An In Flight Illo...

...letting my mind wander and dream as we flew

over the quilt like ranches and farmlands of the central plains...

a "no holds barred" peek at some

imperfect pen dancing.

“Dreams are illustrations...from the book your soul is writing about you.”

~ Marsha Norman

There and Back...

...finishing up

my Illinois travels by illustrating the flight home October 6th.

Actually...

the first drawing

was a "left over" from another trip

but I thought it fit well with the theme of this post

so I added it in.

The last two illos and the photo are all current

and they finally complete my

Illinois sketchbook entries from this summer.
Click on any image to enlarge...:)

On to brand new ventures...

desert style...:)

Ahhh!

“Voyage, travel, and change of place

impart vigor.”

~Seneca

(Roman Philosopher, mid 1st century AD)

One More Month Done...

...in an attempt to shore up

all by summer Illinois sketches and zen drawings

by

the time we leave for Arizona this Saturday.

By the looks of it...

I think I just might succeed!!!

:)

Warm Apple Cider Donuts...

...accompanied by

sweet, richly bronze...chilled to perfection...fresh cider...

orchards

decorated with multicolored apples

and

flame colored knobby pumpkins...
honking geese
flying in ancestral formations...

crisp fall air scented with the smokey richness

of crackling fire pits...

a simple sun warmed day...sapphire blue skies...

blazing maples
still bountiful with leaves...

cornstalks...
dried and golden...softly rustling in the fields...
Ahhh!

The tastes, the sounds,

the aromas...

 the colors and sights and the soul filling delights

 of a northern Illinois fall

are once again imprinted deep in my heart.

Forever.

Gosh, I simply LOVE this time of year!

"How beautifully leaves grow old.
How full of light and color are their last days."
~John Burroughs

A Simple Medical Procedure...

...this time it was Scott's "turn"...

and I took advantage of yet another 

sketching opportunity.

And...

I can definitely assure you that

this was NOT

"drawn en route from Arizona to Illinois...over Iowa"

as that label

in the bottom right corner states...

(that refers to a sketch on the following page.)

:)

Some More Random Illinois Art...

of events documented in my Illlinois Sketchbook...

eating out....

the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics...

...even celebrating with Inboden's award winning Bratwurst.

Squeezing in a recent fashion illo on an old orchard page...

 

...and finishing up with a bit of zen calendar art...

...inspired by whatever catches my fancy at the moment.

My goal is to completely update

my blog

with all my past and present Illinois sketches and drawings

before we head back to the great southwest

this Saturday.

Always good to have a goal...better still to reach it!

"Obstacles

are those frightful things you see

when you take your eyes off your goal."

~Henry Ford

Time Travel...

...at snail's pace...

of some waiting room sketches

drawn "ink straight in"...lead free...at my brother's dental practice

over a span of three years.

And...

(just like many of the other pieces in my Illinois sketchbook)

they have just now been watercolored

and

finally uploaded to my blog.

Click on any image to enlarge...:)

"Every tooth in a man's head

 is more valuable than

a diamond."

~Miguel de Cervantes,

 Don Quixote, 1605

Oldies But Goodies...

...some more sketches from my

Illinois Sketchbook...

each drawn ink straight in...lead free...

quite some time ago...

but never watercolored or posted until now.

Click on any image to enlarge...:)

The Past Three Weeks...

...in quick review...

and

hopefully never to be repeated again!

3 doctor's appointments...

(one convenient care doc...one internist...and one surgeon)

1 CT scan...

4 abdominal x-rays...

4 kidney stones...

1 episode of diverticulitis...2 clear liquids diets...

2 extremely potent antibiotics...

taken for 10 days...

2 bottles of magnesium citrate...

 (followed by the hours of the distress it causes)

1 out patient procedure...

and, finally,

real food...pancakes at Egg Haven...

and

one cup of "Recoup Soup"

for dinner.

Thank the lord all is well and that is now OVER!!!

Yes,

I did the sketch while at the hospital...

ink straight in...lead free. :)

Sooo...does
"An apple a day (really) keep the doctor away"...???

"A Sketchbook Dump..."

...for your viewing pleasure.

These are remnants...

my unposted sketches drawn while waiting for flights

at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona.

They were all drawn ink first...lead free...

 in my Illinois travel sketchbook...

(check out the dates...)

and

finally watercolored a couple of weeks ago

and uploaded

today!

Click on any image to enlarge.

"I fly

 because it releases my mind from the tyranny

of petty things."

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Backtracking..."

...in an attempt to catch up...

with all my summer journal drawings

so

I am ready for new art

for the holidays!

This was drawn "ink straight in"...lead free...

while awaiting an

optometry appointment this summer back in Illinois.

This was my view

from where I was seated in the waiting room.

I actually added watercolor just about a week later...

then

flipped it into the "negative" with Microsoft Digital Editor

a few seconds ago

and finally posted it just now...

almost 4 months

later.

Backtracking...at its finest!

"Never forget

the power of silence,

that massively disconcerting pause

which

goes on and on

and may at last induce an opponent

to babble and backtrack

nervously."
~Lance Morrow

"By the Light of the Moon..."

...Sunset Jack left Illinois Saturday just after midnight for his

5:00 AM flight

back home to Arizona...

it was a "Hard Day's Night" for sure.

This weekend Jack will be doing nothing but resting

and

catching up on his blog friends...

It's good to be home!

(Past adventures of Sunset Jack can be found here.)

"It's been a

hard day's night,

and I've been working like a dog...

It's been

a hard day's night,

I should be sleeping like a log...

But

when I get home to you I find the things

that you do

Will make me feel

alright..."

~John Lennon and Paul McCartney

"A Few More Bits..."

...from my Illinois travel sketchbook...:)

(Click on any image to enlarge...)

A snowy view...

An very commonplace airport gate scene...

and

A life sized ad for Halls cough drops

hanging directly across from our gate waiting area

complete

with a poor fellow with bleary swollen eyes

and a red stuffy nose.

Ah Choo!

That's the Midwest in winter for ya!

LOL :)

"O, wind,

if winter comes, can spring be far behind?"
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

"Adrift..."

...in an infinite sea of white puffy clouds

floating somewhere over Iowa

my Muse's thoughts

sought safe harbor in the point of my

trusty Pitt pen.

This drawing was the result.

I was so intent on keeping a steady, smooth hand

during the drawing process

that I did not even notice that people in my row,

on both sides of the aisle even,

were watching me draw.

Good thing I was oblivious

and

artfully adrift in my own little world.

Drawn aboard

USAir...Flight 1...Phoenix to Chicago...02.07.10...

then colored at "home" in Illinois.

Illustration Friday: "Adrift"

“Twenty years from now

you will be more disappointed by the things

that you didn’t do

than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream.

Discover.”

~Mark Twain

"Up, Up, and Away..."

(Click on any image to enlarge...)

...A few recent travel sketches...

drawn lead free...

from my Illinois travel sketchbook/journal.

These were drawn on my lap

while awaiting

departure of our early morning flight

from Phoenix to Chicago

last week.

I love travelling with my sketchbook! :)

Watercolor

was added after I returned to Arizona.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans,

and is not intent

on arriving.”
~Lao Tzu

"Let's Meet At.."

...at the annual Sycamore Pumpkin Festival!

Oh my gosh...for a lifetime, it seemed,

it was an October tradition my family to gather in Sycamore

for the weekend of Pumpkin Festival.

(The link above has all kinds of interesting info, if you have time.)

The arts and crafts fair would be on Saturday and Sunday...

And the big parade

...attracting over 100,000 visitors...

would culminate the festival on Sunday.

Anyone

who had moved away from home

would be back in town for the celebration.

There were carved pumpkins on the courthouse lawn,

pumpkin pie eating contests, carnival rides, vendors along the streets...

fireworks, family reunions, sloppy joes, caramel apples,

10K runs, politicians campaigning, leaves crunching,

antique shows, excited school kids,

painted faces,

a "down home" flavor everywhere you went.

The crispness of Fall was is the air...and life was totally good!

I miss autumn celebrations in the midwest

and

warming up by crackling fires at night...

It was so comforting and fun for all of us to be together.

This post is dedicated to all friends, colleagues,

and former students,

who are in town this weekend for the celebration!

I will be thinking about you!

"The nice part about living in a small town

is that when you don't know what you're doing,

someone else does."

~Unknown

"An Old Fashioned..."

...Midwest garden hideaway...

Blumen Gardens...in lovely Sycamore, Illinois.

Primitive, rustic, quirky, and artistic treasures

fill an old brick warehouse

and an enchanting garden shop to the brim.

Winding stone, brick, and gravel pathways

weave through luscious seasonal plant and flower displays

making the gardens a perfect neighborhood retreat.

Quaint and unique areas of the garden

make ideal spots for a wedding or an evening reception,

plein air painting or yoga classes,

and a rich variety of all sorts other special activities.

Architectural remnants and antique garden artifacts

have been lovingly revamped and recycled and renewed...

and used as display items

making the atmosphere feel nostalgic and even a bit zen like.

Whenever I visit the gardens my heart becomes light

and my spirit seems to float.

Click here

to learn about the gardens or to take your own personal garden journey. :)

"The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses."

~Hanna Rion

"Berries and Leaves..."

...about to burst with splashes of autumnal glory.

These "gifts"

are brought to you courtesy of the one of the

"clump hawthorn" trees

in front of our house back in

Illinois. :)

"It's a Pygmy..."

...Pygmy Barberry, that is...

All dressed up in autumnal splendor!

And...For any of you curious readers out there...

to date...

there have been 53 blooms... and we're still counting...on the

Night Blooming Cereus! :)

"Nothing New Here?..."

... Just the "same old...same old"!

Doesn't matter where you live...yardwork is inevitable!

When we were back in Illinois

Scott and I worked one day
using a small hand saw and tree clippers,
to trim overgrown bushes and trees and hedges and the like...
bagging 14 jumbo recycling bags full of yard waste
and tying together 4 huge bundles of thicker limbs
to be carried off the next day by Waste Management.
And...
That didn't even include mowing the lawn, edging, pulling weeds,
"yadda, yadda, yadda...!"

It was just more or the "same old..same old..."

we have done every summer.

We knew yard work in Arizona was inevitable too,

and we also knew it was a different animal...entirely!

Everything growing in the desert has some sort of thorn or "bite" to it

and it is ferociously fearsome to tackle!
This morning , Domingo and his 2 man crew

worked for 2 hours using power "whackers" to tame

8 thorny bougainvillea bushes,

5 Mexican bird of paradise,

2 spiked Palo Verde trees,

and one Canary Island palm...

all gone "wild and woolly" since we were away.

Thorny prickly yard debris was everywhere

piled 3-4 feet high in places

from front to back!
Palm fronds and branches and limbs

were lifted with pitchforks and thrown into
the back of a huge open "soon to be overflowing" trailer cart.

Like a myriad of snowflakes in a windstorm,

papery dried bougainvillea blossoms were spun everywhere in the air

given flight by blasts from two powerful yard blowers.

Nothing new here...

Yes, again, the "same old...same old"-just Arizona style.

Hmmm...

"Nothing new here..."

In proofing these words, now in the wee hours of this day,

I find my spirit unsettled.

I have spoken only of mundane things.

Trying to be witty and clever and light...

Chores, and routines, and piles of yard waste...

the "same old ...same old."

Not once thinking or speaking about a bigger picture.

My heart aches for those who are experiencing

numbing loss this year due to uncontrollable forces of nature.
Lives and spirits and property have been brutally bashed.

No one ever knows when strife will happen.

No day should ever be the "same old same old..."

Every day really counts...Lives must be lived with gratitude,
Blessings must be counted daily.
I pray that with faith and hope all will be able to

piece together the broken bits of their spirits

their hearts, their homes and their days...