Saturday, May 31, 2008

Heron & Geese

Olivia & I managed to squeeze some drawing time in this morning before the rain began. We went back to the dam/waterfall where I saw the heron in the tree. He was in a nearby tree this time. We also saw the red bellied woodpecker who was working on a nest the last time I was there. At our second drawing location we sat on the ground near the water. (farther up the creek) This goose jumped right out of the water to eat the grass next to us. Olivia and I were alarmed at first. We've been chased by geese before. But this guy kept focused on his dining and left us alone.




Friday, May 30, 2008

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Ridley Creek Drawings & Etsy Store

Here are some images from the past three Ridley Creek State Park outings. Also, I'm dipping a toe in the cyber commerce world. Check out my store at colleenstrailbook.etsy.com




Heron in a tree

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Monday, May 19, 2008

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Evil Eye

We went on a bike ride yesterday. Our first since moving to Philly. We rode the 5 mile loop through Ridley Creek State Park. Ouch. Very big hills. I think I walked a third of the trip. We didn't take any photos. Thank goodness- no evidence of our poor fitness level. But we did follow the river and see waterfalls as well as other bikers who didn't have to walk up the hill. Something to strive for. Anyway... Get your charms to protect you from the evil eye before you look at this first picture! And of course I'm thrilled to support my nephew's budding artistic career.


Thursday, May 15, 2008

Artistic Advice

Today I made a couple drawings of the wild, graveyard property behind our townhouse. It was a beautiful day (except for the mosquitoes so I applied copious amounts of Off.) The birds were having a feast and making lots of noise. I caught sight of the pileated woodpecker again as well as a number of other birds. Behind where I was sitting is a garden area planted by some of the neighbors. It's a great place to sit. Anyway one of my neighbors was curious to see my drawing but kindly informed me that I SHOULD turn around and draw the flowers.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Emily de Araújo

Two great images by Emily de Araújo. Yes those are grommets. These works of hers are currently in a show in LA. More information at: http://www.centerartseaglerock.org/


Sunday, May 11, 2008

Mother's Day

We went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art today. I haven't been since we moved back to the area. (I still need to go back to see the Frida Kahlo show. No way we were braving the Mother's Day crowd for that!) I can't resist sharing the below image. I love it! It's so outrageous in so many ways. It's by the Belgian artist Leon Frederic, painted in 1890, titled "The Source of Life."

After the museum Olivia and I went back to Ridley Creek State Park for some more drawing. I have yet to scan her images but here are mine. It was a beautiful, if chilly, day. Olivia got some close-up drawings of the horses but I stayed back with our beagle. The wisteria grows like an out of control weed in the woods. I don't really think I've gotten the sense of it yet. Maybe it was too cold, but we didn't see any naked babies.







Friday, May 9, 2008

Hanging Mechanisms


I went to Home Depot today to find a way to store my large drawings. I want to make a hanging system for them. I was in the store for nearly an hour. No thanks to the employees, I finally found something that I think will work. (mission accomplished shown above!) An hour in Home Depot is enough to make one lose ones faith in humanity! I got to my car and found a note stuck to it. "Your right rear tire is flat. Sorry about that."
A perfect way to wrap up my shopping trip. Then, of course, I couldn't break the nuts on the tire loose. I had to ask a guy to come help me. He finished up the job for me so I guess my faith in humanity is restored. He also told me about a tire wrench you can use your feet to turn. I'll have to get one. Next time my tire is flat I'll be jumping up and down instead of wrenching my back.

With all that hard physical labor I did manage to do some work in the studio. These are a couple of works in progress:

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Delaware

We went down to Delaware today to see sea birds eating horseshoe crabs. We did see quite a few of those, although too far away for my camera. Much of our sea bird viewing was foiled by fog. Luckily we stopped on the way home at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Our first, and most exciting, encounter was with these fox kits sunning themselves outside their den.



The blue grosbeak was not impressed by our car and sat in the road long enough for me to get a photo. That worked out well since I didn't actually know what it was. The area is very beautiful and we saw many other birds. Most of my really good photos are of trees, but I think I've posted enough trees for a while.


And by special request: Trilliums
These are from the wild flower tour we took last weekend. It was at the Mount Cuba Center, also in Delaware.