Draw A Bird, September 2022

We just returned from an adventurous trip to Alaska and are blessed to have visited there twice. This trip was planned for August 2020, but “you-know-what” happened and the trip was cancelled. Things seemed pretty much back to normal, but some restaurants had closed and some places were short-staffed, but that seems to be the current situation all over the U.S.

Previously I made scrapbooks of our travel adventures but stopped doing so a few years ago. When we moved last year, I realized just how many trip scrapbooks I’ve made, how much work I put into them, and how little we look at them. However, after each trip that I did not scrap, there was a feeling of disappointment and let-down because nothing was documented and because we had just a smattering of photos on our cell phones. However, I think I’ve found a happy medium.

On a YouTube video, Lindsay Weirich (The Frugal Crafter) featured handmade watercolor sketchbooks gifted by an Etsy shopkeeper, ArtsiRosi. I purchased a small book made with Arches cold press watercolor paper (the best), packed up a Portable Painter Watercolor Palette, a Derwent push-button water brush, and a few other essentials. Sketching our way through Alaska and detailing some of the highlights was so satisfying and fun. I drew and painted in the car while traveling from city to city, in the evenings, and on the plane.

View from the Plane

Because it is Draw A Bird day (unofficially), here are two of the many species of birds we saw. I have always wanted to see a Puffin in its own environment, and boy were there puffins (horned and tufted)! The ravens are bold and huge and likely could feed a family of four, but that’s probably not recommended 😉

Tufted Puffin

Nevermore, A Common Raven

It’s joyful to remember where these quick-ish sketches (definitely not masterpieces) were created, and the plan is to feature some favorites over the next couple of weeks. Do you document your trips? What methods do you use? Take care ❤

Eggs, #WorldWatercolorGroup

The WWG prompt of the day is eggs, and here are some of my favorites – deviled eggs.  I love eggs in almost any form, but nothing says summer picnic like a good deviled egg.

To me, the most difficult part of making deviled eggs is peeling the shells off, and I seem to have the  best luck if the eggs are not ultra fresh. Do you know of a foolproof method? Also, sorry the lighting is so bad; I painted and photographed these while on a plane ✈️ 

TGIF, and I hope you have a terrific weekend! 

Airplane #WorldWatercolorGroup

I didn’t get a chance to participate in August’s challenges but am eager to try a few for September.  Today’s challenge is airplane, and rather than doodling a real airplane I thought it would be fun to try one of the old-fashioned balsa wood types we played with as children.  Remember – the ones with the plastic propellers and rubber band engines?  Some also had adjustable metal pieces to clip on the nose of the plane in order to make it do something fancy, I guess.

Balsa Wood Airplane, or Glider

Most of our planes (or gliders – the official name) didn’t last more than an hour or two because of a crash landing, getting stuck high in a tree, or landing on a roof that was already cluttered with a few Frisbees and Wiffle balls.  If we were lucky a strong breeze would rescue a plane and send it back down to us, but most of the time my dad would have to get out the ladder and retrieve our errant toys from the roof – Thanks Dad!

TGIF – Hope you all enjoy the nice, long Labor Day weekend!