Overlapping of seasons.

It's January.
There is a decorative pear tree near my home.

I found some beautiful leaves on the ground the other day and sketched them. Then I looked up and saw that bare branches of the tree are covered with the buds bursting with flowers. Sketched them too - one spread of the sketchbook depicting overlapping seasons in California.

Sketching birds at their morning routine.

Beautifully sunny and clear morning to ride a bike! I sketched a bunch of birds sitting on the half-submerged pipe. All the birds were pruning though I did not catch the angle of the blue heron's head so he is pretty static in my drawing.

 Here is a little collage of the process and details.

Afternoon outing to paint fall colors

Coming home.

These are the first two pages in my sketchbook after the trip to Europe in the fall. I love these pages because of two things: 

1. My joy for reconnecting with gouache! 

2. These pages show me how I "come home".

 These were done during busy post-trip days packed with an attempt to get back in the rhythm of things as soon as possible. I did these pages in between things, one little bit at a time. And they are depictions of the simplest things around me. 

There were other sketches but after I made these I knew I returned home :)

Giving names is important.

I find that giving things and creatures around you names is a good start of relationships. Here is a portrait of a night heron which I see at the same place almost always I pass it. I hamed it Penelope.

 And below a green heron Innokentiy. 

I also saw a family of ducks today. But they don't have names yet.