There and Back...

...finishing up

my Illinois travels by illustrating the flight home October 6th.

Actually...

the first drawing

was a "left over" from another trip

but I thought it fit well with the theme of this post

so I added it in.

The last two illos and the photo are all current

and they finally complete my

Illinois sketchbook entries from this summer.
Click on any image to enlarge...:)

On to brand new ventures...

desert style...:)

Ahhh!

“Voyage, travel, and change of place

impart vigor.”

~Seneca

(Roman Philosopher, mid 1st century AD)

Guess What I Am Doing Today...

Did you guess flying??? 

Yep!

I am heading back to Arizona and the warmth of the desert.

It was 44 degrees...breezy and overcast

with a 37 degrees windchill in Sycamore yesterday...

and

when I talked to my dad in Arizona

he reported dry, sunny, desert temps of 104!!!

I guess one could say

we will have experienced quite a few highs and lows

by the time we land.

These sketches above were done on previous trips

back "home" to the desert...

and 

I plan to continue the tradition on my trip today

as well.

Look for my efforts in a blogpost sometime next week.

Click on any image to enlarge...:)

"The air up there in the clouds

is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious.

And why shouldn't it be?

—it is the same the angels breathe."

~Mark Twain

Char's Flower Themed Maruman...

 Char's pages 1and 2...

 followed by Carolle's pages 3 and 4...

 followed by Cindy's pages 5 and 6...

 followed by Barb W's pages 7 and 8...

 followed by Judy's pages 9 and 10...

and then, finally, followed by my pages 11 and 12.

Our books will continue to circulate

amongst our little group until

they return to their owners hopefully sometime

mid January.

At that time we are tentatively planning

a group "show and tell"

accompanied by good friends, our Muses, and some

delicious wine sipping

bathed in the soothing Arizona winter sun.

Ahh!

The life of an artist...what joy it can bring...:)

"My artmaking
 is simply a personal celebration
of the joy of being alive."
~Dean Taylor Drewye

One More Month Done...

...in an attempt to shore up

all by summer Illinois sketches and zen drawings

by

the time we leave for Arizona this Saturday.

By the looks of it...

I think I just might succeed!!!

:)

Warm Apple Cider Donuts...

...accompanied by

sweet, richly bronze...chilled to perfection...fresh cider...

orchards

decorated with multicolored apples

and

flame colored knobby pumpkins...
honking geese
flying in ancestral formations...

crisp fall air scented with the smokey richness

of crackling fire pits...

a simple sun warmed day...sapphire blue skies...

blazing maples
still bountiful with leaves...

cornstalks...
dried and golden...softly rustling in the fields...
Ahhh!

The tastes, the sounds,

the aromas...

 the colors and sights and the soul filling delights

 of a northern Illinois fall

are once again imprinted deep in my heart.

Forever.

Gosh, I simply LOVE this time of year!

"How beautifully leaves grow old.
How full of light and color are their last days."
~John Burroughs

A Simple Medical Procedure...

...this time it was Scott's "turn"...

and I took advantage of yet another 

sketching opportunity.

And...

I can definitely assure you that

this was NOT

"drawn en route from Arizona to Illinois...over Iowa"

as that label

in the bottom right corner states...

(that refers to a sketch on the following page.)

:)

Some More Random Illinois Art...

of events documented in my Illlinois Sketchbook...

eating out....

the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics...

...even celebrating with Inboden's award winning Bratwurst.

Squeezing in a recent fashion illo on an old orchard page...

 

...and finishing up with a bit of zen calendar art...

...inspired by whatever catches my fancy at the moment.

My goal is to completely update

my blog

with all my past and present Illinois sketches and drawings

before we head back to the great southwest

this Saturday.

Always good to have a goal...better still to reach it!

"Obstacles

are those frightful things you see

when you take your eyes off your goal."

~Henry Ford

Carolle's Paper Doll Themed Maruman...

 Carolle's pages 1 and 2...

 followed by Cindy's pages 3 and 4...

 followed by Barb W's pages 5 and 6...

 followed by Judy's pages 7 and 8...

...and then, lastly, my pages 9 and 10...

which were inspired by the art of

Mary Englebreit.

It was quite an interesting experience

to rethink how clothes

would need to be drawn to fit a paper doll...great fun, too!

We meet

monthly to exchange our sketchbooks in person

except

for the middle of the summer

when everyone seemed to seek cooler climates

and few of us are in town.

This book was exchanged the beginning of

August...

and since I was in Illinois I had to mail her

back to Arizona...

which was like watching your child leave home for the first time.

I was so anxious about her flying cross country...

and like a little mother hen

I eagerly awaited email news of her safe landing.

All ended up well...

and she has now moved along to the

next couple of artists in line.

Click on any image to enlarge to better see details...:)

Time Travel...

...at snail's pace...

of some waiting room sketches

drawn "ink straight in"...lead free...at my brother's dental practice

over a span of three years.

And...

(just like many of the other pieces in my Illinois sketchbook)

they have just now been watercolored

and

finally uploaded to my blog.

Click on any image to enlarge...:)

"Every tooth in a man's head

 is more valuable than

a diamond."

~Miguel de Cervantes,

 Don Quixote, 1605

Sending Some Soft-Focused...

...midwest crackling coziness

from my part of the world to yours...:)

I love this time of year!!!

Ahhhh!

Oldies But Goodies...

...some more sketches from my

Illinois Sketchbook...

each drawn ink straight in...lead free...

quite some time ago...

but never watercolored or posted until now.

Click on any image to enlarge...:)

The Past Three Weeks...

...in quick review...

and

hopefully never to be repeated again!

3 doctor's appointments...

(one convenient care doc...one internist...and one surgeon)

1 CT scan...

4 abdominal x-rays...

4 kidney stones...

1 episode of diverticulitis...2 clear liquids diets...

2 extremely potent antibiotics...

taken for 10 days...

2 bottles of magnesium citrate...

 (followed by the hours of the distress it causes)

1 out patient procedure...

and, finally,

real food...pancakes at Egg Haven...

and

one cup of "Recoup Soup"

for dinner.

Thank the lord all is well and that is now OVER!!!

Yes,

I did the sketch while at the hospital...

ink straight in...lead free. :)

Sooo...does
"An apple a day (really) keep the doctor away"...???

"A Sketchbook Dump..."

...for your viewing pleasure.

These are remnants...

my unposted sketches drawn while waiting for flights

at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona.

They were all drawn ink first...lead free...

 in my Illinois travel sketchbook...

(check out the dates...)

and

finally watercolored a couple of weeks ago

and uploaded

today!

Click on any image to enlarge.

"I fly

 because it releases my mind from the tyranny

of petty things."

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Here, Kitty, Kitty..."

 I am severely allergic to cats.

I sneeze and get all itchy and terribly congested

whenever I am near them.

I take allergy medicine...but to no avail.

All that being said...

I don't mind drawing them...and actually am

extremely fascinated by their

beautiful eyes.

To me cats seem almost like messengers...spiritual entities...

if you will.

These photo are of my pages are, actually, yet another

"work in progress" for you to enjoy

They were made

in Cindy's "cat themed"

zentangle inspired

Japanese fold Maruman sketchbook.

Pencil outlines came first...above...

 ...then an ink overlay...

 ...some color trials...

 ...all followed by the first layers of watercolor.

 Next on the agenda was

 more layers of color...ever deepening the values.
(Click on any image to enlarge.)

Lastly,

a zen filled "Bali Cat" emerges all perfectly primped

and

florally blinged out

ready for a fun night on the town

and,

possibly, a special magical encounter.

You know...

I thoroughly enjoyed this project...

no sneezes...

no itchiness...and no congestion...

Purrrrr...:)

"I believe cats to be spirits come to earth.

A cat, I am sure,

could walk on a cloud

without coming through."

~Jules Verne

Designs, Doodles, Drawings...

...and some playful pen dancing...all done "Waterblossom style"

 in my

2012 Tangle*A*Day calendar.

All drawings are done "ink straight in...lead free"...:)

(Apologies for the quality of my Illinois scanner)

Click on images to enlarge.

“I dip my pen in the blackest ink,

 because

I'm not afraid of falling into my inkpot.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson