Sketching at Fern Ridge Alpaca Farm

Old 1800 log cabin on Fern Ridge Alpaca Farm

This alpaca couldn't resist the fir branch on the other side of the gate.

Last of the honeysuckle berries

This honeysuckle vine was peeking out from the branches of the native evergreen plants along the side of the road while I was out for a walk.   The berries are so bright and inviting to sketch with watercolor.  I took the challenge.

Watch Out for the Fir Cones

Every autumn the little brown squirrels on the island climb the high limbs on the fir trees and try to collect all the freshly ripened cones by dropping them off the trees. After the cones hit the ground with a thunk, the squirrels try to remember where they all land so they can gather the ripe seeds out of the cones. Most of the time they miss a bunch and vehicles' wheels smash the cones or they just stay on the ground and reseed for next years little starters. It might be safe to wear a hard hat at this time of the year. I did this sketch the other day after almost being hit by one of the cones on my way to the mail box.

Changing Colors at the End of Summer

This morning while walking through the Greenbank fields of tall grass and deeper into the tall treed forest, I collected a handful of dried grass, weeds, beautiful deep red leaf salal, green leaf salal with the large purple berries still on it and other weeds I could not identify. I brought all of these home for a fun afternoon sketching the changing colors of plants with the end of summer.

What's New at Freeland Recycle

Sketching at Freeland Recycle is always fun with tons of old rusty items that one might like for their garden art or just great for sketching. The items in the three sketches are only a few of the many items spread throughout several acres.

Short eared owl

Wow, what a surprise to see this short eared owl fly across the road to an alder tree this a.m. while on a walk. It turned it's head 180 degrees to keep an on eye on me until I was out of site then it flew away but not before the small birds tried to harass it with loud chirping and close charging fly bys.

A day of Sketching on-Island

I saw this vibrant green worm or bug crawling across the road while on a walk. It has four long legs, and shorter ones on each side. I scooped it up with a leaf to take home to sketch while it kept crawling toward my hand holding the leaf. I had to keep a close eye on it while attempting to sketch it. It's a brilliant green with yellow head with red streaks on the side of the head. Don't know if it's a good or bad bug for the environment.

The Oregon Grape has bloomed and now the berries have ripened with hues of blues, purples and greens to attract the wild birds in search for food. I picked this branch, with the one red leaf, off the plant growing on the side of the road. Eventually, some of the other leaves will also turn beautiful colors of red.

Sue, my painting friend, who is a member of Tuesday's painting group, invited us for a plein air painting day in her beautiful flower garden. So I brought my sketching supplies and had a fun day doing quick sketches. This group of colorful plants, Asiatic Lillies, delphiniums, and a hazelnut tree in background created a great composition that I attempted in watercolor.

SW Commons

This is for Lois.  Her scanner is not cooperating, so I have scanned her sketches and am posting for her.

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Sketching Choochokam

Mega and Sara, dressed in 19th century costumes, looked the part of the period. They sat quietly several minutes at a time while sketchers and artists painted them. The sun was behind them creating soft shadows on the front of their bodies.



Ten-year-old McKenna was a great model -- colorfully dressed against the yellow chair and sitting in the shadow of the blue screen behind her.

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.