I'm Hungry, Dad!

 “Baby birds are everywhere you look begging for food. The parents will continue to feed them until the babies have learned to feed themselves.” ~ J. Switzer  

'I'm Hungry, Dad' 

 Day 17 ~ SE-17-25 

Where Power Moves

 Life is a Circle

By Black Elk

Oglala Sioux Medicine Man

1863 - 1950

Day 16 ~ SE-16-25

Everything the power
of the world does,

is done in a circle.

The sky is round

and I have heard that

the earth is round like a ball,

and so are all the stars.

The wind in its' greatest power whirls.

Birds make their nests in circles;

for their's is the same religion as ours.

The sun comes forth and

goes down again in a circle.

The moon does the same

and both are round.

Even the seasons form a great

circle in their changing

and always come back

to where they were.

The life of a man is a circle,

from childhood to childhood

And so it is with everything

where power moves.

They Have Fledged!

"When nature made the bluebird, she wished to propitiate both the sky and the earth, so she gave them the color of the one on their back and the hue of the other on their breast." ~ John Burroughs  This morning, a vulture was on our bluebird house with two more nearby. My heart sank as I feared the worst. All morning, I watched the parents fly around the field with binoculars, but none went to the opening in the house, as they had been doing about every 5 minutes for the past 10 days. I knew the babies were about to fledge, so I kept my fingers crossed that all went well. Later, Jerry and I went out to check, and all five were gone! They have fledged successfully, and I am thrilled! 

Day 15 ~ SE 15-25

One Month Of Sketching Everyday!

"Get on a daily routine... Working is a process not a product.

Success comes from the word, succeed: Latin: 'to under go.'

You must keep moving."

~ Nicoletta Baumeiste 

6-27-19 • Watercolor and Ink sketch from Pixabay.com photo

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." ~ Aristotle

6-28-19 • Watercolor and Ink sketch from Pixabay.com photo

 "The more you draw and paint the more fluent you are with your pen and brush."
~ Igor Babailo

6-29-19 • Watercolor and Ink sketch from Pixabay.com photo

 "Make today your day to start that uncomfortable new habit." ~ Jack Canfield

6-30-19 • Watercolor and Ink sketch from life

 "Out of routine comes inspiration." ~ Mark Kostabi

Stay Inspired and Happy Creating My Friends!

X ♥  O

Symbols of Joy and Accomplishment

"Hummingbirds are symbolic of love and joy

and of accomplishing that which seems impossible."

~ Sandy Sandy

Hummingbirds can migrate more than 3,500 miles twice a year!

What seems like an impossible feat for such a tiny creature, happens without fail,
year after year. They often return to the place of their birth again and again,
to build nests and have 2-3 broods every spring and summer!

You can find out more about attracting and caring for these flying flowers
and about my hummingbirds here in SandyLand by going HERE.

Some say to draw and paint what you love and also to draw the same thing
20 times or more, so here's some more of my recent summer sketches!

6-24-19 • Watercolor and Ink sketch from Pixabay.com photo

6-25-19 • Watercolor and Ink sketch from Pixabay.com photo

6-26-19 • Watercolor and Ink sketch from a video

Stay Inspired and Happy Creating My Friends!

X ♥  O

Sketch and Draw - Without Expectations

"One of the biggest issues that stops people from drawing is

their expectation to create something ‘good’."

~ Sara Yasin

 Drawing is a skill, like many others, where you can only improve if you practice and are doing it regularly. It has been suggested that you should draw the same thing at least a dozen times, and even as many as 20 times or more, in order to get proficient at it. So draw the same subject and the same pose over and over until it becomes better and better and easier for you to do. Get into a routine, even it's only 15 - 20 minutes a day and I guarantee you will improve.

Watercolor sketch from life - 6-20-19

"Throw away your ideas about making a ‘good’ drawing

and just get drawing!"
~ Sara Yasin

Watercolor sketch from Pixabay.com photo - 6-21-19

Watercolor sketch from Pixabay.com photo - 6-22-19

"Repetition is the key to mastery." 

~ Sandy Sandy 

Watercolor sketch from Pixabay.com photo - 6-23-19

"Draw, as much and as often as you can.

When drawing lies fallow, the skill diminishes."

~ Gene Black

Stay Inspired and Happy Creating My Friends!

X ♥  O

 

Drawing Is Good For The Spirit

"Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day,

for no matter how little it is, it will be well worthwhile,

and it will do you a world of good."

~ Cennino Cennini

I took a little break from drawing the state birds except for Sunday, but I
am continuing to make sketching part of my daily summer routine.
It's getting easier everyday and that feels really good!

6-15-19 • drawing with a grid for my upcoming class project

6-16-19 • Mountain Bluebird - Idaho State Bird

6-17-19 • Hummingbird Sketch in Watercolor Journal

6-18-19 • 15 min. Watercolor Sketch - Class Demo

6-19-19 • From a photo of a fresh flower wreath

Jerry saved this from the trash for me to sketch.

I set up and worked right from my computer.

"When you do a sketch from life or a photo, don't be afraid to move things around,

use your imagination and employ some artistic license!"

~ Sandy Sandy

Stay Inspired My Friends!

X ♥  O

From Arkansas To Connecticut

"Drawing teaches habits of close observation
that will always be useful."
~ Susanna Clarke

I have continued with the daily project of sketching the state birds.  I'm still really enjoying it and can easily do these pencil sketches in 10 - 20 minutes.  They are not the best drawings I have ever done, but that doesn't matter as much as the fact that I am making a habit of drawing regularly and they are getting easier to do. I really think some of you should give it a try. It's a great exercise. I am posting the photos here, but you can see them larger by going to this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_birds

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

District of Columbia

Happy Creating My Friends!

X ♥  O

Drawing The State Birds

"Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day,

for no matter how little it is, it will be well worth while, 

and it will do you a world of good."

~ Cennino Cennini

I don't have a lot of time for sketching right now, but I wanted to keep up with my summer sketching series, even if it is only for a few minutes each day, because I know that even a small amount of time has a lot of great benefits. So I decided to start a project of sketching the state birds.  Who knows where it will lead .... I'm really enjoying it and I can already see my drawings are going faster and getting easier.

I went to Wikipedia and got all the information I need to get started. The photos are all free to use, so there is no issue with drawing from them. I thought some of you might like to join me on this project! I am posting the photos here, but you can see them larger by going to this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_birds

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Here are the photos and my sketches from them over the past few days.

Won't somebody join me? 

10-15 min. pencil sketches

Happy Creating My Friends!

X ♥  O