Sunday 19 October 2014

Tortoiseshell Sunglasses and Flowers


I did this super quick sketch (5 or 10 minutes) of my youngest daughter the other day while we were at a café waiting for our hot drinks to arrive. Her very glamorous tortoiseshell sunglasses had me in their thrall and I felt compelled to sketch them. You can see where I had to revise the jawline due to my initial haste and the likeness could be better - but it was fun to do!

Life has been frenetic these past couple of weeks so sketching and painting have taken a backseat. I did however write a travel article which was published in the travel lift-out of The West Australian this weekend - very exciting! I have also been tizzying up the garden now that the weather is so pleasant for sitting outside (although it poured with rain this weekend). I have enjoyed taking photos of flowers over the last month or two and thought they would be nice to share. So gird your loins people as there are quite a lot of them!
 
The following photos were taken at the height of spring when I went for a walk through local remnant bushland with my mum in early September.










The following were taken in my garden in October
 
 


 

 

 
 
 

 
These lovely roses below are in the garden where I visit my Dad.

 
I hope you all had a great weekend!

35 comments:

  1. Congrats Wendy on your article, I just love seeing photos of any blooms so thank you

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    1. Thanks Lorraine! I love your latest wildlife paintings!

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  2. I ADORE those glasses! You are brilliant at sketching.
    Enjoyed the photos. Neat to think of the flowers we are losing here for winter will still be blooming somewhere else.
    Good hearing form You Wendy. Congratulations on your article. :)))

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    1. Thanks so much Julie! I look forward to getting my Carol Marine book with your stunning painting in it!

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  3. Hey Buddy! I love the sketch of your daughter! Love the total look! The glasses are so very cool! Must have been fun! I bet she loved the drawing. Great way to pass the time! Nice!
    So very happy that you had an article published. It must be interesting to go back and forth with writing and drawing. Nice to have all parts of the creative brain working!! Sparking up all the nerve cells!
    I so love your photos! I can feel the heat! I so love the flowers and the green foliage! Great colors all around! It is so much fun seeing your corner of the planet! Now we are well into our fall and our colors are so very different! Trees and ground cover foliage all aglow with bright reds, yellows, oranges, browns and so many more off the chart fabulous earth tones!! Amazing how different our experiences are at the same time! Thanks for posting your wonderful Australian photos! Feeling the heat is nice as this morning we are witnessing our first frost of the season. Now five thirty AM our time. Getting ready to take train to MFA in Boston, Everyone is covering or bringing as many flowers as possible indoors because of the cold morning. Soon we will have to give into fall and say see you later to our flowers. Maybe I will post some fall photos. Okay mate, nice chatting with you. Keep on writing, drawing, painting and enjoying every second in your beautiful spot on our shared planet!
    Your Loving His Cool New England Weather And At The Same Time Loving Thinking About The Awesome Warm Temperatures In Australia Art Buddy!
    Michael
    Take care Wendy!

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    1. Ah Michael, your enthusiasm always makes my day! I do very much enjoy writing, drawing and painting but it is hard to fit it all in. When I'm ensconced in one, I pine for the other. Balance is always that elusive ideal I strive for.
      I would love to see some of your Autumn photos! So glad that you are back at your art classes in Boston - say hi to my favourite Boston statue for me!
      Your Hope To Visit Boston Before I Die Art Cobber!
      Wendy

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  4. Dearest Wendy - wow - the sketch of your daughter is super...loved those sunglasses too. As for your flowers - how beautiful...Looks like you have such a gorgeous variety. Your patio looks like such a wonderful sunny spot. I can picture you there sketching your heart out. Congratulations on your article with the travel lift out! You have such wonderful gifts my friend. I so enjoyed my visit. It was like almost being there. Thank you for sharing. Have a great week - will email you soon! Hugs

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    1. Thanks so much Debbie, you are very sweet! Soon it will be too hot to be out there much during the day but at the moment we are still getting gorgeous spring weather in the mid 20s Celsius. Am just about to catch up on your blog!!

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  5. Hi Wendy,your daughter looks very cool, you did a fantastic job capturing her expression. I love the design! Keep up the sketching habit, you are so talented!
    I always love seeing your part of the world, it has the most incredible plants. Enjoy and congratulations on your article!!

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    1. Thanks so much Celia! I loved seeing your drawings from earlier days. More photos to come soon of local scenes!

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  6. Great sketch of your daughter sporting her tortoiseshell glasses! She's very pretty. Love all the photos, especially those succulents....great color. Is there a link where we can read the article you wrote? Congrats that it was published.

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    1. Thanks so much Joan!! Sounds like you're a sucker for succulents too! I will check out a link for you as my article did go online as well but not sure if it was in its entirety. Your sketches from your Italian jaunt are superb!!

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  7. Bonjour chère Wendy,

    Je trouve la capture furtive de votre fille pleine de tendresse et j'aime sa légèreté...
    Je suis très admirative de votre jardin avec ses multitudes de fleurs dont certaines pour moi sont inconnues.
    Vous me faites agréablement voyager dans cette belle partie du monde où vous vivez.

    Gros bisous ♡

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    1. Thanks so much Martine! I'm glad you enjoyed getting a glimpse into my part of the world!

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  8. Wendy, your sketches are great! I love the sketch of your daughter in her cool sunglasses! Wow, gorgeous photos of your flowers - beautiful!

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  9. love the sketch of your daughter! ...well i 'girded my loins' and scrolled down your lovely photo collection of the spring blooms...it's so revitalizing to look at spring especially when we are heading into fall. my favourite is those orange peachy coloured roses....sumptuous!

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    1. Thanks Sally! Yes, there are vibrant roses in so many gardens at the moment - it is a joy to behold when driving through suburbia. We have a few beauties of our own flowering - seems to be a good year for them as my climbing rose has been the most prolific ever - and the poor thing hasn't had a dose of fertiliser for ages!

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  10. i forgot to say Congratulations on getting your article published!! way to go Wendy!

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  11. You've got a beautiful garden , so tidy and well kept , but all the photos are lovely , gorgeous flowers ! And you've got such a great hand for sketching , your daughter looks great, modern and chic !

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    1. Thanks so much Jane! It's often not so tidy but I spruced it up for a special occasion recently!

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  12. Hi Wendy. I'm sitting here getting my head around the fact that my garden in October looks nothing like yours at the same time of year. I am getting ready to cover up due to the cold and you are about to take your sweaters off because of the heat. Isn't the world strange and so big and yet so small at the same time with all this digital stuff allowing us to keep in touch!!!! Fab news about your travel article and yet another string to your long and talented bow. Clever girl. Your daughter reminds me of you from your sketch. Similar slender pretty facial features. Though I have no idea about the eyes with her wearing those magnificent sun glasses. lol. Great job with the sketch. I hope life is treating you and your family well these days. Take care and enjoy that sunshine for me. love Laura xx

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    1. Hi Laura, yes it is amazing to think we live in opposite seasons. I was particularly confused this year after spending a month of our winter in the UK enjoying your summer. Adding into the mix the strange weather we get nowadays, I've been finding it sometimes takes me a while to remember what season we are in. Our seasons aren't so dramatically different to each other as yours so they tend to blend in to one another more subtly.
      You are very kind with your comments Laura! I hope to email you soon!

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  13. Congrats on your article being posted. I must say you are surrounded by gorgeous flowers and gardens. We are putting our to bed for the winter. We are also finally getting a lot of rain so it is studio time for me. Have a wonderful day!

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    1. Thanks so much Sharon! I love the journals you have been making!

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  14. Hi Wendy, so great that your article was accepted and published. Congratulations! You garden looks beautiful and indeed tidy. Really nice sketch of your daughter. Have a great Sunday!

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    1. Thanks so much for your enthusiasm Hilje! I hope you are enjoying your autumn weather!

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  15. Lovely sketch, and beautiful photos!

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  16. I appreciate your visit and kind comments Linda!

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  17. I love this sketch of your daughter Wendy.
    I have an old pair of prescription sunglasses very like these in my drawer - my are more rounded - the tortoiseshell pattern is timeless.
    Yes, for southern hemisphere gardeners our time has come!
    We have had a wet and windy Spring where I am - with the odd magnificent day thrown in.
    Best wishes for a happy and productive week ahead!
    Shane

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    1. Thanks Shane! I confess I hadn't realised you were from my side of the world as I'd only seen your stunning French photos and thought maybe you were from the UK - not sure why. I have just revisited your blog and spotted one of your older posts when you got an early spring snow fall. The photos are absolutely STUNNING!
      I hope your spring gets sunnier soon!

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  18. Hi Wendy, I had some sort of computer glich as I was reading your comment to me. Now when I try to see it it says it doesn't exist.So I am sorry I can't post it let alone read it. Grrrrrr :-(

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    1. No worries Sharon, I will re-comment on your lovely blog!

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  19. Good for you writing and doing art. I am impressed, and pleased for you. Everyone corrects their drawings. I love the drawing.

    XOXOXOXOXO Barbara

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