I Love You Like Dobby Loves Socks Poster

I love my watermelon socks almost as much as Dobby would. I scanned the marker drawing from my artist journal after doing a sketch of my favorite motorcycling socks.

Available on Etsy

Retro Drive In Restaurant

We stopped at a 50s style Drive In for BLTs and pop. Alethea ordered the sodas without ice and they charged us 20 cents a glass for no ice. The pop was warm so we ended up going to McDonald's for ice.

Ozark Highway Signs and Roads

The left side shows some of the signs we encountered while driving through the mountains. The path through the Ozarks is not for speedy commutes but the Arkansas Scenic Byway is worth the effort.

Gas Prices

We were fortunate that gas prices dropped the further south we traveled. The range was $3.89–3.49.

Goldfish Diva

Marker Portrait of My Mother

My mother used to wear her hair in an enormous up-do, think Marge Simpson minus a few feet.

Cowboy Coffee

Coffee Shop Drawings

I got a little bored and silly but I didn't mind since it was 51 degrees.

The Remainder Of The Sanibel Island Vacation Drawings

I brought 2 bagels today but the gulls went crazy as soon as they saw me; these fellas are definitely not bird brained. I ran out of bagels almost instantly and fed them tootsie rolls that my daughter had tossed in my bag. I don't think they had tootsie rolls before since they followed me along the beach until we left.
























Another beach location.
























We went to Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. I have camera envy after seeing the lenses that the bird photographers have. Osprey are everywhere. Almost every tall pole has a nesting platform that volunteers take care of.

























The Anhinga love to sit with their wings spread, warming themselves in the sun. I read they stab fish with their long, sharp beaks.
























The White Ibis seem to be standing in every fresh water source. They are huge and as plentiful as ducks are here.

























This was our favorite meal out; the ambiance was fun and I loved trying alligator.

























Bryce liked the Polo style shirt, I was a fan of the tag. The hole had a grommet which I removed since it was so darn thick to leave inside a sketchbook.

























The last day we went to Lovers Key Beach, Bonita Springs, Naples, the Everglades and our favorite part, Alligator Alley. We saw a lot of wild alligators which was awesome. To get to Alligator Alley we drove through a Panther Reserve with very high fences but we didn't see any Panthers. We drove a lot the last day since almost everything was closed.

























The only restaurants we found open were some fast food places and Perkins. I know there must be some others but they hid well; I think I know why the airport food court was packed.

Travel Art Journal Page Leaving On A Jet Plane

I recently took a trip to Sanibel Island in Florida (these drawings are from the first 24 hours) and this sketch was done at the airport. My husband kept singing "leaving on a jet plane". The bags are my carry on suitcase, camera bag, and a large zippered bag I bought in Hawaii. We got to the airport at 6:00 am for a 7 o'clock flight.

























Never say at the airport "at least I never had to sit near the rest rooms", it's not wise to tempt the seating gods. The good news was we were as far away as possible from the crying baby and the seat between us was empty.

























It was so nice to hear the surf and see palm trees again; I missed it. It was particularly sweet when the temperature was -23 in Minneapolis (without wind chill). Fort Meyers Beach was a nice way to start the vacation but we preferred the more quiet beaches that Florida has to offer.

























Dunkin Donuts has left Minnesota but we remembered it fondly and had to stop for a dozen.

























The sea gulls spotted me taking a bagel out of my bag and swooped down; I was really impressed since it was wrapped in a paper napkin. I should have brought the rest of the donuts.

























Sanibel Island and Captiva are home to over 250 varieties of shells. The pristine beaches are a joy to walk along. The airport screener wasn't happy when he opened our suitcases and had to go through the shells we brought home. The suitcases are still airing in the garage.

I Must Be Hungry

The last 5 sketches in my book have a food theme.

















The nudes were done at a Dr Sketchy life drawing event. The reclining model had cupcake pasties and those are blueberries on her apron. I drew them with a ballpoint pen, I think I should have planned my materials better.

























Radishes drawn with a micron pen and Prismacolor markers.

























Tomatoes drawn with a Micron pen and watercolors

























My daughter came in while I was doing this page and remarked it was creepy. I have no idea why I was drawing things that could be dangerous.

























I took photos around Minneapolis including the Farmers Market, baked pies and made corned beef with cabbage. The pear blueberry pie was inspired by a bowl of pears no one was eating and the remainder of the blueberries. The ironic part is that the pear/blueberry combination was delicious and was more popular than the blueberry pie.

Downtown Minneapolis Drawings

My family members are good sports about letting me sketch things and while they say don't rush I'm not comfortable making them wait for me. Speed is a good way to capture the essence since I can always explore the subject further at another time. I think I become more creative and accomplish more when I have a deadline, even if it is self-imposed.

























I was at Utrecht getting some supplies and spotted this interesting view of the Basilica of Saint Mary behind some other buildings in the alley. I liked the contrast of a very ornate, beautiful building tucked behind plain, serviceable space.

















 We then went to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden where I did a sketch of the Spoonbridge and Cherry Fountain.
























We finished with a trip to the Uptown Diner where I had an excellent club sandwich with a ridiculous amount of hash browns. I managed to eat about half of the hash browns and brought most of the sandwich home. The potatoes never saw a take out container since I had my husband along and well, they are hash browns.

The man in the diner had such interesting hair and a long graceful neck that he required a sketch while we were waiting for the food. I've noticed that even when you try to be subtle, people know when you look at them and looking at them more than once can certainly speed up their dining experience.

Vacation Journal Drawings of Lake Superior Circle Tour Bound In A Recycled Vintage Book

My daughters and I recently drove around Lake Superior, it's called the Lake Superior Circle Tour. We started in Minneapolis, traveled through Ontario via Duluth and then drove along the south shore through Michigan and Wisconsin to complete the circle in Duluth.

I wanted something a little different for a trip journal so I made an accordion book and bound it in the vintage book The Call of the North. I used a map of Lake Superior for the end papers.















This is what the book looks like inside.














The first page is a pictorial map of our journey. Normally I use more color but we were busy and I don't like going back to rework pages.

We like to stop at the Portland Malt Shop in Duluth. It's in a charming building near the shore, off of downtown. My kids love the malts but they order them without the whipped cream. They were rather surprised the first time they came with whipped cream and didn't make that mistake twice.

My oldest, Alethea, is a major rock hound so agate beach is a required destination when we go to Duluth.

The Canadian border guard thought it was truly odd that we wanted to drive around the lake and suggested doing something else.

Alethea wanted to look for gem stones at an Amethyst mine outside of Thunder Bay. We have yet to travel anywhere without coming home with rocks and sand.

























Betty's Pies are an institution here and we were never able to find the shop but we did this time. The interior is cheery, the coffee and pie were good. I was expecting life changing pie and it was simply pie; but it's tough to live up to that much acclaim. We didn't even finish our pieces which is an oddity for us; we say "it's not pie" when something smells bad or is unpleasant so you can tell we are serious about pie.

























The Silver Creek Cliff tunnel was fun to go through and we honked at the Menehunes (mischievous imps) like we learned to do in Hawaii.

























The gas pumps were a lot of more complicated that we are used to. You need to push a button to indicate if you want $5, $10, $15, $20 or to fill the tank. The directions were worn off so it took awhile to figure out what the buttons were for. I'm used to 24/7, pay at the pump, so it was odd to find gas stations that closed.

























Most of the drive was through mountains and it seemed fun to show that view in a rear view mirror.

























Wawa Ontario has a signature giant goose that sits near the visitor center. Shortly after Wawa is the Magpie High Falls which has the potential to be fierce but it was still very impressive. To reach the falls you go through fields of brush and clay covered roads. The best beaches came after Wawa and the first nice one was Old Woman Beach, the sand was very fine stone instead of what you normally think of as sand.

























We love, love, loved Katherine Cove. The water was pristine and warm with a luscious sand bottom. I read afterward that there had been a wolf attack previously on the beach but I would gleefully go back. The road we traveled had stacked rock formations all along it and we actually saw two women making the piled rock sculptures on boulders in the lake. In Hawaii there are numerous posted signs not to stack rocks (we've only seen it to a large degree in those two areas), Canada seems to embrace it and I think its fun.



















After Wawa we started to see more small lakes with mist covered islands.

























Every few miles there were warnings about night danger with moose and there were a few of these billboards just in case you didn't get the message. We did see moose by the roadside but they were snacking and had no interest in us. We did take the warnings seriously and didn't drive after dark.

























Things were very expensive in Canada, the most we paid for gas was $7.50 a gallon. I expected a lot of restaurants serving game and fresh fish but we saw gas stations that served KFC and fresh deli. I'm sure Canada has fine dining but we never happened across it. My favorite sign was for a restaurant that served both Canadian cuisine and Chinese food but didn't find an open location.

Our first Canadian motel had bears in the parking lot and 5 items in the vending machine; maybe it was attacked by bears with quarters.

























Yay! We found an open restaurant, Perkins never looked so good.

























The record snowfall on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula was 390.4" and the lowest snowfall was 161.1"; I will no longer complain about Minnesota in February.

























I have an irrational fear of high bridges and we ran across 2 very memorable ones. The lift bridges were fine but the Sault Ste Marie International bridge was miserable. It's 2.8 miles long and the entry point into the USA was very slow. It took an hour and 45 minutes to cross it in over 90 degree weather. We would move up 2 car lengths then shut the engine off for 5 to 10 minutes. I was afraid the car would overheat so we opened the windows and sky roof and hoped for the best.

I have other pages—sand from the beaches we visited glued in a wave pattern—french candy wrappers—and I sent for a certificate of completion for the trip that will go on the last page.

Pretty Bikes Are Like Pretty Shoes

I bought this pink Diamondback, Della Cruz, bike because it had an awesome chain guard, wide cork patterned seat with springs, sewn leather handles, cute wicker basket, balloon tires, and was covered with yellow hibiscus flowers. The only thing it's missing are gears and it has one speed, slow.

I drew this after a grueling 3 mile ride that would have been effortless if I borrowed my daughter's 10 speed bike. I get a lot of complements on my stylish bike while I chug along, but riding it is like wearing stilettos on a hike.

Green Concealer Is Not To Be Confused With Color Changing Lipstick

My daughter left some cosmetics on my vanity that she bought and decided that she didn't want.

I thought the green lipstick was the color changing variety so I put a large swipe across my bottom lip and waited.

The lips are a linocut print that I made and then tinted with a prismacolor marker. The rest was drawn with with a Pigma Micron Pen.