Wintering

Time for a few pictures from the last month or so around here.

Roo made a crown for herself.

A round of viruses has finally made it into and around the family, and this, coupled with Moo's recent variability in the nap-taking department, has made art time slide to the back burner.  Time for a new routine.  One that does not involve (finally!) falling asleep (from utter exhaustion!) at two-thirty p.m., since we have to go pick-up Roo from Kindergarten at a smidge-past-three.

A mild and temporary frustration.  This too, in time, shall pass.  In a blink of an eye, really.

Wintertime visit to the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, WI

Also, Michaels has suddenly stopped stocking 12"x16" mats.  Huh.

Density experiment: honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, milk, dish soap, (blue) water, canola oil, (red) rubbing alcohol, (and a metal screw, plastic die, beer bottle cap, and a blueberry).

 
But really, we've been wintering very happily here.

What greeted me when I returned from orchestra rehearsal a few weeks ago.

Hope you are all warm and well!

Luna Moth

Also back in January, I started working on what I hope will turn into a larger series of colored pencil drawings of a few of the many amazing varieties of moths that live in North America.  I suspect it might also digress into native butterflies at some point.

 Here's the wikipedia link to the Luna moth article.  And here's another great site for information on these (and other!) moth and butterfly species.

So far this month I have tried twice to create a satisfactory drawing of an Io moth.  In a few days I'll try again.  Here, at least, is a zoom on a part of the Io moth that I think I got right, (on my second attempt...)

Those eye spots are all right, but those upper wings?  Seriously people.  Bah!

Have a great week!

More January Art

The smalls and I went sledding after school earlier in January, and while Moo and I waited our turn I got to look around and enjoy the artistry of the late afternoon sun on the snowy slope.  Our side-by-side shadows stuck in my head until I had a chance to sit down and draw.

I seem to be endlessly fascinated by the colors of shadows as they fall on the snow.  Or maybe, being from Western Washington, I am just still bewitched by the novelty of a climate where sun and snow can coexist.

In any case, right now it is brilliantly sunny and -1 degrees Fahrenheit out, so sledding is out of the question.  I know, because we tried it yesterday when it was 7 degrees out, and we lasted about 10 minutes.  It is much more comfortable to just think pleasantly about it while sitting in the warm sunshine at my drawing table.

Wintertime is going much better for me this year, probably due in part to the wonderfully kind response I've been getting to my recent studio output.  Thank you!  It really means a lot to me, and has kept me happily occupied through these quiet, cold days.