Illustration Friday: Lonely

It's impossible to be lonely when you have a good book—and a chicken or two.

This is May, my Buff Orpington hen, atop one of my latest yard sale finds. My husband spotted these beautiful Adirondack chairs when we stopped at a yard sale on our Saturday morning walk home from the coffee shop.

Both chairs and both footstools for $22—such a steal! I may refinish them down the road, but I kind of like their weathered look. But best of all, they're really comfortable for reading on a summer afternoon; May and Charlotte think so too. 

Are you reading anything wonderful this summer? (I keep my current picks on my sidebar over to the right, if you're interested.)

Illustration Friday: Suspend II

Prismacolor colored pencil (White and 90% Warm Grey) on Strathmore Charcoal Paper

I know, two posts in two days is a tad unusual for me—okay, highly unusual for me—but when I noticed these rocks, they just had to be in a sketch for "suspend". (I hope that the wonderful people at Illustration Friday won't mind me bending the rules and posting two entries.)

Lately, I've been picking up rocks with holes in them when I see them at the beach, or on a walk. Strung up and hanging in my little studio area, they're little travel mementos. (I should have been writing dates and places on them; I think I'll do that from now on!)

Will I make it "three posts in three days"? Tune in tomorrow...

Illustration Friday: Suspend

Prismacolor colored pencils on Strathmore Bristol Vellum

In my garden, ripening blackberries are suspended from their stems, 

waiting for the birds—or me—to pluck them off. 

 

My blackberry plants are out of control—in a good way. They have razor-sharp thorns, and they grow like weeds, but I love them anyway. Maybe it's because I can never pick them without thinking of Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, in which Peter's sisters obediently pick blackberries during his misadventure in Mr. McGregor's garden. 

It's great to be participating in Illustration Friday...it's been a little while! I'm reserving judgement on the new format—maybe it'll just take some getting used to. (I'm not so good with change.) I hope to visit some old favorites as well as some new faces this week! (Update: After actually posting my first time in the new IF  format, I have to admit that it's nice to not have to make a thumbnail—even though I miss the "surprise" element of clicking on them—and the "sharing" capabilities are amazing!)