must be mad with joy the whole time
to have such things about us."  ~ Iris Murdoch

Have a great weekend everyone!


Thursday, August 9, 2012

Enjoying Art Through the Eyes of a Chicken

Little Chicken in "The Dream" by Sandy Sandy
Today the Traveling Chicken and I looked at art on the computer.
We found this painting by Rousseau called "The Dream".

"The Dream" by Henri Rousseau

TC  really loved the painting and said that staying here at the Sandarosa
made her feel like she was living in a dream. Later we found a painting by Pablo Picasso also called "The Dream"I told her I would draw her into Picasso's dream tomorrow.
Little Chicken on a "Bridge Over a Pond" by Sandy Sandy

Our Little Traveling Chick loved my drawing from Tuesday so much,
that yesterday, I put her into this painting of a "Bridge Over a Pond" by Claude Monet.

It made quite an IMPRESSION on her!

"Bridge Over a Pond" by Claude Monet
 On Tuesday, we all relaxed here on the farm and got acquainted. We had some time to chat about art and men. Although our little Chickita is a British born hen, it seems she is rather hot blooded and her preferences are in Spanish men.

She said she just loves the language and the passion!

I found out that her favorite painter of all times was Spanish born, Pablo Picasso and her most loved piece, not surprisingly, is "The Cock".  She said he's a hunk and she would love to have his babies.

That night, as a surprise, I did a quick sketch for her.
Little Chicken and "The Cock" by Sandy Sandy

"The Cock" by Pablo Picasso

Little Traveling Chick - 2 min. gestures by Sandy Sandy

The Little Traveling Chicken and her entourage arrived here exhausted from their trip on Monday.

I had just enough time to do some quick gestures
before they were off to bed.

Stay tuned for more drawings and adventures of the
Little Traveling Chick and her friends!
I'm planning on painting one of these sketches.
Which one do you think I should do?

Remember to Keep Smiling and Creating!


Sunday, August 5, 2012

Something to Crow About!

ER ER , ER ER,  ERRRRRRRR!
THIS IS ONE OF TC'S BODYGUARD / BOYFRIENDS

I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT!

THIS GUY IS HER MANAGER/ OTHER BOYFRIEND

THE ENTOURAGE

I GUESS THIS IS HER MOMMA AND SOME SIBLINGS

AND THE FAMILY

HERE'S A SAD PICTURE OF TC AFTER SHE BROKE

AND THE  FAMOUS

~~~~~~~  ARE ON THEIR WAY TO ME!  ~~~~~~~~

I'VE NEVER HAD A CELEBRITY COME VISIT ME BEFORE
AND PLAN TO SHOW ALL MY GUESTS A GRAND OLE TIME.

 I'VE GOT SO MANY IDEAS, THEY MAY NEED TO STAY HERE FOR WEEKS!
(POSSIBLY THE JERSEY SHORE, PHILADELPHIA, THE ART MUSEUM?)

I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT OUR UPCOMING ADVENTURES. THE PAST FEW DAYS I'VE BEEN DRAWING AND PAINTING THESE GUYS IN MY SKETCHBOOK FROM JILL POLSBY'S PHOTOS. THEY MAKE ME SMILE.

CHECK OUT THE LITTLE TRAVELING CHICKEN BLOG, THE HISTORY, THE AUTHORS AND ARTWORK AND THE POSTS! AND I'LL BE ADDING MORE AS THINGS HAPPEN HERE WITH THE LITTLE T.C. AND HER TROUPE

AS ALWAYS,
I WOULD GREATLY APRECIATE A LITTLE CHICKEN SCRATCH.