What A View

This morning I stumbled across photos we'd taken last summer during some pretty incredible exploring down in Southern Oregon. Those layers of mountains just went on for days! Atmospheric perspective (how things farther away appear lighter, bluer, and less detailed) has always been one of my favorite things outdoors! I remembering explaining it to my husband when I was trying to paint something early in our marriage. He had seen it's affects plenty of times but had never really thought about how it actually looks bluer farther away. It blew his mind! Art student perk I guess! 😜  It just makes those grand mountaintop vistas so incredibly cool!

Sunday Afternoon Calm

We went on a little family walk around Cheadle Lake (in our small town) the other Sunday. The lake is looking unfortunately yucky this time of year and the bugs were out in number but the girls had a blast riding their little scooters along the path. And amusingly, we discovered that our dog is terrified of duck feathers. 😜  I think he just had no clue what to make of the smell? 

I did this quick sketch this morning remembering that although it wasn't a perfectly beautiful view, it was calm and relaxed and we were together. And that counts for something!

The Bold and The Beautiful

Tried something a little different here. I usually leave those white lines between my different color-shapes and had been wondering what it would look like if I filled them in with marker instead of just outlining with my thin-tipped pen. It's definitely bold, and very graphic. It wouldn't be the best choice for every picture but I do like it. New possibilities!

The Sand Beneath My Feet

I'm so glad we live in a place that's near the beach again (Instead of all land-locked in the northern Midwest). I have such wonderfully nostalgic memories of quick trips to the coast with cousins growing up. We'd run up over that little hill and were there! Sandcastle-making, burying feet, s'mores-making, kite-flying and shell-hunting galore! Such great times.

As the Sun Goes Down

And after those lazy afternoons, who doesn't love a good sunset? I especially love it when subtle rays shine through holes in the clouds. Kinda went for the idea of that here, but in a much more stylized manner. 

Slow Afternoon

I love lazy summer afternoons with a few clouds slowly drifting by. Or at least I like the idea of lazy summer afternoons. They sound very nice. I went for that feel with this quick sketch, while playing around a bit with lines with my pen. The grass at the bottom looks like it's a heartbeat. Ha. Not quite my intent. :)

Lady Liberty

Happy 4th!

Today I'm grateful for the many freedoms I enjoy, and for those who made it possible at great sacrifice. I'm grateful for the tremendous blessings God has given me, especially the family with which I get to enjoy them all. 

Blue for Hawaii

Some days when I didn't manage to get up and do a quick sketch before the daily crazies started happening, I'll just take an old one and "enhance" it. You know, add lines, outlines, or whatever to make it go from being bleh to uh huh. 😜  I usually only do that to sketches that were just bleh, or were obviously begging for some help. I can't decide on this one! I actually painted this on the wonderful Hawaiian sand back in December. I can almost smell the sweet air...no, not really. But I wish I could! Already the sketch is kinda cool, or do I just think that because of the memories? And would black lines make it cooler? Hmm...