Nest Building

Nest Building
Originally uploaded by roflute
Bird behavior fascinates me. Black-capped Chickadees have such personality. I was watching a pair flying back and forth with something in their beaks when flying away from this hole in a tree. Turns out they were carting away wood chips and scattering them some distance from the nest. Very industrious fellows.




Flying back to the nest.




Fuch's Pond Preserve in Northport, NY. This is where I found my chickadees.  A hidden jewel for birders it is said.  There was an egret fishing in the far end of the pond and I did see two other birds I normally don't see plus a red-tail hawk flying overhead.  I'll be back to this place.

My Little Chickadee

My Little Chickadee
Originally uploaded by roflute

I've been really neglecting my blog again. This is the place for me to be creative, to show my art and photos and also to share some thoughts.

So here we are starting a new year. What will it bring? 2012 ended on quite a downer with Superstorm Sandy, the shootings in Connecticut, and.... Enough! There is so much to be thankful for. God brought me through the storm with minimal damage and some inconvenience. God is good. He provides. He brings us through. I've been thinking on what 2013 resolutions I should make. I thought this year I should think on a word for the year. What should that word be? After some thought, it came to me. My 2013 word will be .......FOCUS.....
Focus on God first and foremost. The rest are in no particular order.
Focus on my photography (focus, get it?) ;-)
Focus on my art.
Focus on my health.
These are all things that are usually part of my resolutions and I have been working on them but I am wanting them to be more ingrained into my psyche. To be more of who I am and make me a better me. Make sense? FOCUS

Durbes Pils, Tukum, Latvia

Durbes Pils, Tukum, Latvia
Originally uploaded by roflute

This month I was finally able to get a drawing done in time for the Virtual Paintout hosted by Bill Guffey.  Each month he picks a different location to travel to using Google Streetmaps.  Latvia is the location for June.  Most times I travel all over trying to decide what to draw and run out of month to get my drawing done.  Here is one of my choices.  This is one of the outbuildings for the Durbes Manor House on the outskirts of Tukum, Latvia.  Here is the Link for the google map.  Latvia has alot of interesting architecture.  There are loads of castles, abandoned buildings, modern homes, etc.  If you want to find out more about the Durbes Castle, here is a website. One of the outbuildings intrigued me more than the manor house itself.  This building sits at the entrance to the complex.

 This drawing is done in colored pencil on brown paper bag type paper.  It's a sketchbook I have reserved for only google streetmap drawings.  Enjoy!

Some more Drawings to catch up on

Trying to draw every day is not very easy and I haven't been able to keep up with this challenge very well but I am determined to finish. It is good practice and I find that when I exercise my drawing fingers, there is an improvement to how things go down on paper. So here are some more entries in my Everyday in May moleskine. I had fun drawing these eggs. Maybe I should have tried to do them in watercolor. These are colored pencil and micron marker. Not happy with this bag drawing. I need to be more patient and observant with the crinkles and folds. Done in graphite.
I'm comfortable with drawing apples. Can you tell? Done with Derwent watercolor pencils. A little Tufted Titmouse done in prismacolor pencils. This was the day that my nephew graduated from Virginia Tech. What an experience! The Commencement was held in the football stadium as there were about 5000 graduates. I've never seen so many black caps and gowns in one place. Michelle Obama gave the Commencement address along with Virginia Senator Mike Warner. Both very good, motivational speeches. I am so proud of my nephew. Afterwards, the family went back to the house and had a nice bbq. A very enjoyable day!

Some more of my EDiM Drawings

Here are some more of my drawings for May. It is good to be drawing again.

EDiM 4 Draw a Present

EDiM 4 Draw a Present
Originally uploaded by roflute

Time to get caught up on posting. At least a little bit. This calendar holds a special place in my heart. Whenever I sit by my computer I see it and it reminds me of my one and only niece. She knows I am a cat lover.

Every Day in May

Cedar Point Lighthouse, Long Island, NY
Originally uploaded by roflute

This is the second year that I am attempting this challenge. Last year I got about halfway through the month before the busy-ness of my life got in the way. Hopefully I will succeed to draw something each day in May and post it to the Flickr group. I like that they have a list to follow to give us inspiration.

It was rainy most of the day on Tuesday so I chose a photo I took last May of this abandoned lighthouse at Cedar Point beach on Eastern Long Island, NY. I remember it being a nice hike getting to this place and watching all the terns and shorebirds on the way.

This sketch was done pretty quickly since I wanted to get it done the actual first day in May. I need to practice sketching quick and work my way to sketching on location