I’m working on a new pen and ink drawing, and I thought I’d scan it and show it as I progress. I don’t know what the heck I was thinking when I cut the paper for the drawing, it’s 10”x12”, and my scanner bed is only 9”x12”!! When I finish it, I’m going to have to try to find a printer with a bigger scanner. Duh!!!!

Here it is (most of it anyway). To break up the process, I’m filling in the coloring as I go instead of waiting until I finish the inking, and I’m trying something new with this, colored pencils instead of watercolors.

This is a close-up,

Yesterday morning on the Today show, they showed a clip of a BMX riding riding his bike over the arches of a highway in Texas, and then on the local news last night they aired it too.

I am just inflamed by the stupidity of not only the rider, but in all the news media covering it. So I sent an email to NBC,

“Why is the news media airing such a stupid, dangerous stunt as the BMX rider in Texas riding his bike over the arches of a highway? What is so special about a man risking his life and the lives and safety of the drivers on the road below? Why air this clip and encourage others to do similarly stupid stunts?

Instead, why don't you air the story about Jim Reinstra pedaling a bike to Patagonia to raise money for cancer research, http://pedalingforpennies.info/? Last summer he started out from Minnesota, biked west to Oregon, down the west coast and is now in Mexico. He's at least risking his life for a good cause, and he's not endangering others in the process (other than his mother, my neighbor, who is worried sick about him doing this).

Yes, I know that Kare11 did a piece on him last summer when he started out, but if you've got the extra time to air that unbelievably stupid, brainless clip about the Texas stunt, fill it instead with Jim's progress. He's risking his life to make a difference, not to get a few minutes of thrills.”

Rant over...

Getting older brings limitations, like no longer being able to sit in a cold (or hot) studio melting glass for hours at a time. I compensate by sitting in the south bedroom soaking up the winter sun and working on pen and ink drawings (or sitting by the wood stove in my recliner working on quilting on cold nights). This is my latest piece of art, a swallowtail butterfly sitting on some of my lilacs, done in pen and ink and then finished with watercolor washes.