Thank You All & Cincinnati City Walk: Part I

Thank you all so much for leaving kind and encouraging comments on my previous post. I am a 100% sure it sped up the healing process, it felt like a warm blanket, friends!!!

But enough with the indulging in a little pampering! Sore backs don’t heal themselves, work needs to be done: exercises, rowing, swimming and above all walking.

Hilly nature walks are a step too far at the moment. So a nice walk through the city centre in the vicinity of Findlay Market it was and we brought the camera this time. In Spring weather the light is perfect for street photography.

So images from Cincinnati on a Saturday morning. This is our brand new street car!

Cincinnati with its history with the meat industry, has a fondness of (flying) pigs. You find them everywhere.This is a window display at a butcher…I don’t think those pigs entirely agree ;o)

That costume of the tour guide of this guided tour is too beautiful for words!!!

Cincinati is climbing out of recession and many building are done up beautifully at the moment. The contrast on what is and is not done yet, is clearly visible…

And than a perfect ending in one of our favorite restaurant for a proper BBQ meal.

Nou wat een lieve, leuke berichtjes kreeg op mijn vorige post. Daar knapt een mens van op hoor. Ik ben alweer aan de wandel en druk met oefeningen. In de modder ploeteren, op de heuvels in de wilde natuur is wat veel gevraagd nog maar een knusse stadswandeling met de camera in de aanslag zit er alweer in. Dit is Cincinnati op een zaterdag morgen met lekker lente weer.

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Sketch Journal Project: More Sketches and a Knitting Retreat!!

 

I have only a few sketches to show for. Fall is definitely a theme here. In my sketchbook and for a personal project.

These little pigs are for a commission. This first sketch is approved and now I have to think about filling in the background.

However..I had no time to work on it, since a few fabulous friends and I traveled to Virginia for a knitting retreat!! We were taught in the fine art of Norwegian knitting at Knitxperience by Beth Brown-Reinsel. What a fantastic teacher she was!!! I learned so much, met wonderful people and walked in beautiful scenery. Sigh…my head is still in Virginia with those lovely knitting friends.

Ik heb allen maar een paar “start” schetsjes. Wat lekker herfst gekrabbel en een eerste schets voor opdracht met t thema varkentjes! Deze schets is goed gekeurd en nu de achtergrond verzinnen.  
Maar ik had t even te druk met een gezellige brei vakantie in Virginia. Zo veel geleerd en zulke leuke mensen ontmoet…zucht, ik geloof dat mijn hoofd nog steeds in Virginia is!

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Winter Time…Tea Time!!

 

Really, a bit of a nonsense title…any time , any day (or night) I can drink tea. And yes yes…hot chocolate is nice too for the winter or a good toddy, right? To keep the cold of , I mean ;o)
Anyhue, sometimes it is just plain fun to make a simple drawing of something close to ones heart..a good cuppa!
Simple things can represent so much: an old blanket that reminds you of your childhood, hot apple pie of Grandma , the smell of a home cooked breakfast brings me back to campsites when the Walker Boys were little lads…

And tea!!  It symbolizes relaxing coziness, connected to reading, knitting, lovely get to togethers. The ritual of making that cup, choosing the right tea, pot and cup. And I have indeed way too many pretty containers with the right teas for the right moments.

This brand is very good and it is sold here in Cincinnati in the daintiest tea shop ever.

But when it comes to the best tea ever: I can, as a self appointed tea connoisseur, state that this tea is the best there is. Just a strong cup with a dollop of milk…the world is perfect again from the first sip onwards. (And no, this blog is not sponsored…though I will reconsider for free amounts of Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast Tea ;o))

Having lots of fun with this drawing, also about tea and winter and coziness.

Ach wat is er nu fijner op een koude winterse dag dan even weg te mijmeren over thee..en gewoon even zo’n gezellig kopje te tekenen en te werken aan een die wat gecompliceerder is. En aan de hoeveelheid trommeltjes kan je wel zien dat ik een heuse thee connaisseur ben ;o)

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Another Diorama

‘Children have one kind of silliness, as you know, and grown-ups have another kind.” -C.S. Lewis

I love making dioramas. I saw this glass cone and knew it was perfect for another diorama. I just opened my drawer with small/found/discarded thingies…and out came this little sea world.

I suppose psychologist have something to say about this…but I am not such a deep thinker ;0)

Here and here are a few more.

Love and Liefs, Johanna

 

Sketch, Fine Liner and Color

Still working hard this week and the dead line is getting closer!

This is my first drawing of Charley.

And some more work of this week.

Thanks again Cathe..you and Stella are beautiful and marvelous!

 

Spot the difference?

Have a Lovely Weekend!

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Looky, Looky Here What Came in the Mail!!!!

The lovely and ever so talented Kelly from Boomdeeadda raffled off a scrapbook kit to make your own calendar and I won it!!! Her website is a feast for the eye with her colorful and cheerful works of art and her narratives will make you chuckle and laugh out loud! And now this generous woman send a package that resembles her website: creative, colorful and full of surprises!!!

Oh my, this parcel was too pretty to unwrap!! ( and yes, Kelly, Mr. Walker said: ‘Very colorful, indeed.’;0))

Oh look how pretty and beautiful. Complete with glue, pencils and lovely matching pencil case.

Look at this, extra goodies too…really, I am lost for words.

And then a perfect gift for a hiking dog…Charley was lost for words too! How clever is this???!!!

First week of January is going to be nice and quiet and I am going to sit down and carefully put this together. My first paper art project since kindergarden. I already told Kelly, I did not have the best of motor skills as a wee girl and an in my opinion vicious project with glueing little colored paper balls onto coloring sheets, ended up with me covered in glue and color stains from those paper balls that dissolved in glue all together and the sheets glued to the table, etcetc and teach and mom with lots of ruffled feathers, oohooh and boohoo… Time to heal that trauma and enjoy this wonderful project!

Dear, sweet Kelly hugs and kisses from your friends in Ohio!!!

Oh and look carefully at this card rack, Kelly also included two postcards with kind writings that still have my ears flapping with pleasure and delight. ( the ones with the beautiful long haired girls) These cards are made by another gifted artist: Maria Pace Wynters…also a website worth visiting!

Nou jongens, wat zijn Charley en ik me daar even verwend door een geweldige vakvrouw Kelly van de website Boomdeeadda.

Love and Liefs,

Johanna

A Gentlemen’s Apartment, Part One and a Winner!

Last weekend, it was Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada. Mr. Walker took some extra days off, we packed our suitcases and went to Toronto where both our Walker Boys live. A few weeks ago, we helped them move to their beautiful two bedroom apartment. And now they had invited us for Thanksgiving! Uhm, before we go further: my wide angle lens is absolute rubbish, but we all are going to pretend the following photos are perfect and ready to star on Apartmenttherapy.com ;0)

I still cannot believe, we found this gorgeous apartment so close to downtown. Shops around the corner with bus stops and subway stations. From the balcony a view to stately gardens and a little park: shade in the summer, sunshine in the winter and a feel of nature all year round…I sound like a real estate agent here!

After moving from one to the next ‘student-settlement’ for a few years, Young Mr Walker and the even Younger Mr. Walker decided to look for a decent place to live together ( they get along very well) and after a long, very long search found this lovely, lovely place. ( can you tell, I really like it?)

Aaaaand, Mr. Walker and I do not have to stay in hotels anymore when visiting our offspring. There is room enough for us for a couple of days and we can relax, cook and share meals and have quality family time.

I think, these Young Urban Gentlemen did a very good job in decorating this place.

More tomorrow.

So now about my Giveaway: it turned out that Anne from Ottawa, Judith from London and the lovely Milk Maid from Christchurch had the right size. Oh, agony, who to choose??? I know you are all good sports, so here my decision:  since Judith already owns an example of my knitting, and in New Zealand Spring is well on its way…it seemed so fair to protect Anne’s feet from the harsh cold winter in Canada…which I know from experience, is very cold indeed!

So Anne, my dear, email me your address at colorpencil.2014@gmail.com and you will have them before the snow flies!

We hadden een geweldig lang weekend in Toronto, op uitnodiging van the Walker Boys, die sinds kort in dit prachtige appartement wonen. Mijn groothoeklens is tamelijk waardeloos maar je kan toch zien dat het een bijzonder leuk en erg fraai ingericht Herenappartement is!

De slofjes zijn overigens gewonnen door Anne in Ottowa, die in Canada de grootste kans op erg koude voeten heeft!

Love and Liefs,

Johanna.