A Week of Mixed Art

It has been a week of creating mixed quality art for me. The above is a fairly quick drawing of a Husky from a reference photograph I made at Borderland State Park this week. Not as good as last weeks cat drawing, but then I prefer cats to dogs so spent more time on that one. The dogs coat is a real challenge in this drawing, it is very fluffy and hard to get right. I rather like the photograph so may try again at some point to make a good drawing of this animal.

I have spent a lot of the past week out and about enjoying our beautiful weather. The above is my attempt at a plein air watercolor sketch. Made at Houghton's Pond in the Blue Hills. I should have left out that tree trunk on the right. I have never been able to successfully paint tree trunks. I can recall other horrible plein air paintings with tree trunks, thankfully long destroyed. Size of this is 4 x 6 inches, postcard size. About the only area I am pleased with is the background woods across the water. Obviously I need a lot more practice with watercolor.

I purchased a small set of travel watercolors a bit over a week ago and this was my first venture out with them. The bush that comes in the box is way too small even for a small work, I need to figure out some way to take additional brushes that are larger with me. It is hard to get a good wash with a small brush.

Above is last Monday nights long pose figure drawing. I am not very happy with it. Her face is OK but that is about the only part I am pleased with. Not sure what is going on, I know part of the issue was my paper. I had finished the pad of paper that I  have been using for over the past year and had to change paper manufactures. The paper I am using here is good paper, Strathmore Drawing, but it has a surface and tooth that I am no longer used to. I found it a bit distracting to draw on. Ah well since I can't seem to find a replacement for my previous pad I will just have to get used to it, and hopefully make a better drawing this week.

Now for a few photographs from my various ramblings to MA Audubon and State Park Sites this past week or so. Above is a photo of a couple of trees just starting to leaf out. Most trees are now much further along, but I just love that pale green against a very blue sky it certainly says spring to me.

I was back at Stony Brook (MA Audubon) this weekend and found the bleeding hearts in bloom in the Butterfly garden. I was actually there because I was hoping that the May Apples were in bloom but found them still in the tight bud stage, though the leaves had grown since my previous visit.

Also again in evidence were the snapping turtles, huge ones a couple of feet across, I don't recall seeing them as active in past years. Believe me when I say that large snappers in action are very impressive.

My last image is a tom turkey displaying in Marshfield, MA. I had been over at Daniel Webster that afternoon and was on my way home when I noticed this turkey just outside the cemetery  Not sure who he was displaying for, I didn't see any hen turkeys around but he was certainly an impressive sight, and not at all shy. I made a lot of photographs of him, not getting to close, but he certainly knew I was there and just seemed to ignore me. Usually wild turkeys take off when they see people so he was definitely in breeding mode. A big bird that I didn't want to get too close to.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome.