Hunting 113 and after presents!

This Scavenger Hunt #113 is almost over, as usual. Usual for this time of year, anyway. I always have some excuse for not sketching, don't I? I did a few over the last couple of days which I will post below.

For Christmas I received a couple of new fountain pens, one from Joanna and one from Gene to try out. The first from Joanna is a Rotring Art Pen and the other is a Safari by Lamy. I will use both with refills and see how that works. I also received a set of Micron pens from Jennie. They are .01, .03 and .05. I haven't used the .01 or .03 before. Jennie and Larry each got me a Daylight Compact Lamp. They are portable. They can be hung on the wall, too. So, now I have one for my pastels or paints and one for the canvas. No more not seeing what I do. I got a new sketchbook and some canvas panels for the new Golden Open Acrylics I bought for myself. Also a new six pack of Art Spectrum Stone Tones. Wow, lots of new stuff for sketching and painting. Also come new CD's for the painting music. Thank you, Gene, Joanna, Jennie and Larry!

Oh, and a book "Backpacker Painting Outdoors with Oil and Pastel". My friend Sue Modrak and I came this close to going to one of Michael Chesley Johnson's mentoring classes in Sedona. When we decided not to go, I ordered Michael's books for us. (Thanks, Gene!) A small consolation, right? Michael seems like such a great teacher. I have been watching him for several years. He was in Raton, New Mexico, and now is in Maine/Nova Scotia/Sedona. One of these days, we will make it. We do want to go back to Nova Scotia. I will review the book once we get this holiday season out of the way.

Back to sketching,

Number 1, appreciation - we always appreciate Joanna. She is our support tech and we rely on her for many things. We love and appreciate her. :) She was relaxing with her computer and trying Larry's new lap desk, pretty nifty. Didn't finish the sketch, though. Number 2, celebration - the poinsettias and greenery on the table for the season. Lots of red!! These were done with the new Rotring pen. Not enough use yet to see how I like it. It seemed smooth. I put an extra line on Joanna's forhead, she doesn't have a scar there.


Number 3, heart warming - Jennie and the grand-dogs sacked out on Gene's chair. Jennie assured me they were comfortable. Looks to me like Snuggles on her tummy was the only comfortable one with his head tucked in. That was with the new Lamy pen. It was very smooth, too. Number 4, love - A little stuffed Santa from Gene with no reason except to make us all smile. With Micron pens.


I throw in this sketch of Larry so he isn't left out. It is from a photo, though. Joanna recognized him! Not bad for a freehand sketch with a Micron pen, eh?

I have sketched Gene before, this one was in Silver City.

We talked with the David's bunch in Kentucky and shared our tamale stories. We got a Magellan GPS from them, so I am demoted from Navigator to computer tech. Ha. And, with Gene's Mom in New Mexico. It is great to have such a neat family! I hope I didn't forget anything... I usually forget to wrap something, so we will see if I follow my usual pattern.

I hope all of you had a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year to come.