Me + the kids. Alki. Home. Stovetop espresso > iced coffee.

I could go on and on, but this sums it up. Michael working hard again after a year of being a stay-at-home-super-dad (which is harder?!). Employment! Happiness! Lightness! We love seeing him in this 6 days a week. We love stocking up on sandwich stuff and apples for his daily lunch. Go Michael! Go USPS! Oh...and that little blurb in there is from one of our new favorite songs from the Backyardigans.

I loved seeing HM in all her pink surrounded by these flowers on the way to Westcrest Park last week. I knew I wanted to paint it later.

At first, I was going to do a quick sketch — not get all fussy. The detail-loving part of me couldn’t resist trying to get it right. Usually I sketch with a pen. This time, I used a pencil and erased and erased until it was the best I could get {even though the perspective is a little different than the photo below}.

The drawing sat around for a week. I couldn’t decide if I should use black pen or not — partly because my pen was low and I didn’t want to make a trip to Daniel Smith, and partly because I wanted to keep the softness without all the black lines running through the painting. Finally I decided to go with just the pencil and gouache — only adding a bit of fine black lines at the end for some pop here and there.

I was delighted when, upon adding the stitching on the coat, HM said, “That’s beautiful, Mommy! I love those dots you added!” So observant. She even let me add orange and yellow to her pink leggings.

The highlight of my day. Taking a lunch break with HM and whipping up this instant chocolate pudding. First time I have ever made instant pudding! I am a from-scratch sort of baker/sweets maker. I promised her before bed last night that I would bring home a treat from the store, and had been craving chocolate pudding {also a first for me}. With the first bite, I exclaimed, "It's like eating a bismark doughnut without the doughnut!" {I have also been craving a chocolate covered bismark — or is what I am thinking really a Bavarian Crème? — from Top Pot for a few weeks}. The creamy, chocolately goodness coupled with the Trader Joes's packaging was enough to inspire a quick sketch before getting back to my real work. Limited myself to only red and black Uniball Vision fine point pens — to keep it simple.

At the last minute, I was going to add some brown for the pudding, but Michael said not to — that it would retain its White Stripes look as-is. Good point.

All the things Ezra gets excited about. Crazy about birds, dogs, balls and eating — eating all the time. It's all about being outside — going to the door and hanging on the doorknob until we set him free. Just running up and down the sidewalk with a stick brings him so much delight.

About the sketch of E — I don't know why it took  me so long to think to draw from a photo instead of a live model! It's impossible to get the kids to hold still long enough to sketch them. I could start over as much as I needed to, working from some pics on my phone. I have a hard time drawing kids. I still need quite a bit of work on this (particlarly the faces), but thought I would post anyway. He's come a long way from this post — only 2.5 months old!

HM gave me some tips and showed by example how to better draw her brother (along with practicing her lowercase "i"s).

HM's bedtime prayer for me last night. After I tucked her in, I doodled this. Of course, she loves it and will most likely add it to her little piles of treasures around the house. I am sure she will want me to help her draw a unicorn later (even I need help with that!).

A bit of a departure from my just-for-fun sketches. It has been way too long since I have posted a sketch. I won't lie. The only sketching I have been doing is for design projects. So, instead of waiting for the opportunity to sketch my latest snack or nature discovery, here's some real work I have been up to lately.

This innovative, energy efficient home is in the works — renovation is underway in a West Seattle neighborhood. I stopped by last Friday (a rainy day, better to post now than wait for the perfect weather) to take a pic of the newly installed sign. The second phase of the sign will feature more information on the home, photos of the interior, pricing, contact info and a G2B branded flyer.

I was thrilled to discover Island Dog Sign Company for the first time! They worked as the perfect complement to the G2B team and Spill Studio.

To find out more about G2B Homes, check out the latest here.

Everything is princess lately for HM. Sparkles. Jewels. Wands. Dress-up. She would correct me if she saw this, letting me know she was a queen, not a princess here. All decked out for a harvest party in Bellingham with Nanna + Poppa.

OK, real quick. This is not a sketch {too busy with real work to sketch lately!}, but just an update on this specialty food shop opening in Ballard soon.

Driving past Savour, you will now see a "Coming Soon" sign! There it is — logo by Spill Studio. In case you haven't seen it yet, check out the Savour business suite here. Coming soon to Spill Studio's Design Portfolio: custom cheese cards for Savour's deli case and gift certificates for Savour guests to purchase — all complete with illustrations to complement the Savour look.

Savour is located at 2242 NW Market Street ~ Seattle ~ 98107.

Got back yesterday from a weekend of camping at Gold Basin Camground. Four families. Seven kids. Great campsite. I had a second while the rest of my family was napping in the tent to sketch this as I sat along the Stillaguamish River. Usually I get bored drawing outdoor scenes. This time I was thankful to have a few quiet moments to myself. Sketching quickly helps too — not being worried about getting every detail just right. Just trying to get the essence of the scene. Painted it back at the campsite with my Winsor & Newton travel watercolor set (surrounded by kiddos this time).

Check out last year's camping painting here.

I needed something to distract me from Ezra's bedtime cries last night. Michael has taken it upon himself to help Ezra cry it out. We need some sleep in the middle of the night. If he can learn to put himself to sleep, we will all be happier! 

Everything for the strawberry shortcake was ready (which I kept statusing about on Facebook, hoping to get a spontaneous dessert guest...turns out it was just us). Waiting for Michael. I took Hannah Mae out to the studio to get my paints. She loves painting with me, especially before bed since I put off putting her to bed as I get too into painting. The longer it takes me, the later she gets to stay up.

I got out my usual black pen and started to sketch the bowl containing the strawberries. Not into it. I didn't want to use black. I really wanted to get that feel of everything toppling over  onto the plate. The melding of everything together. The seeping of the strawberry juice into the biscuit. Soft edges, not hard. Lots of bright red splashes, not thin black lines.

I painted the first layer with watercolors, thinking simple splotches of red would do the trick. I asked Hannah Mae if they looked like strawberries and she said no. It wasn't quite right. Neither were the biscuits. I was going to draw strawberry slices on top of the watercolor with black pen. Instead, I made myself ditch the pen for this one. Colored pencil added the right touch. I could get some detail and blending (love blending with white colored pencil) without getting too fussy with it. Hannah Mae had said that I didn't need to paint the whipped cream (or "whooped cream" as she says) since the paper was white. I had to do something though. After we finished eating and Hannah Mae was in bed, I completed the painting with thick splats of white gouache. Looks good enough to eat!

Sometimes the only reason to make pancakes is to have milk with them. My favorite combo. Must have a glass of milk with: pancakes, waffles, french toast, any cookies, sandwiches (Michael is repulsed by that!). I love milk. Need a recipe for banana pancakes? Check out the Leftoverist's here.

"Is that zest, Mom?" — Hannah Mae

Guess my frequent citrus zesting has taught Hannah Mae an important cooking lesson! 

Still need to get groceries. Had Zippy's (best burgers in Seattle!) for dinner, but that was at 4:30pm! Hungry at 10pm with nothing to snack on. As long as there's popcorn around it's ok. Popcorn with Nanami Togarashi — Japanese assorted chili peppers.

I have fond memories of popcorn from my childhood (sans chili peppers). Making popcorn with my sister in that beat-up, heavy pan with the bent lid that never fit quite right — spurting out bits of hot oil. Shaking it vigorously in our after-school hunger. Popcorn made in the morning by my Mama. Bagged up in our school lunches. I always think of that when I am out of a store-bought snack for Hannah Mae's lunch, and turn to my canister of kernels. 

Thought about adding a splash of bright red, but decided to keep it simple. Pen only.

I love blueberry muffins lately. So quick and easy. Moist with those bits of juiciness that literally squirt out when bitten into. Here's some bits from our Father's Day breakfast I drew on Sunday. Finished up coloring them today. Thought it would be too boring to draw a grapefruit. Just a simple sphere? So much more detail upon looking closer — the numerous tiny indents, the curves of the edges forming a not-so-perfect sphere. Couldn't resist getting down all those sunshiny shades of orange and yellow on paper. Forgot how much I love blending with colored pencils.

Delicious, juicy lychee from my sister.

What mother wouldn't want to hear her daughter say, "Can I have more green beans, please?"?! 

Hannah Mae and her usual pre-bed hunger. She didn't want to eat the rest of her Throw ‘er in there Asian Noodle Salad from dinner. She wanted cereal. Out of cinnamon toast crunch. I gave her the alternative of fresh green beans from Toppenish — dropped off on our deck by my parents last night. A big bag of fresh produce from Papa's hometown, and home of my dear grandmother. She was thrilled with that option! Have as many as you want! I will always affirm your fresh green bean intake.

Oh...and an idea what to do with green beans. Check it out here.

I now have a little stack of food-related drawings piling up, so expect more. Instead of trying to think of something different every day, I'm just going to go with it and keep on the food thing for a few days. Or all week. We'll see. Thinking about those ears of corn in the fridge. That asparagus too. And I am sure I can find something in the Leftoverist's collection of recipes to go with those too! 

I really should post Hannah Mae's drawings of green beans too! And her "pink green beans." So cute. We should draw together every night before bed.

Not much to say about this one. Some birds I sketched for an invitation I was working on. I never ended up using them though. I sketched on top of some photos. Is that cheating? I NEVER do that...this was an exception!

Looking out my kitchen window at my neighbor's foxgloves. How quickly can I get this done while eating oatmeal, feeding Ezra and paying attention to the "land of wisdom" that Hannah Mae is drawing next to me?!

Yesterday I did the pen. I wanted to do flowers, but not have them look the same as the euphorbia. Wanted to add some text. The foxgloves were standing up so tall it made me think of this song Hannah Mae sings with her little friends at preschool "...stand up tall and we'll clap for you!" Seemed fitting. Especially since yesterday was such a day of praise. Praise for leftovers and launches. HM starting her first swim lesson last night. Blessings on Ezra at church on Sunday. Thinking about Michael's good-bye at NHM yesterday and praying he gets all the love and honor heaped upon him like he deserves. Thought this could make a good congrats card in the end. Finished this morning at breakfast with colored pencil. Colored pencil is the quickest I can do. Always seems so non-committal. 

Walk in confidence today! Stand up tall!