RONA

which was and remarkably remains my acronym for Return of Normal Activity :-)

Some word-art words which just popped into my brain in all their bleakness:

Bleak, huh...

Hmm...?

But as ever, a dog to the rescue:

From my art journal

First thing in the morning...

a nice steaming cup of java :-)

Mug of  hot coffee...thank you, Michael!

Pleasant start to the day.  On some mornings the coffee is so exceptionally smooth and caramel-y that I have to sit and drink the entire mug while I look out the window, perhaps daydream.  Ah-h-h.

Here's a visual:

Positive is better :-)

And something about a favored subject - dogs:

Our furry buddies <3

A sketch and some word art

Remy is also known as "Reporter Dog".  He alerts me with one or two barks if he hears something - a delivery at the front door or some interesting or alarming activity he spies from the window.

But usually he looks like this :-)

"Remy, keep me company."

Doodling in my art journal -  positive and negative word art:

More hand-lettering, word art and a little black glove :-)

I was doodling in my art journal and a little white dog appeared - he reminds me of Duffie, my sweet little Westie from many years ago.  Who can know where the untended mind will go?

Carbon black ink, Sharpie markers, Copic markers

This word art also is the result of a doodle. 

I like to be aware of when it is used.

And the little black glove?

Remy's antics with his "found" object make me laugh!

Remy found one while we were on walkies yesterday.  It was great fun to mouth it and toss it up in the air and generally roll around with it.  "O, the little joys that a dog enjoys." - a cranna quote :-)

Positivity is a Word

I like it.  I don't know where I have been but I just discovered this :-)
Fortuitous, fortuitous - because positivity is the thought/word that came to me in wondering how to describe the subject of this post.  Here we go.

One positive thing:

And another one:

Positivity feels pretty good :-)

More Lettering - with Mister Cool Dog and Oscar

Fun stuff - sketching Mister Cool Dog and doodling a favorite quote:

Ink, Copic marker

Glib or tongue-in-cheek?

I was doodling around with word art and lettering - the usual subjects being interesting words or quotes.  I came upon this one and doodled it:

Mixed media

I have very little experience with kittens and cats therefore I was wondering if Ogden Nash was being glib or perhaps just tongue-in-cheek.

I would wholly disagree if this had been said about puppies and dogs because a dog is just a more wonderful version of a puppy :-)

My art journal: "Words, words, words" (and dogs)

Purloining Shakespeare, I know, I know... boo.  My excuse?   In attempting to describe my fascination with words, this is the phrase (completely out of context) that came to mind.

No surprise then that MOOs and word art make regular appearances in my art journal :-)

New MOOs:

New word art:

When is comes to word art, I also have favorite words such as solitary, peculiar, singular, absinthe, twirl, woof - I could go on... but goodness, I won't.  Why some words are more appealing than others?  Possibly it's simply the look of the letter combinations, the sound of the spoken word, the denotation or connotation of the word itself.  Well, I love a mystery :-)

And dogs:

Dogs are a constant journal entry, too, because I love them.  Perhaps I ought to challenge myself to posting "a dog a day" sketch.  O, on second thought, not now.  No need to get carried away!

Doodled from my imagination :-)

As I write this my sweet dog, Remy, is snoozing by my chair.  This autumn afternoon the weather is sunny and beautiful and soon we will be heading out for walkies, yay!

Art journal, dog nose, MOO, and a quote

Amazingly, I began my fourth art journal on October 13th.  This is the title page -

Pretty much to the point :-)

Although I have been an artist for as long as I can remember, the practice of serious daily art journaling began a year ago.  I took Cat Bennett's class, Sketchbooks: Making Art a Practice, and during the course of the class I made a commitment to journal every day.  And now, twelve months later I have three completed journals and more importantly, a daily art journaling habit, yay!

About a dog's nose?  My golden, Remy, loves to go walkies and spends the majority of the time sniffing... everything.  I have learned to take it easy, not rush, give him the time to investigate the world in his own way.  Oy, even if it involves standing about for 45 or 50 seconds while Remy is sniffing an unremarkable bit of grass or a single (!) leaf.

This activity, which is of paramount importance to my boy, deserves a drawing:

A different world...

Today's MOO is a word combination that materialized in my thoughts.  I am not entirely certain what it means, but it does have to do with thinking that is not jaded by negativity:

The quote is from Shakespeare -

For me, reining in Expectation in its many guises has been only positive :-)

Dog focus today

Remy and I took our regular walkies this afternoon.  The weather was just lovely.  The bunnies were out in force - hopping hither and yon, in some instances right in front of Remy!  He's doing really well keeping his predatory drive in check.  While he does give the bunnies a good look, he doesn't chase after them.  Of course he  gets a nice treat for being a very good boy.  And just see the face I get to look at:

<3

And from my art journal, a couple of things -

Another (!) dog:

Quick pen sketch.

And this quote that I like and illustrated for fun:

:-)

Scribbling away

Every day begins with a warm up, usually an entry in my art journal.  It's an easy way for me to get over the perfection/judgment thoughts because in my journal I view my mistakes in a new way.

A mistake can be a challenge - can I learn from it? save it?  A mistake can be a test of my ego, in other words, am I able to accept that it truly is a mess? that it is not "fixable" and I am okay to move on.  If not, well that's just the ego at work. Oy.

Recent scribbles -

A rufous rat-kangaroo (long hind legs for hopping about):

Platinum carbon ink sketch

Remy inspired this MOOdle.  He snoozes in my studio, a lot.  Suddenly he will wake up, find a toy and come over and sit next to me.  He looks at me until I look at him.  He has that doggie smile and a waggy tail.  How could I not respond  :-)

Ink, Copic markers

And a bit of word art:

Some days...

What makes every thing better?

This question came into my brain while I was working in my art journal.  For me the answer is a golden retriever, but more generally I would have to say -

:-)

And here is a visual -

<3

I have also begun something I call pattern journaling.  Here's an example -

Platinum carbon ink, Sharpie pens

The two features are random line work and color.  It's fun to create these patterns and addictive, too.

Friday's dog and words, words :-)

A dog's face -

Graphite

A funny MOO that came to me as I pondered :-)

And then this one -

A lab face and more

Drawing dogs is just something I love to do.  Dogs have expressive faces and I just love their muzzles, the way they "pooch" out over their teeth :-)

Ink, graphite and pastel

Here's a quote from a favorite theoretical physicist and cosmologist -

And a MOO -

The black and gray post

This one is just for fun:

Happy dog face :-)

Just about anyone who draws from life and chooses one's dog as a subject knows this frustration. 

This unfinished sketch is called I just began sketching my "sleeping" dog and then he moved...

  Oy.

And then this MOO:

the fanciful but skewed thought

Next post there will be color(s).

Mostly pictures

I haven't been in a "talkative" frame of mind of late.  It happens.  To celebrate how I feel presently and, also, to not get on my own case about it, I'll post some recent work and let that just be it for now :-)

MOO from my art journal

"Elk in Field"

Two JRTs

Wednesday sketch

It is pretty obvious I love dogs.  Dogs are furry packages of face and body expressions that can melt my heart, make me laugh and sometimes cry.  These qualities also make them a joy to draw <3

A pensive boy:

Graphite

Active lines and a MOO

I like to sketch every day.  Sometimes these sketches are quick line drawings straight from my head.  My favorite subject is the dog :-)

I drew a series of three:

Maybe a little sad?

Wow, wired :-)

Ready to play!

And I drew a cat:

Alarmed??

MOO:

 I had no idea that there is such a thing as a witches' door, but in any case, my word art isn't one of them.  It's just word play :-)