A lazy Art Sunday - Maree

Inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic energy striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly and all the time.

- Brenda Ueland

My art table last Sunday

A lazy Sunday - spent the whole day sketching and journaling on Sunday - also scanning previous sketches that I hadn't had time to do yet and filing them on my MAC.


My Feint 6-Quire Daily Journal. I mostly use it as my daily thoughts journal, but also do some accompanying sketches.

The above journal entry reads :

"Sunday 08 November 2009
The Red Bishop is back, dear Journal, and covered in all his breeding finery! On Friday I thought I caught a glimpse of him, but wasn't sure.

"Red Bishop" - 'Euplectus orix nigrifrons Linnaeus'

He was sitting on the Tiger Grass under the Acacia Karroo eyeing the bird bath. Hoped to catch him bathing, but he decided the feeding table was a better option."


Southern Red Bishop

a bit more of Autumn . . . Vicky Williamson

A few trimmings from garden clean-up . . .


. . . and some sketches while waiting to help a friend out in his drawing class.

Red Bishop - Maree Clarkson

I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.

- Emily Dickinson

The Red Bishop on my fence post...

Sketch in Agenda Art Journal - Maree

"Exploring space and colour"

I have this old, leather bound, 1997 Agenda Planner that is now filled with various grades of watercolour paper cut to size and some old note paper, which I use as an art journal. I did the above sketch on one of the note papers to try out a new green I was mixing using Thalo Blue and Burnt Sienna and was quite pleased with how the green turned out. I also experimented with Indigo and Cadmium Yellow on this, which I used on parts of the tree.

I'll use anything I can lay my hands on for sketching and using old diaries and planners is a great, inexpensive way of building up a collection.


Agenda Planner filled with watercolour paper - I used a 6-hole punch to do the holes for the paper.

It seems that sketch-books and Journals are very much in demand at the moment! If you would like to make your own sketch-book in an easy, quick and fun way, go to 'An Artist's Sketchbook to Make'.

A Party of Robins -- Vickie Henderson

Just a week ago, the Dogwood trees in my yard were full of berries and leaves. Now many of the limbs are bare of both. (Click on the images to enlarge.)

Some of that has been the rain and wind, the cold fronts moving through. But happily, I can say that much of their bareness is due to the large crowd of American Robins that flew in earlier in the week. I discovered them, quite by accident, noticing increased activity in the yard. When I walked over to the dogwood tree, I found myself mesmerized by all the activity--the closeness, their boldness, the funny ways they maneuvered to reach the berries, the beauty of the morning light on their faces, the dazzling autumn hues.

It was a party I won't soon forget. Watercolor created in my sketchbook on 140# hotpress paper.

To see more autumn activity around my American Dogwood trees visit Vickie Henderson Art.