Week 34 and 35 of 365 Days of Art Challenge

I'm a week behind with my 365 Days of Art Challenge weekly sketch challenge. I have my sketches done for both weeks, but we've been having problems with our internet connection  and had to have technical help come out. It seems to be working most of the time, now, with a few intermittent outages. I also had 2 quilts that had to be done the past two weeks! Makes it hard to keep up!

The past two weeks I've done some Zentangle-inspired art, (ZIA) as I had a new book from the library:  The Art of Zentangle: 50 inspiring drawings, designs, and ideas for the meditative artist by Margaret Bremner, Norma J. Burnell, Penny Raile, and Lara Williams.

back cover of The Art of Zentangle:
50 inspiring drawings, designs, & ideas
for the meditative artist.

The Art of Zentangle:
50 inspiring drawings, designs, & ideas
for the meditative artist.

The book is divided into 5 sections. Chapter 1 introduces Zentangles. Each author then has a chapter highlighting 3-4 tangles, followed by 3-4 demonstrations using those tangles. It's a workbook with pages to recreate or put your own spin on what the authors are demonstrating. I worked in a journal, since writing or doodling in library books is frowned upon!  I only made it through one author before having to return the book (after waiting 3 months to get the book due to the number of holds  - popular book!!).  I may just have to buy this book and add it to my library of Zentangle books. I really wanted to complete Norma Burnell's chapter with her demo of a fairy ZIA. That will just have to wait for another day.

These are the ZIA that I've done the past two weeks. These were all from the chapter by Penny Raile. These are my own twist on her demonstrations.

Silly Peacock - pencil, 0.1, 0.5, 0.8 micron Prismacolor black pens on

 mixed-media paper, 4" x 6". This section was inspired by Penny Raile's 

section on silly creatures.  Peacocks are another favorite animal.

Aquarium - pencil, 0.1, 0.5, and 0.8 micron Prismacolor black pens on mixed-media paper,
6" x 6". Inspired by Penny's fish templates and aquarium demonstration. Since I was just
playing around using the demonstrations for inspiration, I decided to draw on both sides of
the paper! Oops!! I didn't realize until later that the Prismacolor pens show through the paper. 

Butterfly Garden - pencil, 0.1, 0.5, and 0.8 micron black Prismacolor pens on
mixed-media paper, 6" x 6". Inspired by Penny's fantasy garden demonstrations.
Thankfully, the drawing on the backside doesn't show through so much in this sketch. 

Dragon Silhouette - pencil, 0.1, 0.5, and 0.8 micron Prismacolor black pens
on mixed-media paper, 5" x 6".  Inspired by Penny's silhouettes. I had to do
a dragon, since I didn't do any dragons from Peffer's book for two weeks!  

I really enjoyed these ZIA's and wish I had put a bit more time into them, instead of rushing through them to try to get as much done as possible before having to return the book. Another good reason to buy the book! (No, I'm not trying to talk myself into buying the book. I'm actually trying to come with good reasons to give my husband for spending money on yet another "art" book. Lol!)

Skipping a week and being late a week has made it hard to get in the mood to post! It was definitely easier when I made sure to post every Wed (Thurs at the latest!). I need to get back on schedule!!


Keep Creating!!

Hummingbirds

We stopped at friends of TR's parents our last evening in Ohio. In a tree right by the chairs we sat to visit in were four hummingbird feeders. As dusk fell, dozens of hummingbirds flew in to feed. It was amazing to watch! There had to be at least 3 different species of hummingbirds. The littlest ones were only about 1 1/2 inches long while the biggest were about 3-4 inches long. It was amazing how they would fight over the feeders. They didn't want the other hummers in their "territory". After feeding, they would often just rest on a branch for a few minutes. I took several photos. I only got a few that came out clear enough to see these tiny birds. None are really great shots, as it was getting so dark. But I thought I'd share anyway, as they are just such awesome creatures.

I caught four hummingbirds in this photo. Two at the feeder,
one just leaving, and one coming towards the feeder. 

This hummer with the white throat was one of the a middle size hummer.

This tiny green hummer was so small. He couldn't be more than 1 1/2 inches long. 

This ruby-throated hummingbird was one of the larger ones we saw tonight. 

Preparation for Patt Blair Retreat

Argh!! I'm panicking!! What am I going to do for my whole-cloth, painted quilt for Patt Blair's retreat that is coming up in just a few weeks? I've been sorting through photos, but just am not finding anything that really says "Yes!! This is it!!"

Here is what I'm finding so far. Let me know what you think!

Cacti flowers taken while hiking at Picacho Peak.
Cropped to capture a few of the flowers.

Cacti flowers from photo taken at the Desert Botanical Garden.
Cropped to emphasize the blooms.

Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens. Photo taken at dusk, so
lights were highlighting some of the glass balls.

Hummingbird sitting quietly. Photo taken in Long Beach
outside the Queen Mary, when attending the
Long Beach International Quilt Show.

Burrowing Owls. Photo taken at the Phoenix Zoo. I've always enjoyed
watching the burrowing owls, since moving to AZ in the late 1980's.
Several pairs had nests in the field near our home.

Bee collecting pollen in yellow daisies grown by my mother
in her flower garden in front of her house in Ohio.