life

looking

How gorgeous is this?! And it's pretty much at the end of our street! Sketchbook Delight is inspiring me to look around, and to look up, too. I took my camera along on the walk to the grocery store, and there is plenty to see! See, this is why I wanted to come back to old land again. Well, it's one of the reasons. But through the mayhem of the last months, I forgot. And I forgot to really look, too.

But: how awesome!

playing

I'm taking Alisa Burke's online sketching class. I love what she does in her own sketchbook, and I'm looking forward to some insight into techniques, especially shading. I'm really bad at shading!
I'm also a little at a loss when it comes to inspiration at the moment. Can't expect fire trucks and the like to drive through this little square every week just to entertain my pens ;)

This first week has been fun. She suggested to make an inventory of supplies, to see what you can do with what you've got. And I've got a lot... It's been sort of liberating to dive right in to play with colours and pen, without having a plan! I never knew you could actually have fun with pens that aren't waterproof!

So I'm looking forward to what's next! It's been really good to fill my 'art time' with a little more than staring at a blank page feeling annoyed, not coming up with something good all on my own... I'm sure my inspiration will resurface (eventually), but there is nothing wrong with learning something in the mean time ;)

truck

In the stormy winds that raged here the past days, some roofing tore loose off a neighbour's dormer. It was hanging quite precariously, so the fire service was called out.
The truck was parked right in front of our house, and if you know anything about Squirt's LOVE for cars, you can imagine this was Da Bomb ;) He pretty much had his nose stuck to the glass the whole time :)

self

Inspired by this post on Darrah Parker's blog, I found a quiet, lightfilled moment for a long hard look at myself through my own lens... It's good to do that at times. Document Self. Hard to look at, too. Much harder than looking in the mirror, because it's less fleeting. It makes me feel - vulnerable.

I think it's hard because I'm not used to integrate being me with seeing me. When you look at someone else, you see their features as much as their actions, their words and your own thoughts of them.

I am, to myself, my thoughts, my emotions, my words and my actions. But not - not really - my face. When I look at a picture of myself, I find it almost hard to believe that it's Me. That this is what other people see when they look at me... It makes me feel - out of my depth, even naked, of sorts.
Oh, this is fascinating stuff to ponder! But also, ever so slightly, disconcerting...

artist

prized

These are some drawings I did last month, for the Sketchbook Challenge. The theme of January was Highly Prized. And while I'm having a hard, hard time getting to my emotions these days, when it comes to Most Loved in my life, Squirt wins, hands down :) Along with the fact that I can actually still carry him... for now...

And of course there is drawing; the creative act itself. Love that. Need more practise, but that's okay. That's why I'm doing these :) Faces... Oww, faces... But the only way to get them right is - practise... (or draw baby boy's butt, of course).

I'm looking forward to finding out about February's theme! And if you've met the challenge, let me know - I'd love to see your work!

mesmerised

... and speaking of terrible, which I did, a while ago... Guess what these two are watching on an early Friday morning?

yes, I knew you'd get it, it IS the Teletubbies... And no. I'm not proud. Not really.

;)

terrible

Yeah, well, I told you things weren't great here... I think I might really be coming down with something...

;)

soup

Finally: happy New Year to you!

& some chicken noodle soup for those who need it. Like me. I need it so much, I have been eating it for breakfast for the last long while! I get that that's weird, okay? But so be it. If all our needs were this easy to fulfill, there wouldn't be many unhappy people left ;)

Last year didn't end well, and 2011 didn't get off to the start I would have liked to see. On the upside, things can really only get better, so I'll run with that! I've been taking some down-time to try and see the bottom of things, and I'm not there yet. But I've been looking, and that's definitely a beginning of sorts.

Here's to beginnings & chicken noodle soup. That's about as good as it gets, here, now, but it's better than nothing...