MERRY CHRISTMAS 2025!

I hope you all are having a good holiday, however you celebrate! We were blessed to spend another Christmas with our only niece, nephew, and their families the Sunday before Christmas at our great-niece's beautiful home. We don't see each other often, so we had a good time eating, laughing, opening gifts, and just being together. It has become a tradition to make a family photo each year before people start leaving, and I'm glad. I wish we had started it before their parents died. We are their only aunt and uncle on their mother's side, so we are the old people now.

Hubby's sister lived to see her six grandchildren, but not to see them all graduate college, get married (except for 2 of them), and have their own children. We have two energetic little great-great-nieces now. We never had children, so our niece and nephew are the closest best thing, and we love them dearly, as well as, the greats and their partners and children! We sure do miss Jim's parents, his sister, and her husband, at our gatherings now, but life has to go on...

Some of my gifts from both families included a small crate full of sketchbooks, colored pencils and markers, a really neat candle warmer, and snacks, so I'm all set to get started back creating after Christmas! It's been a minute...

Our niece gave me an extra large umbrella with my artwork printed on it! I didn't recognize the art as being mine until she pointed it out. Ha! They do too much, but I love it! 

 From our family to yours MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! I pray that we are all here to celebrate again next year! :)

Work in Progress-Sidewalk Crack Critters Book

 Another half finished project that I started back in the summer and don't see myself finishing before the new year!

I handmade this simple small booklet cover from thick scrapbooking paper, turquoise duck tape, and bookbinding thread. It has one signature, made from thin sketchbook paper, with two holes punched through them and the cover for the thread to run through to bind them together.

I pulled the images from photos of sidewalk cracks, peeling paint, or paper wads, which I printed off copies of, from a class in Sketchbook Revival 2025 by Carla Sonheim. I found the images within the cracks and sketched them in in pen or pencil, Many of them were smaller than my signature pages, so I cut them out, glued them to the pages, and, in some cases, extended the image onto the page. I have colored some of them in with colored pencils and markers, and some are still waiting for color. 

Sidewalk cracks, or any other cracks, can have some very interesting images hiding among them. All you have to do is look! I warn you, though, it's addictive! I used Carla's images for this, but I want to photograph my own variety of cracks to see what kind of quirky characters I can pull out. The photos can be printed off as small, or large, as you want them, and then the hunt begins!

Here are the pages of this book in progress, but there are also some of my critters several posts back when I took the class.

From sidewalk crack photo

From sidewalk crack photos

Paper scrap and sidewalk crack photos

Sidewalk crack photos

Sidewalk crack photo

From sidewalk crack photos

Skater from peeling paint and bird from paper scrap photos

Ducks and bird from sidewalk crack photos

Buffalo from wadded up paper photo

If you want to see some more examples check out Carla Sonheim's website http:www.carlasonheim.com. She's much better at it than I am, and often uses hers as inspiration for her large paintings!

So much fun!!!

I haven't done any art in several days, because it's been busy here, as usual, especially during the holidays. I am trying to get my blog posts, among other things, caught up for the end of the year, so that I can, hopefully, get a blog book printed. So maybe I can get back on my creative stuff by New Years. We'll see!

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season!

A Few WIPS and a Couple of Doodles

 I haven't shared anything in a bit, because I've been in a slump and haven't been doing much of anything creative, so here are some pieces I'm working on. Doesn't look like I'm going to have time to finish them by the end of the year, but who knows...

The goat is pretty much done, just needs some fine tuning. I referenced him from a farm magazine. The dog is referenced from my cousin's photo of her Schnauzer, Sammi, and is just in the beginning stages. The cat in the scarf and sunglasses reminds me of Susan Sarandon in "Thelma and Louise", and was referenced from a Pinterest photo. I have just barely started on it. The Siamese (Simmi Cat) with the Calico kitten (Lucy Bocephus), who adopted us years ago, are from an original photo of mine. I have also barely started on it. All watercolor on mixed media paper in my sketchbook.

The next three are just idle doodles because I couldn't focus on anything. They are all mixed media, wildflowers, a wild garden, and an abstract of sorts.

I hope you are all having a good holiday season and making time to create. I know it's hard. It's a stressful time for me, and I know it is for many other people, as well. 

To add to the stress, I've been printing a few calendars with my art and giving them to family/friends for Christmas for the last several years with no problems at all. This year, however, I put one together, but when I went to order it a few days later at the online printer's, it had disappeared along with all the photos I had uploaded. I almost decided to just forget it and not do one this year.

But I did go ahead and put together another calendar from scratch, including uploading all the photos again, and ordered them in a half price sale (only way I can afford them). I got emails that they were being processed and when they were shipped. The very beat up box from the printer arrived December 3, but it didn't contain the calendars. Instead, it contained a pair of blush pink light blocking curtains, which I didn't order and don't need. I am having a heck of a time getting it straightened out. I don't want to lose the calendars, but I sure don't want to lose the money, plus even if I do get them, they may not make it for Christmas. I know mistakes happen, and this is a very busy time for everybody, but it sure is aggravating to try to sort out.

Anyway, I hope your holidays go smoother than mine are right now. Still got Christmas cards to fix up to mail, gifts to buy, eye Dr. appointments Monday, and a B12 shot Thursday, and I'm already exhausted. But, it's all good, and we're still blessed and grateful!

More Sketches of Faces, Abstracts, Flowers, and a Street

 It's been a minute since I last posted. I've been in a slump creatively, and otherwise, and have gotten very little done. I fell off the wagon art wise and have not been sketching every day, as I had been trying to do. This time of year is always very hard for me, as it is for a lot of people, but the following sketches are what I've done since my last post, a month ago. I tried...

A photo of a very old boudoir doll on Pinterest caught my attention, so I tried sketching her with a Micron pen one day. She had on no clothes, and her arms were torn off, so it was basically her bisque head/chest and cloth stuffed shoulders. Kind of sad, but she was interesting and fun.

This one, and the ones below, are from my imagination, after I sketched some in the last post inspired by Pinterest photos. The one above is with a Micron pen, and the three below are with a pencil. Watching them emerge was interesting. I just noticed that the three below are basically the same face trying on different hats. Ha!

This day, I decided to try out the new set of gouache paints that I bought a few weeks ago. I've never tried gouache before, but assumed it was like watercolor. It's not really, as when it's dry you can't go back and lift the color off, if you want to. Here, I was trying for a landscape by painting stripes of the different colors. I planned to blend the edges together, but they dried so fast I couldn't. I let it sit for a few days before I decided to just draw a face over it and move on. I kind of like it. Maybe, I should try it on a different substrate than paper?

A couple more practices with gouache abstracts, a spray water bottle, some scratches and spatters, and some India ink. I'm learning more about what it will and won't do. Intuitive and I'm still deciding whether I like it, or not...

A mixed-media imaginary bouquet, using Micron pens, Posca paint pens, Zig marker, watercolors, and India ink. I painted watercolor splotches first, then added the marks with the pens. Had no idea how it would turn out when I started it, but I'm ok with it, and I learned some things...

This day, I couldn't find anything that I wanted to sketch, and I thought about the collaged street that I did in a class of Sketchbook Revival, and just started sketching buildings on a street, making it up as I went. A couple of days later, I added watercolor and a few details, just for fun. It was hard to stop on it, but I did. I want to do another collaged one soon, but this little sketch satisfied me for now.

These two, I did yesterday and today. I'm still in a slump, and my heart is not really in it. I couldn't really focus on anything, so I just started doodling with a large Posca paint pen and a Micron pen, inspired by a class I took with Helen Wells and her sketchbooks. Hubby says the one above is too busy, and maybe it is, but that's how my mind was/is right now.

I love the black and white sketchbook pages and shapes. The gray stripe down the side is not part of the design. Apparently, my book is too thick for my scanner and the lid is not closing properly on it, so it's leaving the stripe. I don't want to tear the pages out to scan them, so it is what it is. Just try to ignore it...

I haven't been taking any more of the Sketchbook Revival classes this month, but they are there when I decide to resume them. For now, I'm trying to do some cleaning/organizing, when I'm able, and get in as much sketching as I can. 

The days are whizzing by so fast, especially since the days are so much shorter. Christmas will be here in a blink, and I haven't even started getting things together. I wish the holidays didn't stress me out so much, but they always have. Hubby absolutely loves them. I wish I did...

Anyway, that's it for this post! If I don't get another one done before then, I hope you all have a very blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. We still have much to be thankful for. See ya next post!

Character Faces and an Abstract

 I'm still practice sketching character faces from photos found on Pinterest. These are from the last few days!

I loved this woman with the gapped teeth and had fun with her! She has so much personality, and she reminds me of one of my favorite cousins! I didn't get her face round enough, but I like her!

I loved the photo of this clown woman and decided to attempt sketching her. Pencil first, then Micron pen. Love her!

I posted a first sketch of the butterfly/moth masked woman in the last post in pencil, but I decided to try another one. This time in Micron pen over pencil. A bit different look, and just as challenging and fun!

This is just an abstract page where I was trying to get my feelings out in different marks with different media!

I was drawn to another woman with a bird photo, also on Pinterest, which I sketched with pencil, Micron pen, and a bit of colored pencil. I like how it turned out.

Another interesting face that I wanted to try. Again, I didn't get her face round enough, but it was fun trying!

I just did this one this morning while hubby was getting ready to go to his class get together. It's a woman wearing a rabbit mask, and I love rabbits. The mask has whiskers, but they are very fine and not showing up much here. I found her very interesting and another challenge!

Again, a Pinterest photo, and I think it said it was digital.

I loved the clown sketch so much that I went back and added watercolor! I thought it was a photo of a human woman, but upon a closer look, I noticed doll-like qualities, and then I saw in the description that she was a robot. Since I love dolls, I like her even more! Sketching in watercolor is another challenge altogether!

This week, Wednesday, also completed another trip around the sun for me. My friend, Lennie, had brought me a coconut cake and a card a few days before, and we finished the last two pieces. It was my 76th, and the day was just a usual day for us, because I didn't want to do anything special, but the next day we went out of town, taking the scenic routes to Savannah and back. We went to Walmart, where I bought a couple of hoodies, light pullover tops, and a pair of pajama pants, and a new alarm clock, that I wished I had gotten when we were there last week. Then we had good salads and sandwiches at The Spot, before getting ice shaves to eat on the way home. It was a beautiful day, weather wise and fun wise!

At the first of the week, we had a rat snake stretched out across the washing machine in our laundry room! I had been in and out multiple times doing laundry, then hubby went in for something, and there it was. Luckily, he saw it and managed to get it with the grabbler/reacher thingy and took it out to the barn cats, who got in a fight over it and let it escape. I had no idea that a snake was helping me do laundry! Just thankful it wasn't one of the rattlesnakes or copperheads we have around here, and praying we don't have anymore come inside to visit! Mice and snakes, some of the not so fun perks of living among woods and fields...

Not too many dull moments around Rabbit Hop! Anyway, hubby will be back soon, so I need to stop chattering and put some coffee on, get clothes out of the washer, maybe put some more in, etc. I should have been cleaning, but I haven't. Our friend is coming tomorrow and Monday, but she's an old dear friend, who comes often, so she's used to our messy nest! Ha!

Looking forward to a new week of sketching/painting, and hopefully some cleaning!

Hope you enjoyed your visit! Take care and don't stop creating! It's good for us, and it doesn't have to be perfect to benefit our souls!

Mr. Crow, Abstract, Banana Peel, and Character Faces

I saw this crow on Pinterest, and was drawn to his expression (I love it!), so I sketched him with a pencil, then attempted to paint him in watercolor. Black is very hard to paint for me. I added a red orange background, which, of course, changed the look of the crow colors and it totally distracted from the crow, so I added more layers of watercolor, then acrylics with my fingers until I got it to where I can live with it. I also wound up using a Micron ink pen and colored pencils to adjust colors on the black crow, so it slowly became a mixed media piece. By the time I quit on him, because, according to his expression, he was getting annoyed with me for nitpicking so much, his body and legs had shifted, and he was standing more upright than in the photo. He was a lot of work over several days, but also a lot of fun, and I love him!

The abstract below started off as a page to clean excess paint off my palette and brush on, but then I kept adding marks with other colors and media, randomly over a few days, until it got to this point! I like it!

This day I couldn't decide what I wanted to sketch, so I sketched the empty banana peeling laying on the arm of my chair in different positions. At one point, hubby came by and picked it up to trash, and I had to tell him, "Hey, I was sketching that!" Anyway, it was good practice with a Micron pen!

I was looking on Pinterest for interesting character faces to practice sketching on, and I found several. A woman wearing a moth/butterfly mask caught my attention, so I sketched her in pencil. I am debating on going over her in ink and watercolor, but I kind of like her as she came out. 

I say this, because I can't copy anything exactly, even if I wanted to, which I don't. They may turn out close to the photo, but not exactly. They are only idea reminders in my sketchbook for my own original work.

Another Pinterest photo that intrigued me was this girl with a parrot. I got her eyes a little too close together, but she reminds me of Vera Farmiga, the actress, a bit. The photo doesn't! Micron pen

Another Pinterest find! I love sketching these characters, and this woman wearing an owl mask while holding an owl, all white, was also challenging and fun to try!

I seem to have a tendency for long, kind of narrow faces, with eyes too close, long noses, and big mouths, regardless of the face in the photo. Maybe that's my style? Maybe I need to sketch more from life...

Besties, Another Sketchbook Revival 2025 Class, Random Sketches

I've been wanting a picture of my two best friends and me for a long time. We've never had one made of the three of  us together before, and we've been besties since grade school. We are all 76 now, and our lives are very different from each other, but we all still live within a couple of miles of each other, so we see and talk to each other often. We've always tried to be there for each other through all of life's ups and downs.

Nina, the one wearing pants, comes every Sunday, and Lennie, in the dress, comes when she can, and we text/talk in between. Lennie also happens to be married to one of my favorite cousins, and we all graduated together. They all still work and stay very busy. This day, they both happened to be here, along with hubby's cousin, and I happened to think of the picture I wanted, so this is one of them. They were both glad I did it!

Don't know what I would do without them, and I can't imagine life without them!

This is another Sketchbook Revival 2025 bonus class that I sketched off and took notes for at the beginning of the classes. I knew I wanted to do one. It just took me a while! It was a class with Melanie Rivers, called "Butterfly Love", I think, and it's mixed media. It's almost 4" x 4" square on mixed media paper, and the butterfly I collaged on was a little too large, so I had to clip it's wings a bit. I loved doing it though, and I like how it turned out! I will do another one...

I sketched this one from imagination, all in one line, then added a little shading and some watercolor and gouache, plus a bit of acrylic. Not happy with the blackish on the flowers and may go back and do something else at some point. The random blobs came from smashing this page onto the opposite page, which I am doing a mixed media abstract on, and I needed to get rid of some excess paint. I like it. Just an experiment and learning experience!

I sketched this one all in one line from my imagination with a Micron pen and left it as is. Fun!

This one is an experiment that went very wrong. I used my Sanguine colored brush pen and sketched these at first with one line, then tried to fix it. I learned from it though!

Another one from imagination and my micron pen and one line, then I added the flowers, heart, etc. I like it and may add some color.

I did this one yesterday from my recliner with my Micron pen. It sits on top of our fireplace mantle, and the only light was from the kitchen, so it was dark and I couldn't see it very well. I did get it taller in ink than the original, but that's ok. It was still good practice.

It's a sketch of a bouquet of dried multicolored (oranges, yellows, etc) roses from a cousin, for my mom's funeral. They were arranged in a small basket, about a dozen of them, and it was so beautiful that I have kept them in a glass jar that I found at mama's house. I got the idea off Pinterest. I meant to tie a ribbon around  the lid, but have never gotten around to it. I still love them!

I sketched this one this morning, also from my recliner with my Micron pen, with very little light. The reference is one of my oil paintings, done many years ago with oil glazes, and it won first prize at our art guild art show. It's one of the few still lifes that I actually set up and painted from, and it's a painting of a favorite white ceramic lamb, purchased at a flea market, a small clear bottle that I did some etching on, holding pink and purple African violets, and a new pair of ballet slippers, also purchased at the flea market. I painted it many many years ago, but I still love it.

Anyway, that's it for my sketching practice this week! I'm still working on a few watercolors, a little at a time, as they tell me what they need. Three of them (a crow, a goat, and an abstract) are right at the point that I can live with them, but it may be a few days yet before I can share them.

I had to go back to the retina specialist for a three month check up September 18. I didn't have to have a shot in my eye three months ago, but the bleeding spot was a little bigger than before, so the Dr. gave me a booster shot, which I kind of felt this time, and it took my eye a bit longer to get over it. I don't have to go back for six months though, unless the black spot in my vision comes back, in which case I need to go back ASAP. Now I have to make an appointment with my regular eye doctor for our six month checkup there, only it's now been seven months. It's getting hard to keep track!

The specialist is a good ways out of town, so on the way home hubby and I swung by the Dragonfly coffee shop in Collinwood, TN for a slice of their delicious strawberry cheesecake and coffee. We treat ourselves to this any time we're near there, and we only get one slice between us, because that's plenty, as it so rich, and we are both diabetic, and we pull into a parking lot somewhere and eat it and drink our coffee. We love it. This time I also got one of their large brownies, which I ate on for two days, and it was scrumptious! Hubby did eat a couple of bites. I will definitely be buying another brownie next time! 

I love the Dragonfly. They have all kinds of interesting stuff in there besides baked goods and all kinds of hot or cold drinks, and they are very friendly.

In other exciting news, we had a mouse visitor this week. It jumped off the counter top into my piled up dining room/studio and disappeared. I've spent two days moving EVERYTHING out and around and back in there. I cleaned the floor under stuff down one wall and put the china cabinet and shelves back. I meant to do another yesterday, but had company and my back was spent, so that ship sailed. I meant to take the curtains down and wash them and the windows today, but so far that's not happening either. Ha! Lots of boxes to sort through and organize...Ugh!

It doesn't seem like Sunday today. Our friend usually comes after church on Sundays, but she had other plans today and came yesterday instead. We hardly know what to do with ourselves when she doesn't come! Not many Sundays in our married life that we haven't had company on Sunday. I have done this blog post though, which catches me back up with posts, so that's a good thing. So much to be grateful for!

I hear the popcorn popper calling, so I guess that's next on the agenda for today! We do love our popcorn!

Thanks for visiting! I hope you enjoyed my rambling. Take care and be well and creative!