Tree Peonies at Frogwell

Wisteria in Evening Light

It's been a great year in my garden so far. I get so excited about wisteria and lilacs I can hardly stand it. So voluptuous and purple and fragrant. They make me swoon. I did this sketch of our wisteria arbor with a pink rhody in the background between 6 and 7pm tonight.

Frogwell Gardens

 The Whidbey Sketchers spent a magical afternoon yesterday sketching at Frogwell Gardens a SouthWhidbey oasis of color and greenery! Wisteria, rhododendrons, peonies, roses, iris....trees of every color....music, wine and cheeses.

Wisteria in cool light over a garden shed

Soon the sun was shining on this trio of trees.

Texas

Two views of a Texas warthog!

Just  a few characters from my grandchildren's playroom in Houston, Texas

And a bronze fountain in Rice Village, also Houston

I walked just a few blocks to the canal in Braeswood and did this little evening sketch. That night
we had a crazy thunderstorm, blue black skys  and torrents of rain, the next morning this was a full sized river!

Sherryl's Color Spot

Looking through the glass door onto Sherryl's deck. Purple pansies with Creeping Jenny in an artful pot against the colors of springtime in the Northwest. Oh yeah.

North off Island

My available sketching times/dates have recently synced more with the Anacortes Sketchers than the Whidbey Island Sketchers.  While I miss my Whidbey sketching pals, here are a couple of sketches with the sketchers to the North.



A couple at Trumpeter Pub & Restaurant's bar in Mt. Vernon.  Sketched during the Line to Color Workshop in Mt. V.


 

Blown glass fish and sea plants.  At The Glass Aquarium outside Mt. Vernon.

IN A WHIDBEY VICTORIAN GARDEN

Longtime Whidbey residents Miriam and Phil extended the us a kind invitation to visit their charming Victorian Painted Lady-style home outside town for an afternoon of sketching, lemonade, garden touring and conversation. What an astonishing place and a great afternoon! For photos of all the fun visit

http://www.judinyerges.com

Buddy Art in the Garden

Whidbey Island Sketchers has a playful tradition we call Buddy Art. Someone (usually Sherryl) throws some color onto a piece of paper and passes it around the group. Everyone adds something to the picture and passes it on until someone decides it's done. (One of the many ways we amuse ourselves.) Most of the time our buddy art becomes very abstract, but Friday, the colorful floral vignettes in Marian and Phil's garden were clearly a powerful influence on the work of the buddy artists.

What's that 3-eyed red mustache doing in my garden?

My Vase Overfloweth

Sweet, Sweet Afternoon!

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the bees were buzzing, the breeze was blowing, and the Sketchers were scattered around in the fabulous garden of Marian and Phillip. This garden evokes the spirits of my parents and of my grandparents. It brought back the feeling of a different era. It was like being in a movie. I loved sitting in that garden and sketching. I first sketched the potting shed tucked away at the back of the house. Later I sat with my back to  Saratoga Passage, Hat Island, and the Cascade Mountains to sketch the back entrance to this enchanting house and garden. Thank you Marian and Phillip. It was such a pleasure.

Marian & Phil's Garden

We sketched in a delightful garden yesterday. I tried to capture the voluptuousness of of a lilac in full bloom overhanging an orange rhody next to the porch and garden path. Great garden design. It was a heady experience for the senses with all the colors and the air heavy with lilac perfume. Thank you, Marian and Phil, for a lovely afternoon of art, gardens and your warm hospitality. And the peanut butter cookies!

After the garden, we reconvened next door at Cynthia's for happy hour and happy talk. What a wonderful, nurturing group we have. Quoting Sherryl, earlier in the day, "Don't you love our tribe? Sketchers is something special."

Cynthia listens

This is our beautiful Cynthia, hostess extraordinaire, listening with rapt attention to the extraordinary conversation around her dining table. With her great hair, scarves and hats, I'm always drawn to her as a subject.

ART WALK!

Sitting in the evening sun outside the Whidbey Art Gallery in Langley, chatting with guests and sketching. A very nice way to spend an evening!

CLINTON BEACH DAY

What an amazing day! Sketcher's Friday! We met down at Clinton Beach Park, at the Ferry dock. The sun was shining brilliantly (my arms, face and lips are burnt.) There was a breeze off the water, the sky was brilliant blue (cobalt, I'd say) and Mt. Baker was gleaming off in the distance over Camano Island.  All my photos of the fun are at judinyerges.com

sketching at the ferry terminal on a sunny afternoon

In Amy's Garden

Ellie Mae has earned her nap in the sun. She keeps Amy's garden free of rabbits and deer. What a dog! If I had a dog  like Ellie, I could grow tulips, too. I once had 3 dogs who would all lie around the deck watching the rabbits graze on my garden. Thanks Amy and Dave for a lovely afternoon of sun, beauty and sketching.

So cold . . so cold . . . my fingers are numb!

But I got in starter sketches from two places that were going to lose their color in a day or two. I raced out before noon, sketched from the car in Langley, sketched from the front porch and ran inside for coffee in Bayview, then finished at home. I "painted the sunshine", 'cause it sure wasn't there!

 The Langley Flower Bed on Third Street.

My Mom's Rhododendron Fountain in Bayview. So much prettier a couple of days ago, but maybe that's because I was so cold there today.