
Found myself in Beverly Hills with a little time to kill.

Found myself in Beverly Hills with a little time to kill.

On Draw With Me this morning, we spent two minutes with a single random art tool, then switched to another one. Repeat for about half an hour, or until spent. Slightly hectic, but fun!

It was good to be back at the beach with Suzanne. The water was clear and warm (about 70°F/21°C), and tiny bean clams (Donax gouldii) were out by the million. S said it had been about ten years since she’d seen this many at Zuma.

Most of the cacti in the bathroom bay window survived a month without water just fine. But this one’s looking a little worse for wear.


Taking part in a group run-through of Liz Steel’s Watercolour on Location course for the second time. Lesson 1: Select, Refine, Design.


Shadows can reveal things we may not otherwise notice. We might see new details or shapes, or even additional organisms that were not at first obvious. Shadows also highlight the shape of the object on which the shadow is cast, and show which parts of the organism are touching the surface. They can help explain complex shapes and how parts fit together.
Thanks to natural science author and illustrator Robin Lee Carlson, I now understand why a water strider’s shadow looks like it has big round feet. Fascinating.

Not only did Annette keep the garden alive in our absence, she left me with a nice sketch subject.

Ah, so good to be picking dinner from the garden again. Travelling is nice, but so is coming home.

Exploring with the grandkids, we spotted a koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) and her joey high in the branches of an ironbark tree near their home. A lovely sighting for our last day in Australia. Today we fly home.