Thoughts on Dahlias

I've been thinking about adding dahlias to my little garden, though I hear they are hard to grow - mostly because you have to remember to take the tubers out of the ground and then put them back in, and it has to happen at a certain time. It does not sound too complicated by itself, but the way my garden works (so far) is that as soon as I take something out, I put something else in. So there might be no place for them by the time I should stick them back in - some other lovely plant might be happily growing in their spot. And it feels a little unfair. Dahlias are also maddening for me to draw - but I love trying :) Perhaps I will get a plant too and see if it can survive without leaving the soil for the winter? 

Trip to See the Pacific Ocean

It is always amazing to see the ocean, even just for a little bit. I got a very good reason to go look at it and visit a park that I've not been to in a long while: Año Nuevo State Park! Plus I had a chance to stop at several coastal parks around and saw at least two large snakes, both of which disappeared too quickly for me to identify. It was a beautifully sunny day, but the wind was making it quite cold. 

A pelican with a damaged wing walked along the beach to the place where I was drawing near a little lagoon, but State Park workers told us that there is nothing we can do to help the dear bird - if it was outside California State Park boundaries, there are services that help damaged birds, but inside - the nature should take its course. 

I managed to bring a backpack full of art supplies but forgot water and paper clips, and the wind was taking apart both my sketchbook and tearing marker caps out of my hand! There were a few elephant seals, and we were late to see a promised couple of ospreys, but a family of turkey vultures posed for us on a tree above the sand dunes, and a spectacle of various sea birds diving for fish never gets old! 

On My Table: Beginning of September 2026

September found me with several sketching experiments happening at once. Some inspired by ideas for new workshops, some by the markers I recently got (thank you Arrtx for sending me two sets to play with!), and some inspired by an ongoing conversation about limiting the number of tools I carry in my backpack (it is heavy!), and some CMYK brushpens I've been playing on and off.

In addition to that, I learned that my white Uniball Signo pen can be brought to life after refusing to write (I will draw the exact process in my sketchbook today!), and my craft knife needs new blades urgently. I've been using stretchy electric tape to track which markers I use most. And I have picked 2 lovely colors from Ukrainian Watercolor manufacturer Rosa to include in my experiments this month. All that will show in blog posts very soon! 

Slow-Opening Irises

I recently found a gift of wonderful bouquet of irises waiting for me on the table. They sat closed for the first couple of days and then opened one by one as I was sitting at the table, finishing some sketchbook catching up and having tea - they managed to change completely between two cups and that was the very first page of my sketchbook 166 :) (Usually I draw my current tools but I think this was very appropriate thing to catch in my daily drawn documentary :)

I Grew Carrots in a Pot!

My garden adventures continue! These exceptionally fragrant and beautifully shaped 12 carrots grew from a seed in a lovely pot and were shared with family and friends after the sketch :) (I also made a bowl they are sitting in, but not the pot they grew in - that is my next step ;)