Artful Journey

Procreate practice  With number of books read.  January January books included two CJ Box books,  Badlands and Paradise Valley,  because we were watching the show Big Sky based on the series. Another case of the books being better than the adaptation but if you like a quick, murder suspense series with a strong, smart female protagonist, this is a good choice. As far as the series goes, it was entertaining despite deviating from the book and a miscasting of the characters. I listened to a podcast on Miranda’s Tea and Tattle podcast with Katherine May on her nonfiction book Wintering. I promptly ordered it from the library, a perfect choice for our COVID-19 environment. I preferred the podcast, as that seemed to cover my favorite parts of the book including the poem Prayer  by Carol Ann Duffy.  Another nonfiction book that I came across though a podcast was Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer.  There is a great review and synopsis of the book on ...

 Counted among my treasures are books.  I have favorites that I keep in my bedroom and go back to regularly.  Among the oldest are gifts from Nish, tiny treasures by Joan Walsh Anglund. To me they contain pearls of wisdom, love and kindness. Her words are so poetic and her simple illustrations are filled with childlike wonder. My procreate portrait  of  Joan Walsh Anglund Many people are familiar with the quote “ A bird doesn’t sing because he has the answers, he sings because he has a song”, which has been widely attributed to another favorite author Maya Angelou, although in fact Joan Walsh Anglund first penned these words. April is national poetry month, a perfect time to reflect on some of Anglund’s beautiful words. There have been many interesting articles -written about her life  after she passed away at 95 on March 9, 2021, noting her love of family, friends, nature, gardens and reading. Reading and a cup of tea sound perfect. Tea and a cookie, Plus ...

  Four years ago, on April 12, 2016 in honor of Beverly Cleary’s 100 birthday and in support of  # equal pay for women and gender equality, I drew and posted this on Instagram. With my procreate practice, and the passing of  Beverly Cleary, I thought I would do a procreate illustration of Ramona. “All her life she had wanted to squeeze the toothpaste really squeeze it...” I’ve read a lot of articles about Beverly over the past week and it reminded me of the humor and kindness with which she wrote.  Inspiration and Joy I finished off with a portrait of her on procreate, which is my first attempt at a procreate portrait. It was fun to practice this while thinking of her. Beverly said it best, “children should learn that reading is pleasure” and she certainly made it so.

A beautiful card from my friend Jo She is right...there is beauty in everything. Enjoyed this library book so much, I bought a copy for my bookshelf  So much inspiration, Listening for beauty Some flourishing outgoing  Blooming in the garden Nature’s beauty Enjoying tea and a biscuit  In the family room

Since breaking my ankle, I have made use of my time doing some reading and learning procreate on you tube. One of my favorite sites is Bardot brush. She does a great job explaining how to create procreate art. I have been enjoying drawing dogs. For St. Patrick’s day, an Irish Setter was the obvious choice. We had Irish Setters growing up, so it brought back happy memories. We have moved on from animals to people on bardot brush, so I added an Irish Colleen as practice. Cailin (Irish for Colleen/girl) After my art work, it was nice to celebrate with a Ferrero Rocher cupcake (beautifully made and decorated by Fiona) and a cuppa. I am now in a brace and walking,  after a “good break” just in time for Spring. Cheers to that.  

   A beautiful card from Karen  In the garden, the crocuses are blooming. Hyacinths, Tulips and Daffodils are starting to peek through. I planted a lot of bulbs in the fall, so I am excited to see the results. Spring, happy mail, and flowers make me smile. Wishing you sunshine and smiles too.      . .'  

CJ’s St. Patrick’s day card has me smiling for days. It’s just so cute! And I am so lucky to have met her many years ago, and we have had some great times together. She is a wealth of inspiration and her opinion is always highly valued, and as my family likes to tease when I offer a comment on anything , “well, what does CJ think?’ That’s the Irish sense of  humor for you.   I am lucky to have become friends with Maggie through an envelope exchange. Maggie and I are kindred spirits to be sure, and we have bonded over our love of Ireland, Ballykissangel, and Snoopy....not to mention calligraphy. Procreate lettering practice Slainte Health and happiness to you.