Tag Archives: drawing

Sgt Livingston

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Lloyd Livingston

Marine Sgt Lloyd Livingston in pen and ink. I used a portrait taken of my dad during WWII.

Today is my dad’s birthday, unfortunately, we lost him several years ago. It seemed like a good time to post his portrait. He served as a Marine in the Pacific during WWII, something I’m very proud of. Happy birthday dad.

I’ve been working on my pen and ink portraits and I have found them to be particularly challenging. They are much more difficult than a squirrel or pine cone. After doing a number of fails, I finally completed one that I thought was suitable for posting. No Forestry Friday post today, but it will be back next week.

Teka and Ruby

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Teka

Ruby’s Coarsegold Running Rebel SH, “Teka”

Teka went home to her family about a year ago. I did this drawing before she left. She stayed with us while training. During her time here she completed her AKC Junior and Senior Hunter titles.

Redtails Coarsgold Serrano Sizzle JH, "Ruby"

Redtail’s Coarsgold Serrano Sizzle JH, “Ruby”

Her mother “Ruby” also stayed with us years ago. This is the drawing I did of Ruby when she was here.

This gallery is from Teka’s time with us. Click on the image to enlarge.

There’s gold under that rainbow.
The race is on! Teka.
Nothing gets a girl to roll in the grass like beautiful flowers.
Blitz and Teka on the beach near Brookings.
Doug and Teka.
Teka Playing in the snow
Teka and Blitz were busy plotting against His Excellency!
Teka stares forlornly at a beautiful pair of Canada geese.
Teka can’t wait for her turn. She stakes out my truck.

Very soon Kinta will be going home to Japan. It has been a wonderful year with him, as was our time with Teka and Ruby.

 

 

Forestry Friday … Lodgepole Pine – En Plein Air

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One advantage to having a truck for an office, is to take a few minutes in the woods during lunch to engage in a bit of en plein air sketching. En plein air is a french term meaning “in the open air.” It refers to painting or sketching in the outdoors.

logepole pine, cone, pine cone, pen and ink, drawing, sketch, plein air

En plein air pen and ink of a lodgepole pine cone.

Here is some of our local lodgepole pine.

In California, lodgepole pine is a tree of high elevation.
They prefer growing near wet areas and around meadows.
This Oregon Junco summers in a high elevation lodgepole pine forest.
Lodgepole pine grows around this meadow with Magee Peak in the background. The very tall trees are Ponderosa pine and white fir.
It often grows in pure dense stands.
These are the male cones of the pine.
In some parts of its range, lodgepole pine produces serotinus cones. These cones stay closed until a fire triggers them to open. The seeds are released to begin the next generation.
Lodgepole pine cones are small, less than two inches in diameter.
It is a favored tree for making log homes.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

Fine With Phoebe

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phoebe_276

The Black Phoebe in pen and ink.

Every year we have an addition built on our home. We don’t build it ourselves. The black phoebe families build their mud and twig nests under our western roof peaks when they come to stay.

pheobeNest01

This beautifully beak crafted addition to our home is a classic phoebe nest.

pheobeNest02

At a different roof peak, another phoebe family built their new nest on top of last seasons nest. I think this addition was built by the Picasso of the Phoebe world.

pheobe-003

These little flycatchers strike fear in the hearts of mosquitoes! They’re always welcome moving in with us. Besides, I don’t mind a little mud.

“It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.”
 Aesop

The Blackberry Foxes

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Along the road to our home are blackberry brambles. In one bramble patch is the den of a family of gray foxes. Some mornings I glimpse the foxes hanging out on the road. The foxes have lived in the area for years. They’re attracted to the area for the cottontail rabbits that also live in the blackberries. They appeared in my earlier post The Fox and The Song

pen and ink, drawing, fox, gray fox

“The Vixen”    pen and ink.

The other morning, I was on my way to work. I came around the corner and surprised the fox family. There were four kits and the vixen playing in the road. When they saw me coming they scattered. Foxes were darting here and there diving into the blackberry bushes. I grabbed my camera to get a picture of the group, but they had scampered away. When I stopped in front of their blackberry patch, two of the little kits were peeking out. Before I could focus my camera they disappeared.

This brave little fox graciously pose for me.

The gray fox kit.

However, a couple of days later, I was fortunate to have one brave fox kit sitting out in front of their thicket. This little one posed graciously while I snapped a few pictures. It is always a treat to see the fox family. I just hope they stay far away from our chicken house.

 

Spike Buck

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spike buck, buck, blacktail, Columbian Blacktail deer, deer, deer hunting

Spike Buck, Columbian Blacktail Deer in pen and ink.

spike buck, buck, blacktail, Columbian Blacktail deer, deer, deer hunting

I took these shots one rainy day last deer season. This little spike was very curious about Mary and me.

spike buck, buck, blacktail, Columbian Blacktail deer, deer, deer hunting, deerbrush

Deerbrush is one of their main food sources here. Their favorite is acorns.

spike buck, buck, blacktail, Columbian Blacktail deer, deer, deer hunting

A second tiny spike buck was feeding alongside the first. Bucks with a single spike and does aren’t legal to take in California.

 

 

Forestry Friday … Steam Traction Engine

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Best Traction Engine, traction engine, pen and ink, logging, old time, logs

The Best Steam Traction Engine in pen and ink.

I’ve always enjoyed old time logging scenes as subjects for pen and ink. The steam traction engine in this picture is the same model as the one in my blog banner.

Horses and oxen were the first source of power for lumberjacks. Then, steam traction engines, steam donkeys and locomotives heralded the age of steam in the woods. The Best Steam Traction Engine came to the woods around 1890. There were many different makes of traction engines during that era but, the Best Steam Traction Engines were the machines that operated in our neck of the woods. They hauled logs from the woods to the mills and lumber from the mills to market. The Best Manufacturing Company was started by Daniel Best, and based in San Leandro, California. They built these tractors until 1908 when the Best Manufacturing Company was acquired by Holt Manufacturing Company. Soon after, C. L. Best, Daniel’s son, then started the rival C. L. Best Gas Traction Company. In, 1925 Holt and Best merged to become Caterpillar Tractor Company.

The first time I saw one of these machines in person, I was amazed by its enormous size. The big drive wheels are over seven feet tall. It was a huge tractor used for hauling huge loads.

Forestry Friday … Otter, Otter, Otter!

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This week I’m going to lighten it up. Animals are always fun and what is more fun than a playful otter, except maybe three!

pen and ink, otter, wildlife, nature, ink, pen & ink, drawing, animals

Three otters resting on a log.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted some art. I hope you like it.

 

Otter, photography, wildlife, nature

Bookends!

These are our otters that live at the mill. They travel around the mill site from pond, to river and to canals.  I never know where they are going to pop up next.

Otter, photography, wildlife, nature

Itchy!

Otter, photography, wildlife, nature

The three amigos.

In the forest setting, otters don’t ever become an issue during our harvest operations. They live in the water and riparian area.  Harvesting is minimal in the riparian zones.

Otter, photography, wildlife, natureOtter, photography, wildlife, nature

Blitz, golden retriever, dog, photography

Blitz says, “Can’t trust em’, they remind me of cats!”

 

Natural Born Retriever

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watercolor, watercolour, pen and ink, golden retriever, pheasant, hunting

Blitz follows her nose to the prize.

Blitz took me pheasant hunting last week.  I think she would drive herself if she had thumbs.  Luckily, she needs a gunner tagging along.  It’s my joy to watch this girl living her bliss.  I captured this hunting moment in watercolor, and pen and ink.

Blitz, pheasants, hunting, pheasant hunting

Blitz with her bag.

Lost Art

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When I say “lost art”, I don’t mean a lost skill.  I really mean lost artwork.

Pen and ink, lighthouse, art

Pen and ink of the Battery Point Lighthouse at Crescent City, CA around 1981.  Preserved in a photo.

Have you ever lost track of your artworks.  After decades of doing art, there were some pieces I had entirely forgotten about.  Mary used to take pictures of my art.  It is the only record I have of some of my work.  After all these years I don’t remember where or to whom some of it went.  I never kept track of things in a serious manner, since art was never my first career.  Between selling art, giving pieces away, moving again and again, and years of living life, things fade in memory.  Then, out of the blue I come across a photograph of some lost and forgotten art.  It’s a bit of bliss to me.  All because Mary, of Sneaking Bliss purveyor of bliss, had to forethought to record my art.