Princess of ?, Pen, Ink and water stuff

Just finished this, haven't thought of an appropriate title yet but like it enough I have to give it one. I don't name most of them but when I finish something I like I have to give it an identity. It's ink and different waterbased media, neocolor II, watercolor pencil. 9x12, so we are in for a wait while it uploads.

I have promised myself to call comcast this week and get the high speed internet, either from them or someone else. They started us out sometime back with the "introductory rate" for phone and tv ( remember when tv was free? or when it cost a little but there was no commercials and now we have the large fee and commercials and it's going up every month.)

Anyway we started out paying around $100 a month for the phone and tv with a movie package and after the rate ended it started going up and up and now averages around $160 for the same stuff. I know someone that just got a three bundle from them for the same hundred a month and they threw in a free notebook computer. So I'm going to call and if they don't lower the rate and give me internet I'm thinking a switch to someone elses introductory rate. It's a hassle but I guess the thing to do is switch carriers every year.

Kids are back in school , got up today and had to go get my daughter and bring her hear so she could take a shower as they are working on her water and then take her to work, an hour later pick up the grandson and the other boy from the busstop and bring them here so that an hour later we could pick up the daughters boyfriend from work ( I let the wife do that). It's a good thing they don't pay us or we would have to get a taxi license. Man it's good to be retired and have nothing to do all day long.

Another Barn

Actually the same barn as last week, inspired by the same photo anyway. Again a mix of Neocolor, watercolor pencils and ink.

Molson

This a detail from a drawing, the full thing too large to post here. From a vintage photo in my collection. I think I remember seeing ads like this on barns when I was younger. I say " i think" because I've seen them so many times in pictures that I don't know if I remember or if it's one of those memories you make up. I do remember the old Burma Shave signs along the road. Those were neat and something I haven't seen in a long long time. Driving to Kansas City as a kid (passenger of course) those signs would make the trip so much shorter waiting for the next group to come up. They had some good ones but I don't remember any now, going to have to google it soon as this picture gets loaded.

Girl in Red

I knew I had been neglecting the blogs but time does fly, didn' realize is was eight days. I apologize to my regular readers ( both of them.) I'll use the last minute tax season and a touch of stomach flu as excuses.

This girl was with others in a old postcard, all looked like sisters and all had thier hair cut the same. Nothing written on it so just guessing it was sisters but looked like a family thing.

Girl with flowers

As often the case my model is from a photo in my vintage collection. They work for cheap and rarely complain. I change them enough they wouldn't recognize themselves even if they do follow blogs at the really old folks home.

I have a lot of things to draw from now, yesterday uploading pics from my digital camera, something I hadn't done in awhile, 280 pics being awhile. Not sure why I let it go that long except to say prograstination is an art form and I am a master at it. Lot's of family stuff of course, holloween pics and baseball pics from two years ago but also pics I took with the thought that it would make a great drawing or even a painting. My wife also has a digital camera that she relies on me to upload but she'll have to wait. Only printed out a select "few" of mine and used up all the ink and photo paper in my budget until payday.

What , Bird's Again?

Well Yeah, what can I say. First I like them and second I see them every day outside the window where I sit. So they are on my mind a lot and that transfers to what I draw. I try to make them a little different each time. I could try a Cardinal now and then or a Blue Jay because we get those once in a while. The other birds don't like the Blue Jays of course, I understand they like to raid nests and eat eggs of the other smaller birds. Mostly though its sparrows which I think are cool even if they are common. I never knew how many different kinds there are until I started trying to find out what we have here. There are lots and lots of different sparrows even in this area. I still want to know who coined that phrase when they say someone " eats like a bird." meaning I guess that they don't eat much. We buy a 20# bag and are lucky if it lasts a week. I fill two feeders and one is all empty and the other mostly within two hours. Of course a lot of it is on the ground as they are choosy, looking for what they want and flipping the rest all over the place. When it's empty they will go to the ground and eat so it's a matter of preference, not that they wont eat it all.

This is a detail of a bigger drawing done in the usual watercolor pencil and inks.

Granny

A small (5X7) drawing of a granny, not mine but she had to be someones. She's actually from an old photo I bought recently. I just loved her look, typical granny sitting outside in a favorite chair. The drawing is mostly watercolor pencil, some dry and some brushed on.k

Another warmer but wet day here in Chicagoland, went out to the store with just a light shirt jacket on but it was over quick, starting to feel the chill as I got back home and it was just starting to get a little darker so the temp drops.