Happy Dance

Snoopy was my favorite cartoon

character in High School. I loved

Charles Schultz's Peanuts gang.

Happy Dance for Spring!

Comparison of watercolor flowers, with

and without ink pen.  On Instagram, most

people preferred with the ink outline.

What do you think?

I felt like I had been a bit lazy in my

Hobonichi of late, so decided to add

some fun cartoon characters.

Above right, that tiny coffee cup is my

beverage reference to join the T Party,

which is currently celebrating over

at Altered Books and Mixed Media.

Happy bEARTHday to my friend

Elizabeth!

Happy Spring, and

Happy Earth Day!

A Fantastic Month

Celebrating Fantastic Beasts for the

month of November

since the movie 'Crimes of Grindelwald'

is out this month.

Having fun drawing lots of 

magical beasts...

a photo-heavy post, because it's

been so long since I last updated this blog.

You've been warned...

One of my favorite characters,

Dobby, the House Elf.

The Hobonichi is getting more difficult to

write in, (and to scan) since the thickness of

the journal is causing a serious curve near

the spine. The binding holds up wonderfully

despite the bulk, but I am now being careful

to not write or draw in that area.  Some folks get

 so excited to begin working in their

 new planners, but I feel a little

 sad to leave this "old friend" behind. It

will go on the bookshelf for looking at from

time to time.

Some might maintain that all felines

can detect suspicious or untrustworthy

people...

I have many favorites from the 

Fantastic Beasts movies, but the Niffler

is so fun! I'm attracted to shiny things too...

just sayin'...

The twiggy little Bowtruckle is

so adorable. He looks fragile, but I 

have a feeling he's tougher than

he looks!

Wouldn't we all love to be able to 

become invisible when the need arose?!

Wishing you all a wonderful and 

blessed Thanksgiving!

Hobonichi Life: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly

In February, we drove to Panama City Beach,

Florida, with my parents.

The weather was heavenly. It's the first time

since we started visiting there, that I didn't 

have to wear my winter coat on the beach!

Despite a few little inconveniences (like

the false fire alarm at 12:30 am at night)

we had a wonderful time.

I never tire of looking at the waves,

hearing their splash onto the beach,

and watching the sandpipers scurry

away from the beach walkers.

Road construction in front of the condo

made things interesting, but since we 

were able to drop off my parents (in their 80's)

at the door and then park in the garage,

 it worked out just fine.

I am fascinated by the shapes of the palm

trees, but never really got a chance to do

any detailed sketches this year. Doodles

had to suffice...

A safe trip home at the end of the month,

but our homecoming was a rude 

awakening. Water in our basement!

Lots of it.

So we spent several days drying out the 

basement.  And it was full of stuff. That smelled.

(At least it was all ground water, no sewage)

So a dumpster was in order to remove and

dispose of as much as possible. 

It's sad throwing away baby clothes and toys.

Really, it would have been better to donate

them as soon as the kids outgrew them,

but I tend to hang onto things long after

I need them. So, I tell myself this is a 

blessing in disguise. The basement looks a 

lot better now, insurance covered new 

appliances and a sump pump with battery

back-up. What a big job, though...

I got a lot of exercise going up and down

the steps, and there has been some sunshine!

Hmmm...while I'm in the sort, clean, recycle

mode, I should do the rest of the closets/house!

Joining my T-Tuesday buddies over at 

Altered Book Lover's blog for a

beverage and a chat. Join us!

 ♣ ♣ ♣

How many coffee/tea mugs did you

see in this post? 

♣♣

It's almost time for 

International Fake Journal Month!

Visit my fake journal blog here

to learn more. 

♣

Techo Tuesday: Sea Creatures

 June's drawing challenge is Sea Creatures.

The Hobonichi Challenge on Instagram gives

me a different thing to draw each day.

Drawing every day is excellent for honing

your observation skills. 

And I'm learning about creatures that

I've never heard of before!  The Axolotl

looks like an amazing creature...

Some day I would like to observe whales

in the ocean!

The Dugong reminded me of a Manatee...

I think they are in the same "family."

Drawing and painting in my Hobonichi

Techo in the morning, with my coffee. Linking 

up today with the T Tuesday blog hop over at

Bleubeard and Elizabeth's, for a 

beverage and a chat. Join us!

The Hobonichi Techo is an A6 size, which is 

about 4 inches x 6 inches. A very fine tip

pen for writing and drawing is essential!

I enjoyed a very interesting Netflix show called

"Saving Banksy."  Apparently, collectors and art

dealers have been purchasing the walls on

which his works  are painted. Walls 

that are meant for public viewing, for free.

But put into private collections they are no longer

available to the public. The debate still rages

over whether or not they are art, or vandalism.

Since Banksy maintains strict secrecy of his identity,

he has received no money from the sale of

his works. Invisibility is his Superpower. Well, ok...

some people know who he is. People who work 

with him, and are graffiti artists. 'Saving Banksy'

was fascinating to me, I recommend the show. 

Above, the fish that inspired 'Saving Nemo' 

and 'Finding Dory.' I love Disney animation...

A shark with polka-dots! My white gel pen

was a bit larger tip, and the dots are a bit

bigger than the actual proportion of the 

Whale Shark's markings, but you get the idea.

I was pleased with the way the walrus turned out,

and have you ever heard of the

humuhumunukunukuapua'a? It's the state fish of

Hawaii.  Very beautiful...but I can't pronounce it!

I hope you are having a day filled with sunshine

and creative endeavors. Thanks for stopping by

for T day!  What are you doing today?

Autumn Techo

People need art, 

whether they realize it or not...

I am still doing

Hobonichi Techo drawings, with

 Sharpie pen and watercolors.

"We don' need Bed, Bath and Beyond

dentist-office art. We need

weird stuff."