"Really Wired..."

...all over my chest with sticky pads...electrodes attached...

...a gown "open to the front"...

waiting for my cardio stress echo to begin...

each resting heartbeat monitored

while

juggling my illustration watercolor journal in my lap,

...lines being drawn all funky and askew

with a pen running out of ink.

The sketch was made "lead free"...drawn in under 10 minutes...

and with no real pressure...right?! :)

It was then

painted at home..."barefoot, braless and blissful"...

with my BP back to normal...

on a gorgeous, but windy, sunny Arizona day

while

watching the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" Basketball coverage on TV

broadcasted from the Cardinal's Stadium

in Glendale Arizona.

Last, of course,

the image had to be "digitally" flipped here...

just to go along with the theme of my totally high tech digital exam...

and...

"just because" it's fun...(the exam...not so much!)

"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat

match the beat of the universe,

to match your nature with Nature."
~Joseph Campbell

"Mission accomplished...in a heartbeat!"

~Me :)

"Waiting...X 2..."

Two different days...

Two different Doctors...both on time...

Two locations on opposites sides of the valley...

Two weeks apart.

Two sketches...one journal spread...

Spending too much time waiting?

NOPE...

just not getting enough waiting time to sketch! :)

"How much of human life is lost in waiting."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Mom's Orchids..."

From Susan, David and the twins...

...partly captured here in a super quick sketch

while visiting

mom at rehab last week.

OOOH MY!

In real life "she" (the plant)

was gorgeous...and voluptuously lush

with lustrous green leaves.

making her stand close to 3 feet tall.

She was

decked out with dozens of lime green blooms

cascading one upon the other...

...and

from across the room looked "so easy to draw".

HAH!

After getting lost in all the foliage

I gave up on sketching the whole plant

and

I zeroed in on a single bloom

which I placed in the lower right corner...

In less than 5 minutes of sketching

I felt I was done.

Then I looked at it last night

added some color...okay...a lot of color...

and realized...

what "might have" been if I "would have" taken my time!

Oh well..."live and learn!" as they say

Or...

better yet...

in the words of Sarah Jessica Parker

...alias Carrie Bradshaw:

"As we drive along this road called life,

occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost.

And when that happens,

I guess she has to let go of the

coulda, shoulda, woulda,

and

buckle up and just keep going."
~Carrie Bradshaw from "Sex and the City"

"Geraniums..."

...(Mom had seven pots filled with them)...

and two tangelos on the counter...

was the theme of what I quick sketched, lead free, yesterday

while waiting for dinner to be ready

at mom and dad's.

We just popped in for a visit and an easy computer file fix for dad

and ended up staying for two meals!

Serendipity at it's finest...I love when that happens.

"Serendipity. Look for something, find something else,

and realize that what you've found

is more suited to your needs

than what you thought you were looking for."
~Lawrence Block

"The Big Sale..."

...at Bath & Body Works...

50-75% off my favorites due to new designs in packaging!

What a deal!

I purchased my goodies the day I fell and am just now

unpacking them today...one week later.

FYI...
This sketch was drawn lead free...on the shopping bag from the store,

and from start to finish...ink to scanner...

it took me just over 45 minutes

to complete. :)

Also...

As an aside to this post...I want to send

my deepest and sincerest thanks out to each and every one...

...for your cheerful and concerned get well comments

left here and on Flickr.

My hand is feeling so much better...especially with the new splint.

What a wonderful, supportive on line community we have.

You all continue to rock my world each day!

"Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both together,

Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better,

Put the lime in the coconut, drink them both up,

Put the lime in the coconut,

and call me in the moooooorning..."

~Harry Nilsson, lyrics

"This song is driving me nuts!

I can't get it out of my head...been singing it all mooorning...

...Cuz...you put the lime in the coconut and..."

~Me

"Painting With Lacquer..."

...my toes

while awaiting my afternoon medical appointment

with an orthopedic hand specialist.

I hope the cast they make will be smaller

than this ulnar splint I have been lugging around lately!

For a bit of fun...

click here where you will get to "try on"

various colors of nail polish from OPI...It's really cool!

You get to choose your skin tone...category of colors...then specific hues.

I love going there to play!

BTW...Which was your favorite??

"Sun Kissed..."

...was simply the perfect way

to describe the weather here in Arizona yesterday.

I drew this poolside in my Moly

after my deep water aerobics class at noon...

and like a moth drawn to a flame...I felt totally compelled

to linger a bit, extend my stay...

and immerse my entire spirit in the glorious sunlight.

Ahhhh!

I just didn't want this feeling to end.

I hope this post brings a bit of warmth to those of you struggling with

the brutal cold this winter.

I know that I

will refer to it often this summer...

when our temperatures reach 115 degrees +

and sigh longingly in reflection

of what this gently sun kissed, perfect day felt like.

Ahhhh...:)

"Breathe. Let go.

And remind yourself that this very moment

is the only one

you know you have for sure."
~Oprah Winfrey

"The Day After..."

...Thanksgiving!

and OH! So much to do...and eat...and see...and draw!!!

The 2008 Holiday Season is upon us!

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

~lyrics by Eddie Pola, George Wyle, 1963

"Nuts!..."

Friday,

while shopping for fresh veggies

and dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts

at Sprouts Farmers Market,

a delightful display of bins bountiful with unshelled nuts

caught my eye and reminded me of

holidays past.

I never really enjoyed nuts as a kid...actually, I refused to eat them

and detested it when they were hidden

in chocolate chip cookies!

I remember the "grown ups"...usually the men...

cracking open all varieties and sizes of these shelled "things" using

the special silver nut crackers and picks

mother would bring out only during the holidays.

It became quite a festive yearly ritual.

My drawing here today celebrates memories of the past

and

"Welcomes in" the seasonal festivities of the coming weeks.

The nutcracker I drew

is an antique from my husband's side of the family.

I really do enjoy eating nuts of all sorts now...

Maybe it's just because I finally "grew up" and my tastes changed

or, maybe...

it's because so many of them now come blanketed in

rich dark chocolate!

Hmmm...Just a thought! LOL:)

"Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't."

(1970's jingle written about Almond Joy and Mounds candy bars...)

~Leon Carr

"As Emeril Would Say..."

"BAM!"

...and as I would say..."D@MN!"

(So much for any zen moments and fanciful artwork today.)

It all happened three blocks from home.

No one was injured.

We were at a complete stop.

BAM!

(D@MN!)

The fully loaded landscaping truck with the extended flatbed

decided to back up at the stop sign

after

not being able to get throught the intersection.

And they we were...smack dab behind him.

We saw it coming but could not shift into reverse fast enough.

BAM!

(D@MN!)

And..We just got the car back from the "check engine" episode.

BAM!

(D@MN!)

I know it could be worse.

But

D@MN!

I hate drawing cars!

"Well Hung..."

...from the ceiling

in the center of the Wildflower Bread Company

(click here for a quick link...it's a cool place! )

is a glorious chandelier bouquet of huge glass flowers

wrapped in copper.

This always reminds me of the work of the one and only

Dale Chihuly.

(BTW...there will be an exhibition of work by Chihuly

"The Nature of Glass" ( a really awesome link)

at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix

from November 22, 2008-May 31, 2009!!!

I am so excited about this...

as a group of us are planning a special sketch crawl

there in December....WOWZA, eh???!)

Okay...back to my story...

Since I did not have my sketchbook with me today

I managed to do a quick overall sketch

with a scratchy ball point pen

on the back of a store receipt I had in my wallet

scribbling in

all kinds of "codes" for color and shape and form

while slurping my potato cheese soup

and

nibbling away on a hunk of freshly baked nine-grain bread.

What a delicious mess!

The above images are the "fruits of my labor"...

I think that the one I "flipped" looks really "Chihuly-esque."

When you have only two pennies left in the world,

buy a loaf of bread with one,

and a lily with the other.

~Chinese Proverb

"The Palette..."

...of a most colorful "Sweetest Day" 2008,

...the beautiful roses gifted me by my very own "Sweetie"!

Mmmm! XOXOXO :)

"In our life there is a single color,

as on an artist's palette,

which provides the meaning of life and art.

It is the color of love."
~Marc Chagall

"And so Goldilocks..."

sat down in the Baby Bear's chair...and it was 'just right'..."

...and we all know what happened after that...LOL :)

"A house that does not have one worn, comfy chair in it is soulless."

~May Sarton

"I Am Just Stuck.."

...On Cacti! "

Day or Night...

Summer, Fall, Winter, or Spring...

It just doesn't seem to matter.

"You know you're an Arizona native when you "hug" a cactus

only once in your lifetime."

~Nancy Dedera

Happy Cactus Monday All! :)

"Pretty in Pink..."

...A simple Coneflower...

or

Echinacea purpurea...as they say in fancy circles. :)

"Efforted" on specially this night for

my Uncle Skip... :)

Thinking of you with love!

"Letting Loose..."

...A little late night levity.

Limbs...

Lines...

and Leaves.

"A Tisket...A Tasket..."

...Today...I sketched a basket!

EDM #175
"Draw a Basket and Its Contents"