inktober

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Inktober 2021 Day 31 – Risk

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

Is 60:1

This one is a WIP – I may watercolor it or even add a quote – not sure yet. Also, I will be catching up on the remaining days with pet portraits in the coming weeks..

Photo ref: Kevin Matson – Indiana Birdography

This image is closely tied into my very first picture and the journey I have taken with Inktober this year. We are broken in this life. We suffer loss and heartache, disappointment and betrayal, but we have choice to sink under that or, by taking action, we can rise up out of the ashes of the pain and choose life and love, growth and renewal.

Courage in the face of that risk of leaving the darkness of fear behind will reap great rewards. Always. There is victory in that first step.

Happy Inktober, everyone. It has been a wonderful experience.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.

Mark 12:30-31

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Rev 22:17

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Inktober 2021 Day 30 – Slither

This is a quick sketch and a nod to our state DNR (Indiana Department of Natural Resources). I love the work they do to preserve our state resources, so log this under “people doing good things”.

“Unlike many of Indiana’s salamanders, the state-endangered green salamander spends most of its time far from the forest floor, navigating narrow cracks and crevices in cliff faces. DNR biologists have to get into some tricky positions to survey for this species!” – DNR article on Facebook

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Inktober 2021 Day 26 – Connect

The photo reference comes from a birding friend, Sally Slick, and as soon as I saw it a couple of months ago, I knew I would use it for Inktober. These feisty little birds have fierce battles, but this was a beautiful image of one grabbing the other’s beak.

Also, it was first through hummingbird photography that I began to connect online with various birding groups and gaining several new social groups that have been informative and a lot of fun.

Sally happens to be a conduit for that type of connecting. I met her when she was at the Indiana Dunes (now a National Park) several years back and we stopped at a pull over where she happened to be parked and taking photos. She gave us pointers on where to find the Sandhill Cranes, as well as other tips.

Come to find out, she is a local (to me) birder and she introduced us to her group of birding buddies. We have since enjoyed meeting them when birding our local parks, as well as sharing our various adventures online.

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Inktober 2021 Day 22 – Open

Probably the biggest influence on my love of getting involved with endangered species is the story of the Bald Eagle.

In the 1970s when I was a kid we never saw these magnificent birds in Indiana. Due to pesticides and hunting they were killed off. But between 1985 and 1988, 73 bald eagles from Alaska and Wisconsin were raised and released at Lake Monroe in Bloomington.

Today, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources reports nests in 88 of the state’s 92 counties.Now I can go out and sometimes even see one flying over my house! What a comeback! So encouraging. We can do this if we really put ourselves to it!

Photo reference is much thanks to Lisa Minica. You can find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/naturewalker68/

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Inktober 2021 Day 19 – Loop

My very first thought when I saw this prompt was how I have played a certain set of cds on loop for the past year to comfort me and keep my spirits up thru all the losses around me.

I originally thought of drawing the stack of cds, but I was following one of my favorite singers/songwriters and she kept posting photos of her new puppy. I just had to! Wouldn’t you?! Then I watercolored it.

The watercolor of this little girl was then sent to the singer who has blessed me so over this past year. A giving back for all her gift has given me. Share your gifts, they were given for the uplifting of each other.

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Inktober 2021 – Day 17 Collide

Inktober Day 17 – Collide

When those emotions collide, the best remedy is to find your comfort. Clara found her daddy’s jeans hanging on the line and gives us all a great lesson.

This is a favorite image of mine. My 28 nieces and nephews are one of my greatest joys and often my muse.

Little Clara is now much bigger and has joined me in Inktober for the second year in a row.

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Inktober 2021 Day 16 – Compass

Rushing but having fun! I have said for a long time that I want to learn how to be looser with my art. This is going to force that!

This is for all the wildlife rescuers out there whose compass is True North.

This was a fast one with the brush and a few pens. I am needing to catch up!!! This comes from a story that had me laughing and supporting Wild Heart Ranch Wildlife Rescue this summer. A state of the art, new racoon holding pen was breached by the little rascals in rehab this summer. They call it The Great Escape and the rehab director kept us on the edge of our seats with the hilarious antics as they worked to recapture 40 escaped babies.

60 were still in the cage, but 40 sets of destructive little hands can wreak havoc.

4 are still roaming the wildlife center at night, but the others have been safely rehabbed and released where they can live without wreaking destruction. You can’t help but love these cuties tho.

Thank you to all the rehabbers out there giving their life to help wildlife.