Detailed Study Drawing Crested Cormorant

Not all of my work has been of the quick sketch nature. Here is graphite study made after the trip to Horicon Marsh. We were so lucky to see several Crested Cormorants and while we were much farther away, I wanted to learn more about them at closer range. Using various guidebooks I have on birds, I did some background reading and study. Then using a photo from a "Paint My Photo" artist's web site, I made this detailed drawing of a Crested Cormorant.

Elsie's Summer

Where has Elsie been this summer and why has she not been posting?
After a very long winter and way too much painting in my studio, I decided I really needed to change direction in what I was doing. I do not do well on ice, so I was feeling very housebound. Instead of a focus on more finished paintings, I have chosen to "get out and get sketching."
I have taken three on-line courses from Cahty Johnson (Not my daughter, but one of my favorite art teachers) involving "Quick Sketching", "Artist Sketchbook Journaling "
and Watercolor Pencils. While I have done a few paintings, most of my work has evolved drawing in graphite, ink, watercolor pencil and combinations of these.
Bob and I spend a marvelous weekend at Horicon Marsh recently and I had great fun sketching and Bob enjoyed photography. Here are some quick sketches.

There Used To Be A House Here

I belong to an on-line watercolor artist group and our September challenge was to paint something related to an "abandoned" theme. Here is my painting. It is entitled, "There Used To Be A House Here." It is inspired by my neighbor's lovely old rural mailbox. Her mailbox has the beautiful rust patterns, but is far from being abandoned. I used my "artist imagination" to lean it over, added a broken hinge and broken flag etc. Then I was inspired by the same neighbor's prairie restoration garden and added samples of prairie plants, as if the house had disappeared, and only the mailbox remained and the prairie started to reclaim the land.
It is a glorious fall here in Wisconsin and I love seeing the old prairie plants.