December has been a busy month. The craft show on the 3rd went very well, a fun and profitable day. There was a good crowd, many of which were serious shoppers, some bringing their own large tote bags. I had all my new work on display and got lots of compliments, plus people were buying note cards and small matted paintings. Lots of friendly people & a great atmosphere, it's my favorite craft show to do. I probably won't have any more craft shows till next fall.
With the show being so early this year, it allowed me to start on Christmas decorating sooner than usual, though as always, that is interrupted by shopping and errands. But I finished putting up the tree and other decorations, and even got the Nativity set up by late last night. I think this is the earliest that's ever been accomplished, at least in recent memory. I still have to go to the mall for a few more gift items and hope to do that Monday or Tuesday. It's good that I only have my mom and sister to shop for, since I don't know how other people buy for a large number of friends & relatives. I don't think I could deal with that.
It's been snowy for much of the past week, including a day of lake effect snow, where the cold air passes over a warmer Lake Erie & causes an excess of wet snow that accumulates quickly. We've had some regular snow since then and the ground is white, I'm hoping it doesn't all melt by next weekend. We'll see...

Hope everyone is having a pleasant holiday. My family had ours yesterday, because my sister, who is a nurse has to work today, tomorrow and the weekend. It was just the 3 of us; me, my sister, and our mom. We got take out turkey dinners from Bob Evans restaurant, so there was no cooking for any of us to do & clean-up was easy. The weather has been rainy for the last few days, but that's typical for this time of year, though I don't think it's as cold as it usually is.
The mobs at the stores tomorrow is something I avoid, so I'm hoping to get lots of painting and writing done as i stay inside. I may go out on Saturday, as a local art supply store is holding free classes that day, in celebration of "Small Business Saturday" & one of them is on Zentangle, a type of drawing that I'd like to learn. If I get brave, I might stop in there for a short while. We'll see...

Had a craft show on Nov. 12th and am now getting ready for another one on Dec. 3rd. Since the Dec. one is where I show all of this year's work, I'm trying to complete a final painting, of a sparrow on a tree root in winter. I've just got the bird itself to do, so fingers crossed.
The one last week was a new one for me & I'd heard good things about it. Everyone involved was very nice and the weather was chilly and sunny, so a good crowd came out. However for most of the day, they seemed to be only buying holiday decor. Previous participants told me that sales were slower than usual, perhaps because of the unexpected results of the election? I got a lot of compliments and did make a small profit, but was a little disappointed. I liked it enough to think of being in it again, though. This is my table display.

It was the second largest show I'd ever been in with 76 vendors offering quite a variety of crafts and food and knick-knacks. One lady had polished rocks for sale, with fossils and geodes and such. I bought a few in the afternoon, as rocks have always been something I've wanted to learn more about and they are pretty to look at.
Yesterday was this winter's first snow in Cleveland. The day before, we'd broken a record for warmth. Less than 24 hours later, I was watching big, fluffy snowflakes float through the air. As the night wore on, the flakes got smaller and began to cover the roofs and edge of the driveway. Guess it's time to get out my parka.

For the final week, I did an ocelot, a small endangered cat that lives from southwest North America through Central and South America, mostly in woods and rain forests. The background is acrylic wash, with the ocelot and details on the leaves done in various pens & art markers. As usual, it's 5x7 inches on Bristol board paper. And that's a wrap for #Inktober2016

This week's project is a Black Murex shell drawn from life.I love drawing shells and this is one of my favorites, with all the spikes. I'm not completely happy with the outcome, but I've done it twice now and this is the best I can do at this point in time. Micron, Faber-Castell, Prismacolor and Distressed art markers were all used to create this study on 5"x7" Bristol board. #Inktober2016

This week's very late entry is a North American porcupine eating some spring leaves.I'd never done a finished drawing of one before and the quills were easier to do than expected. The background and base colors are acrylic wash, but the porcupine itself, tree bark, leaves and limbs are all detailed in ink from Micron pens and various kinds of art markers.That's what took so long to finish, all those little lines. As always, the piece is done on 5"x7" on Bristol board paper.

This week's piece for Inktober is an orca mom and baby. The water is acrylic wash and the the animals are in India ink, which looks uneven because of the way the scanner light affected it. In real life, it's a more consistent black. I was working on this yesterday at a craft show as a demonstration project. 5"x7" on Bristol board paper.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm doing the weekly challenge again for #Inktober2016 where I'll be posting a drawing every Sunday throughout October. This is a black-footed ferret, a very endangered species which lives in the western part of North America. The background is acrylic wash, but the ferret and the details on the dirt is all various color inks. Done on 5"x7" Bristol board paper.

There's been a cabbage white butterfly coming by almost everyday this summer. I'm guessing it's the same one and he/she flies around the arbor vitae trees along the driveway and then crosses over and checks out the flowerbed by the back door and then heads around the other side of the building to the back parking lot. It's usually early afternoon when he/she makes an appearance and I wonder if they have a route through the neighborhood?
I've seen other butterflies this summer; both yellow and black tiger swallowtails and a yellow cabbage, plus a brown & purple-ish one on the flowers the neighbor set out in spring. That one was too small and too far away from the window for me to identify, but it was an uncommon type. In fact, I believe I've seen more butterflies this year than most other years, which is surprising, as conditions were quite dry in the middle of summer, very little rain in July and it's been hotter than usual this season, a number of days in the 90'sF/30C. Usually Cleveland only has 2 or 3 days a year with such high temperatures, but this summer it probably added up to a couple weeks.
Since I'm still learning about butterflies, I don't know if the cabbage ones migrate like Monarchs or pass away. Whichever it is, I'll miss the cheerful presence of fluttering white bobbing along the foliage as autumn takes a firmer hold.

One of the libraries I go to has a lovely reading garden, sprinkled with tables shaded by umbrellas and a short walking path surrounded by flower beds. Last week I stopped there and after getting a tasty mocha latte at their new coffee shop, went out to see what was blooming and sat for awhile at one of the tables. There was still petunias and hydrangeas flowering, along with a number of others I couldn't identify.

I think these are coneflowers, perhaps Black-eyed Susans? There's a few bushes that are just beginning to turn from their summer greenery into gold autumn colors. The garden is subtly divided into various international moods. My favorite section has an Asian influence with a curving Tori gate and birch tree. Another area has a wall fountain that reminds me of Italy. I sat near it and could actually hear the water splashing as it streamed down the triple levels. On the far side of the garden, a copper statue of a dancing boy stands in the middle of a small pond that looks as if frogs should be playing in. The plants are abundant enough to make these man-made objects blend in, creating a harmonious space. As I finished my coffee, I savored the oasis of calm and hoped I could keep the memory of it's peacefulness to help on hectic days.