seeing trees
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Virginia Robinson gardens
I had the opportunity to visit the first estate established in Beverly Hills, CA, the Virginia Robinson Gardens. The mansion was built in 1911; it was the private residence of Virginia Dryden Robinson and Harry Winchester Robinson, heir to J. W. Robinson’s Dept. Store. It’s now managed by the County of Los Angeles and is open to the public for docent tours by advanced reservation only.
I was not there for a docent tour, but I took a quick squizz at the portion of the gardens I was in … they are quite lovely, with steep terrain, many varied textures, and quaint fountains.
champions tunic
I love it when my grandkids request specific handmade gifts. I just received the Christmas wishes, and Felix (12) asked for a Zelda champions tunic. The base garment is easy enough; applying the white embellishment is more of a challenge. I quickly abandoned appliqué, and now I’m going the stencilling route. Right now I’m taking a break from hours of hand-cutting stencils from freezer paper (and wishing I had a nearby friend with a Cricut). White fabric paint has been ordered and is on its way. Fingers crossed that this plan works, and doesn’t end up looking too “Becky Homecky”.
paint it black
Sketching black things with John Muir Laws, learning to see tones and colours within the darks.
galling
I cracked out the old iron gall ink and dip pen to sketch an oak gall and acorns, because why not get meta?
Iron gall ink is one of the most frequently found inks in manuscripts from the 5th to the 19th century. The American Declaration of Independence was penned with this ink, as were many drawings by Leonardo da Vinci At its simplest, it is made from four main ingredients: oak galls, iron sulphate, gum arabic and water.
hair!
I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy
Snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty
Oily, greasy, fleecy
Shining, gleaming, streaming
Flaxen, waxen
Knotted, polka-dotted
Twisted, beaded, braided
Powdered, flowered, and confettied
Bangled, tangled, spangled, and spaghettied!
Cucumis sativus
My homegrown cucumbers are very prickly. It’s not a problem; the spines are easy to scrub off. But before doing so today, I decided to examine some of them under the microscope. Now I’m curious about cactus spines!
lone oak
Sketched from a photo, following John Muir Laws’ Happy Little Trees workshop. He shared a lot of good tips on drawing both broadleaf and coniferous trees, near and far.
get on your high horse
We hiked Nicholas Flat for the first time since spring. The new bridge has remarkably high sides; Vic says it’s to make it safe for horses.
nearly over
Pretty much the last harvest of salad veg for the year; there’s still cucumbers on the vine, and lots of basil, but I pulled the last tomato plant today. This sketch shows 1/50th of the green tomatoes now filling a big colander on the counter, so we’ll still be eating them for a few weeks. Looking forward to brassicas, beets, chard, potatoes, onions ….
hashiworks 