Here Comes the Sun

"Early Spring, Druid Hill Creek, wc/ink on paper

This time of year in the midwest, as the season advances, we begin to long for the return of the sun. After the equinox, days lengthen and the sun is truly on its way to warmer, brighter days. Those of us who watch trees and the rest of the countryside, the coming season is easy to spot. 

Along Druid Hill Creek, there is a haze of spring green that seems to hove about two feet above the ground. If you look close, before long that spring haze becomes honeysuckle undergrowth, a harbinger of even more leaves. Before long, redbuds will light up the woods. 

I did this sketch of "my" creek from my studio window. Druid Hill Creek flows north from here into Grays Lake. I use this little sketchbook as a visual journal to record the days and seasons as they change. This little book dates back into 2024 and is a useful record.

Saturday

"The Underpass," wc/ink on paper

Weather here is moderating, though we still get a spot of snow now and again. The outdoor temperatures have risen a lot, though trees have yet to show leaves and the grass in most spots is barely green,

Last Saturday the sketch group actually worked outdoors without caps, gloves and mufflers. I sat outside on the eastern edge of Waterworks Park and did an 8x10 watercolor of the bike/pedestrian underpass that connects the park with Grays Lake, passing under a major thoroughfare.