Hobonichi Techo Pages

Drawing daily in my Hobonichi Techo

with Sharpie pen or Smash pen

and adding watercolor with my

Prismacolor watercolor pencils and

water brush.

Click on any image for an

enlargement...

Someone once asked if I journal the" bad things"

 too. Well, yes - sometimes. I am conscious of 

whether or not I will be posting it online. You

don't need TOO much information...

And I'd rather focus on the positive.

These pages aren't completely in order by date...

the computer saved them alphabetically by

the title I gave them!

Happy Halloween to those who 

enjoy celebrating it ...and Happy Autumn!

Garden Therapy

Tuesday Therapy...

a garden retreat is 

food for the soul, as well as

tomatoes for your tummy! 

Belatedly showing swap pages sent

to Chris of PearShapedChris*

whose book theme was 'anything

in a garden.'  Above, a peony that I

painted in watercolor, then cut out and

created a large pocket for tags.

Flowers embroidered on fabric, with

a bit of running stitch, lazy daisy, and 

French knots. Mounted on watercolor

paper. Couldn't resist adding the

cross-stitched bee.

Folk art flowers in watercolor

with a quote...

and more watercolor ~ with 

flowers adhered from napkins, as well

as watercolor painted flowers.

Since Chris had specified 'anything

in a garden - except frogs' I decided

to draw a little mouse just for fun!

The arrival of these pages took way

longer than it should, due to my inexperience

with shipping internationally. Thanks Chris

for being so patient! I hope everything 

arrived in good condition.

Linking up with Bleubeard and Elizabeth

for T Tuesday...yes, I have still been

journaling in my Hobonichi Techo!

Above, tiny sketch of biscuits and coffee,

to qualify as my T Tuesday

 photo reference!

Yes, we were crazy enough to go

tent camping at our age!

Stop by to visit the other 

T Tuesday bloggers to

see assorted shenanigans...

Long Overdue Swap Art

Finally showing some swap art that

I made for Annette. (Scrap Happens Here)

The theme for her book was

'Proverbs.'  The page above says

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

(click on any image for enlargement)

"The early bird catches the worm,"

with fabric, lace, silk greenery, buttons,

and my watercolor of an American Robin.

Small pamphlet-stitch book to go in

the pocket of

"You can't judge a book by its cover."

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,"

created with scraps of cardboard,

paint and paper. The charm unfortunately

caused the scan to blur the details

of the image.

"One woman's trash is

another woman't treasure." 

I used a discarded 

music library card, brown paper

bag, scrapbook paper, and the gentleman

in the bathing costume is from a carton

of hard cider I believe.  Multiple

layers of paint were applied to the collage,

along with the spiral clip, beads

 and a vintage charm.

"A smooth sea never made

a skilled sailor."  This is made from

some pretty scrapbook paper that

has an ocean/fishy theme.

Tags in the "sailor page" pocket.

Many thanks to Annette for being so patient 

and understanding about the late arrival

of her package. Hopefully, it is a case of

"good things come to those who wait!"

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."

County Fair Sketches

I attended the (Ohio) Fulton County Fair

a couple of times, and managed to

get some sketching done.  I used a 

Sharpie pen, Prismacolor watercolor

pencils, and a water brush. After finishing

the goat sketch, above, I began second-

guessing my rendering of the goat's legs,

and their proportion.(see my notes

on the page, click to enlarge)

 I tried to focus on the face, and awareness

 of the page layout. I want to break up

 the space on the page in an interesting way.

I signed up for Roz Stendahl's on-line class called

By Design: Creating The Intentional Page, 

which you can learn more about on her blog,

Roz Wound Up.  I like that the class is "at

your own pace," as life has a tendency to throw interesting situations at us at 

unexpected moments.  So far, I am learning

a lot about how to make a variety of page

styles, the impact of how the text is placed

on the page, and the impact of dark and

light areas in the overall composition. A lot

to think about, but it gets easier and more

intuitive with lots of practice!

Animals tend to move around...especially

just as you are trying to capture a 

particular feature! This cute Netherland 

Dwarf Rabbit was so fluffy, his face reminded

me of a toy teddy bear.  Of course he hopped

to the opposite side of the cage about half-way

through the drawing.

I'm still faithfully jotting down notes

and drawing in my Hobonich Techo.

Here's one of the days we went to

the fair. Entries were drawn before we

left, and then the next day.

Hoping to get back in the swing of posting

to the blog more regularly.  Trouble with

technology, and life transitions can make 

it difficult.  Daily art journaling helps

 keep me sane. Or, at least what

 passes for sane at our house! We all

have our own quirks...

Tomatoes in my Techo

Last week you saw the unfinished page

with the tomatoes.  Here is the finished page,

above left. (click on any image for larger view)

On Tuesday, after visiting my blogging 

buddies, hubby and I went out for Mexican

food and then for a walk. Hubby said I was a

"slave driver"...especially since it was 

90 degrees F outside. We walked on a trail

that has been reclaimed from an old railroad

line, called Tall Grass Prairie.  We were 

pretty wiped out after walking two miles 

out and then two miles back.

We are delighted that an owl has moved

into our area. It likes to perch in our 

cottonwoods, and on top of our "swing set"

made from old telephone poles. We still aren't

sure what kind it is...

We have finally gotten some rain, after over

a month without any. Hopefully it is just in time

to benefit the crops. Several more days of 

rain are predicted, but it's been very 'spotty.'

Pours in one place, then a mile down 

the road, nothing!

Linking up for T Tuesday, with a sketch

of my morning mocha, and an oat bran 

cereal recipe.  Stop over to Elizabeth's

blog and see what adventures in dining,

crafts, art, cooking, or decorating might be

shared. You just never know what will be

going on, but there's always a beverage

offered, and enjoyment to be had.

Join us!

Hobonichi Techo on Tuesday

Tea (or coffee) and a muffin~

joining up with Elizabeth and friends

for T Tuesday...

sharing the doodles and drawings

in my Hobonichi Techo planner/diary/

visual journal/thingy!

(Click on any image to enlarge) 

I confess...I play a lot of 'catching up...'

in this journal.

When you are over 60, do Zumba

 with caution!  But it's so fun...

I don't usually shop for myself in the

men's department, but I had been wanting

a pair of cargo pants to wear for hiking.

Marked down to $5...couldn't pass it up!

And perfect to wear to the Ohio State Fair

the next day...

It's a tradition at the State Fair to have the

 Butter Cow sculpture every year. It's been

 going on since the early 1900's. The Butter

 Cow is kept in a big cooler in the Dairy Barn,

with glass doors so it can easily be viewed.

The cooler is kept at about 45 degrees.

It was about 90 degrees outside at the

 fairgrounds the day we visited!

And this is the current condition of

the next two pages in my Techo...lest 

you think I am always current!!

Keeping an illustrated journal does encourage

me to look at my day in a creative way...

and to try to think of something positive

that came out of it.  I think focusing on the 

positive makes one a happier person.

What do you think?

 Supplies used in my Hobonichi Techo: 

vintage wallpaper, assorted pens, highlighters, watercolor pencils,

 water brush, Sharpie pen, Washi tape, painted papers, stickers, Tacky glue.