from the garden. -Despina

Begonias are exceptionally beautiful plants. They remind me a little of lily pads that have been taken out of the water because of the shape of their leaves and how they sit on top of long skinny stems. Of course there are plenty of varieties. But I love this kind the best. -Despina

Begonia in the window at dawn. Color pastel and ink. -Despina

…to keep a strawberry and a tomato company. -Despina

I made this drawing last summer, but since I’m on such a bee kick lately I thought I’d share it with you today. -Despina

Remember my lavender post? The buds have since bloomed and are they are now the stomping grounds of my new friends the bees. This pair of ‘early bird’ bees were already busy at work just as the sun was coming up. -Despina

Early every morning I go out to tend to my garden. The bees are always out there to greet me. I used to be afraid of bees, but not anymore. -Despina

Just a quick drawing of my wife sitting next to me on a recent flight.

I’ve been working on a project about playgrounds. Here’s a color crayola drawing I made at our local park. -Despina

James on the slide -Despina

While watching the Parade in Animal Kingdom, James and I collaborated on a few drawings. James would color marks on the page as he waited for the next animal float to come. Just when it would pass, his crayon and jaw would drop simultaneously, and I would take it from there. This is the camel float we saw. Had a blast! -Despina

Here’s another drawing of the brilliantly colored birds. -Despina

This is a drawing I made at the Animal Kingdom in Disney World a few days ago. These two Military Macaws were going at it and I couldn’t tell if it was love or war they were making. And I’ll tell you, the sounds they were making were no help in figuring this out! Their PIERCING screeeams jolted me every time. I am pretty sure these two were smooching but as with the human species one can never be too certain about that thin line between love and hate! -Despina

I always go back to my drawings of Lynn. Loveliest of models. -Despina

And I sat down to draw in my yard and chose the lavender as my subject. Up against the white wall, unassuming and not yet flowering. Nothing more than a shrub, really. I thought it looked lovely. -Despina

Okay, I’ve discovered that I am kind of terrible at bowling.

Here’s a look at the difference between how I bowl and how my friend Nadia bowls. She is so graceful and almost looks like she’s dancing out there. She’s really good. I on the other hand was so uncoordinated and just…well…I was a mess! I must try it again. -Despina

So glad to see the little leaves sprouting on the trees. So happy summer is on its way. -Despina

Like Greg wrote in the previous post, I too, found a drawing that I made at the Tuilleries Garden in Paris that I haven’t seen in quite a while. Today’s forecast calls for HOT, and on the day I was drawing in the gardens, it was sweltering! The white statues and sculptures were glaring white from the sun so, I could only look at them for a little bit at a time. Years ago, I lived in Paris for 4 months, and I have always wanted to live there again. Finding a drawing like this in my archives really makes me want to pack my bags! -Despina

The blossoming of these particular trees is truly magical. -Despina

In response to the recent terrible earthquake in Japan and the tsunamis in the Pacific, the illustrators of Studio 1482 have each created a piece of art to raise money on behalf of the victims. Please click here for more information.

No, they weren’t mean geese, they were just located in Crete. I was with my family enjoying a day at the lake in Kourna when my father mentioned how these geese travel from Africa. I always find it so fascinating and cool to imagine where ducks and geese-and all birds for that matter- go during their migrations. They make quite the journeys.  -Despina

In response to the recent terrible earthquake in Japan and the tsunamis in the Pacific, the illustrators of Studio 1482 have each created a piece of art to raise money on behalf of the victims. Please click here for more information.