Greenbank Cellars

Thank you, Betty, for letting us sketch around your charming winery. I think I found the only dry seat outdoors, atop the John Deere tractor under the shed, which provided a perfect view of the barn which houses the tasting and bottling rooms.

Chetzemoka

First in line for the ferry, Chetzemoka, from Port Townsend to Coupeville--from the driver's seat.

Around Whidbey

Tucked next to the Iskreme store in Coupeville are a collection of colorful birdhouses painted by local children

Tan Moth, with green/blue and yellow stripes on head

I have never seen one of these moths in my life, and i think it's won a special place in the corner of my heart that i have reserved just for bad ass moths.
The contrast of the green/blue fuzzy head stripes.... with the subtle shades of tan in outlined waves on it's wings... omg, it's too cool. Sometimes understated beauty is best.

There were actually several of these moths all in one spot outside my front door. Has anyone ever seen one of these before, or can give me an ID on what type of moth it is?
XoxOxox

A Woods Walk (much tiny beauty)

Since I have been sick the whole month of june (with suspected parasites from my pond, still waiting for test results to come back) .... i haven't been able to really walk much in the forest. I have been resting my body alot. The anti parasite herbal remedies i took made me half better, so today i went for a walk to see what the forest floor would behold. Cause if you look real close, there is always something going on - no matter how tiny the patch of ground you choose.
I found wild red bee balm, and mannnnnny mushrooms pushing their way up from the dirt...
Mushrooms hold some kind of magic, and no i don't mean the hallucinating and poisoning your enemy kind.... i mean, the way they always look like something in a fairy tale. Always manage to be beautiful, mysterious, and a sign of nature at it's best.
I saw alot of these tiny white flowers, which hang like bells or rain drops... or a saddness that is stunning in it's beauty.

I always get supremely excited when i see these mushrooms that look like underwater coral! I love when sea and land are so similar.
Tiny red wildflower.... growing near the red bee balm, but is not bee balm. Just a disguise.
XoxOXOX

White Moth with Black Spots

Freaking beautiful! I haven't seen one like this in many many years... maybe since i lived in Baton Rouge, LA.

It's like a white cheetah, or leopard! Anyone want to ID this moth, and what it's caterpillar looks like too??
I Looooooove eet!
XoxoxoOX

View from Kettles Trail

Sunday was a perfectly warm morning, after breakfast at the Tyee, to bike Kettles Trail in Coupeville with grandson and hubby. This is the beautiful brilliant view we saw as biking along the trail looking over Ebby's farms just a walking distance to the beaches on the Straits. The low hanging fog was starting to disappear off the water as the day became warmer. The Olympic mts and foothills in the distance were like jewels in strong hues of blue. Our mts in the NW are always a challenge for me to paint. I always get the values too strong and overpowering so consequently on this sketch, which I did by memory after returning home, I had to do a lot of rubbing them out to obtain a lighter value.

Little Black Snake in my Bedroom

More snake-ness!!! love it.




Anddddd, Frank Zappa's Baby Snakes song....
LOL


XoxoxoXO

Trip To The Doctor

XOOXOoxox

A Weekend in the Garden

FINALLY a sunny, warm weekend.  Lots of gardening tasks completed.  Heavenly to be outside in my garden.  Today I finished with a sketch on the front porch (left) while sipping bubbly & celebrating gardening chores completed. 

Yesterday, I sketched the driftwood bench on our back patio (below) while hubby bar-b-qued after a day of gardening.  What a great summer weekend outside in Coupeville!

Just Me and JuJu (the donkey) and Chickens

the gang. today.

Xoxox

PBY5A and Beach Boy

Beach Boy with friend on beach near Mutiny Bay













PBY5A.

Missy's Cornet Bay Sketches

 A couple of our good pals from Anacortes Sketchers joined us at Cornet Bay this week. Here are some of Missy's sketches.

In the General Store at Cornet Bay Marina (before we got booted out!)

Happy Hour at Flyers in Oak Harbor

Two Sides of Deception Pass State Park

Deception Pass State Park is the most visited Washington State Park.  And we know why!  I enjoyed sketching in both of its distinct sides on Whidbey Island.  First the forested West side with its BIG trees (Left).

Next, its Cornet Bay East side (below) with lots of boats and fishermen yesterday. What a treasure on our island!

Deception Pass State Park

The Deception Pass bridge from North Beach below. The grand scale was more apparent before the addition of color which I'm afraid detracts from the sketch. This is a subject that could probably be painted in a dozen moods and lights.

Help Me ID this Mushroom!

I found these big brown mushrooms growing out of a log that had been inoculated with edible mushroom spores about 2 years ago...
only problem is, i wasn't the one who stuck the spores in there and I have no idea which types of mushrooms they might be.... or if they are from the spores at all. The logs were already here at the Luck Cabin when i moved in.

Can anyone help me figure out, if this is an edible mushroom?
here are some other viewpoints... side and underneath, showing the gills....
The brown color is very rich and healthy looking... these mushrooms are also really large and round - thick (but not as thick & heavy as a portabella).

XoXoxoOX

HUGE Ass Bug! Whoa...

When this big bug entered my bedroom, i seriously thought it was a giant Louisiana cockroach at a glance..... fast moving, brown, huge, with those roachy legs!
Then it jumped in bed with me... omGAwd. Now i am not a bug-phobe as ya'll know, but this thing was making crunching noises and sounded like it was the size of mouse coming towards me. It kept crawling under my covers and under my pillow.....
since i don't usually sleep with strangers, i told him to get out of my bed.
It moved fast and furious, i could hardly get a good picture of it. And i could tell, this bug had bigger brains then most insects. It seemed to know things....
It's called the Palo Verde Root Borer .... a big name for a big boy. :)
XOxoOX

Ott and Murphy's and Mo's

A fun Sunday afternoon and evening of sketching with Sue. First at Ott and Murphy's wine tasting room in Langley then a walk down the street to Mo's for more sketching and Shepherd's Pie. Here's a couple sketches...

Ott and Murphy's rugs. As much drawing as I've been doing lately, it was a struggle to see things right that day. I felt dyslexic so concentrated on capturing the sense of light.



























Sue blocked my view so I made due. Of the number of sketches I did at Mo's this is the only one I halfway liked. The last was better but I gave it to the young man who was in the sketch.

One Mo Time at Mo's

Lots of people-sketching and fun at Mo's last night . . . The highlight of the evening was when some guy tried to buy Kris' sketch for $6.00 at the end of the evening. Very funny. Another highlight was the apple dumpling. We split one, but it was so good, we had to get a second one!

Chris disappeared so fast I had to make most of it up.

I think her gray face is a karmic punishment for leaving in the middle of my sketch.
You leave and I make you ugly.

Last call - no time to finish this one.

I Will Go With You

But probably i wont. :)))

Still working on getting better... dancing to release the stagnate energy in my body.



XoxoXO