#AtoZChallenge Creating iPad Art Sketches Letter ‘Z’

Hello, Kitten & Dawgs, how was your weekend?  Mine was busy. I spent the day with DH in the mountains on Friday because that was his off day and Saturday we were super busy with yardwork. We had to mow the lawn which was a long overdue job, change the oil in the car (yes, we do this ourselves), and cut our hair (again, yes we do that ourselves thanks to the nifty hair cutting Flowbee system).  I was totally exhausted by bedtime, so yesterday all I wanted to do was relax but we had to go to the store and while we were out, we checked two homes on the market. We didn’t get back until late, too. I’m bushed and there’s so much yet to do before DH’s surgery on Thursday, plus I need catch up with everyone who stopped by while I was MIA over the weekend.

I can’t believe we’re at the end of another year of A to Z but it’s been a real blast playing along with y’all.  Last year I challenged myself to draw graphite drawings (complete post list here) and this year I continued the challenge but instead went high-tech with my iPad, Apple pencil, and drawing app Procreate to sketch my drawings.  Today’s letter prompt, I drew ZINNIAS. I used the water brush and airbrush features to splash some color on my digital canvas to end my A-Z iPad art sketches for 2018.

 

 

[tweetthis]Check out the final #atozchallenge iPad #art sketch for 2018 with “Z” is for #Zinnias. #flower[/tweetthis]

 

 

 

Zen is a buddist method to enlighten the soul through mediation with a teacher but as a Christian, I have the greatest teacher – Jesus Christ and through daily prayer renews my soul.

 

 

Sometimes, I find words of truth elsewhere like this Tibetan proverb.

 

You can make a difference by enlightening the world with your “SPARKS” and don’t forget to visit  McGuffy’s Reader.

 

 

This week’s mewsic theme is YOUR FAVORITE SONG PICKS on Monday’s Mewsic Moves Me and you’re invited to hit the dance floor with my co-hosts, XmasDolly (Party Coordinator), Stacy, and filling in for Colette (taking a break due to illness) is our pawsome friend, Michelle! I have two special announcements to share. First up, we have a new co-host, our very own Alana from Rambling with A.M. Welcome aboard! Give that girl a round of applauds. Secondly, the 4M gang wants one of you to be a co-host for a month, you choose the month that best suits you and you’ll even get to pick the themes for your month (except for the freebie weeks)!  May’s honorary co-host is John from The Sound of One Handing Typing. Congrats, my friend, you rock! Let me know if you’d like to give it a try. Sign-up in comments or shoot Marie an email. DEADLINE APRIL 30th.

 

 

Please link only mewsic posts below. Thank you! 😉

 



 

 

I hope you enjoyed your visits with me this months. Hopefully,  you found encouragement to venture outside your comfort zone and stop procrastinating on something that intimidates you.  Life is too short, just do and never throw in your towel. Quitting is not an option. Go at with the attitude, you’re gonna have fun and nothing else matters.  I betcha you’ll be amazed at your discoveries, too.  Thanks for making me apart of your day and for faithfully sticking me over the past 30 days. I hope you don’t fade away into the sunset never to see me again until next April. 🙂  Remember to please leave your footprints in comments with your signature (URL) so I can find my way back to you. Also, let me know if you’re a new follower, so I can do the return favor. I know the importance of building social networks.  I’m heading off to link up with other fellow AtoZers and you’re invited to come along. Join me tomorrow for my latest edition of BoTB!

 

X💋X💋,

Cathy

 

In case you missed a previous A2Z posts, here are quick links to each one:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I , J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

 

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45 comments

  1. What a beautiful zinnia you’ve drawn, Cathy! 🙂 And very thankful for the Zen music right about now. 😉 Nice job on the A-Z challenge – I’m hoping life slows down a little bit before the next one so I can join in and have some fun! 🙂 Have a great remainder of your weekend – see you on the dance floor next week! 🙂

  2. Congratulations on finishing the A-Z. It’s a huge undertaking but I love it and am trying to catch up on the reading side now. I enjoyed your Zinnia. I actually managed to grow them from seed, which is quite our sandy soil. They’re so bright and colourful. Love them.
    Best wishes,
    Rowena

  3. Beautiful zinnias. Congrats on completing the challenge. Excellent spark too. XO

  4. Wow, those are really well done Zinnias! And I love your art signature also.
    I hope you do get some rest.
    I’m thinking of getting a good wahl system to begin doing my son’s hair again.
    It’s so expensive.
    PLUS TIPS 🙂
    Thanks for rocking Cathy!
    Perhaps one day I can do the A/z challenge!

    1. Colette,

      It’s so nice to see you again, my friend. I trust you’re doing a bit better these days. What I like about the Flowbee system is you hook it to a vacuum cleaner and it sucks away all the hair as it cuts. Isn’t that cool? It’s initially expensive but compared with going to the barber or hair stylist then the savings is well worth it, not to much the time spent out of your day, gas for your car, and general wear on your vehicle. It’s one of the best purchases we’ve made in our life. Thank you for your sweet comment about my artwork. Perhaps if things improve for you next year you can join the fun. Have a good day! 😉

  5. Woo-hoo! We did it! I am wrung out, though. The A-Z is easy, compared to Life. The minion needs constant watching. Singles need to be entertained. Chloe Jo is not doing well. Chemo is not helping the lymphoma. Pain is becoming an issue. It wrecks me. May is difficult for me, too. Bring on June. HUGS!

    1. Annie,

      Yes, we finished the A2Z together, my friend. I’m sorry life has been so difficult on your end lately. You’re certainly in my thoughts and prayers. Take it easy when you can. XO

  6. Oooh, that is some seriously calming music! I love it, and think it would be perfect to accompany meditation!

    Sounds like you had a busy, busy weekend! Are y’all looking to move? I obviously haven’t been keeping up well. But moving is so exciting!

    And congrats on finishing A-Z! The Zinnias were so pretty!

    1. Kim,

      Yes, we hope to move into a bigger house in our area. After DH got on with his new employer at the end of 2016, we had hoped to find a place last year but then he had to have Retina attachment surgery which meant restrictions and lots of follow up appointments. So, our plans got bumped and now we’re fixing to do the same thing all over as he goes in for combo surgery tomorrow. We’re hoping now that we know what to expect things won’t be quite so traumatic. I’m not sure if we’ll get to do anything this year but we do look at homes that hit our radar. The biggest thing is we’re so darn picky about what we want in our next place.

      Thanks for the congrats and visiting my final installment in the A2Z Challenge. Have a great day, my friend!

  7. Congrats on finishing the A-Z Challenge! That is fantastic self-discipline! Your Sparks really resonate with me. Just because I’m Christian and follow Jesus doesn’t mean I can’t find beauty and inspiration through other insights. The Tibetan quote is a wonderful reminder to live life to the fullest and not dwell on the negative. Thanks for the reminder.

    1. Lisa,

      I can relate as a fellow sister in Christ that one can learn much from words of wisdom despite who quotes them. Thanks for the congrats and visit, my friend!

    1. Darla,

      Thank you. I’m delighted you stopped by for this week’s ‘Sparks’ and my last A2Z edition. Have a great week and I’m heading your way now.

  9. Congrats on finishing the A to Z with a beautiful flower that you drew so well. I love Zinnias which were one of my Oma’s favourites. I will be thinking about you on Wednesday but know your hubby will be aok. Zen is needed today more than ever and that one quote is great..now I just have to walk triple.

    1. Birgit,

      Thanks for sharing in the A2Z fun this month. It’s been great to visit bloggers such as you every day. Oh yes, this world needs more peace. It would be pAwesome if those bent on violence, anger, hatefulness, rage, & distruction of human life pawse before acting and perhaps in that instance have a change of heart. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers for DH. I’ll try to update everyone soon after his surgery. Have a good day and thanks for visiting, dear friend!

  10. The zinnias are beautiful. Congratulations on completing the challenge! It’s hard to believe April is over.

    1. Mimi,

      Thank you for sharing the A2Z ride with me. It certainly has been a lot of fun doing this with several of bloggers like you I’ve come to know quite well over the past year. Have a good week and I’m heading your way next! 😉

  13. Hi Cathy, the zinnias are beautiful – loving your creativity with digital technology. I’ve really enjoyed your theme and posts for the challenge and looked forward to seeing what each of your pictures was. The Tibetan proverb you shared is an important reminder to all of us – thanks for sharing.
    Sending healing vibes for your husbands surgery and hoping all goes very smoothly. Make sure you take some time to have a rest over the next week – perhaps lie down and listen to some of the meditation music.
    Have a lovely day.
    Pamela @ Days of Fun

    1. Pamela,

      Thanks for crossing the A2Z finish line with me, my friend. I’m delighted you enjoyed my attempt to sketch using technology wonders developed by Apple. 🙂 Thanks for the well wishes for DH’s upcoming surgery in a few days.

  14. Zinnias! Yes! Congratulations on finishing the challenge! I enjoyed your art!

    I love the kind of Zen music you played here (and no, I didn’t play all six hours of it). There was a link in the video to a “24/7 Relaxing Sleep Music” channel, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gejT2cm4hEc
    I subscribed to the channel, and evidently there are a whole bunch more similar channels out there. That YouTube is something, ain’t it? Nice thing about this kind of music is that you can have it going quietly in the background while you’re working, and after a while it just slips into the background.

    I’m not quite sure I know what I’m supposed to do as the guest host for the month. Marie sorta-kinda explained it to me, but I’m still a bit fuzzy. Should make for an interesting month, eh?

    1. John,

      Thanks so much for sharing again with me in another successful year of A2Zing. Oh, heck I didn’t listen to the whole playlist either but it’s definitely good mewsic to play in the background. I will hop back over to YouTube to check out the channel you mentioned. Thanks! Basically, a 4M co-host visits everyone on the linkup and leave a comment. I like to try to follow any newcomers to the group and I try to let them know that’s what I did or that I shared their post on Twitter but often times I forget. Yeah, sometimes being too pushed causes me to do the craziest things. It’s just that simple. I think she’s asking honorary co-hosts to pick the themed weeks, too. I know that’s not going to be a problem for you because you really have great ideas all the time in motion on your blog. If you have any more questions then ask away. I’m always happy to help. I’m glad you decided to give it a go. We need the helping hand while Colette gets well. It would be pAwesome to draw some new visitors to the dance floor through your hosting position, too. It’s a big dream of Marie’s to grow this party into a full-size block party! Tell your friends to come boogie with us! Have a tunetastic week, my friend!

  16. WOO HOO! I totally love, love, love skipping across the finish line with you my friend! WE DID IT! A2Z iS OVER, but in all it’s pleasure it’s still sad. We had so much fun, didn’t we??? I know I did. OH REALLY??? FOR ME??? Awwww thank you for the flowers my friend! Now these kind I can accept because I don’t believe any bees will be following your beautiful zinnias!!! ~hehehe~ So, I’m safe here being as I’m allergic to bees. Your tune here is so calming that my eyes are closing… nope cannot do that I have to boogie with a few other friends yet! THANKS FOR THE DANCE! Our new conductor is having a ball too! So happy…

    1. Marie,

      Yes, we skipped across the A2Z finish line together hand-in-hand another year and yes, it was loads of fun sharing this experience with you every day. 😉 I’m certain you can enjoy my zinnias without fear of being stung. I don’t care for bees buZZing around me because when I get stung I do have a bit of an allergic reaction but just the common problems most people, nothing worrisome other than swelling and soreness. I enjoyed our dance but I need to catch up with the others joining the party. I’m running late as I explained in my email but I will get back on track before the day ends. Have a good week and I’m happy our new co-host is having a great time, dear friend!

  17. YAY! You did it! I have been so terrible about making the rounds lately. So much has been going on at my house. Had a death in the family this past week, and that just put me further behind. So, while I didn’t physically make it over to your posts, know that I was here in spirit. Crossing my fingers that things have slowed down enough to make it around to everyone’s battles tomorrow.

    ~Mary

    1. Mary,

      Thank you and please don’t worry about not being around every day. Life happens. I am sorry to hear that there was a death in your family, though. Sending you & your family my prayers and condolences. As you can see I’m running behind on responses and revisits. Like I said, life happens. Have a good day!

  18. I’ve enjoyed your A to Z Blogging Challenge and all the great sketches. I’m pretty sure I’ve retweeted every day too.

    Have a fabulous day and week, Cathy. ♥

    1. Sandee,

      Ah, thank you for sharing my posts on Twitter! That was very sweet of you, my friend!! I sure did like having you join me every day. You’ve been really faithful with your visits. I hope I managed to do make every revisit to your place, too. My brain doesn’t work so well sometimes but I tried really hard. 🙂 You’re the best, dearie!

  19. Great finish to the A to Z. Love the color of your zinnias. You have encouraged me to try new things. Maybe not drawing, but new things. Thanks.

    1. Janet,

      I’m going to try zinnias again. Some sketches I’ve seen are more detailed and I’d like to make my drawing more like those examples. Thank you for telling me that you’re trying new things. We put restrictions on ourselves because of fear. It’s human. We don’t like to disappoint or to fail but once we break that cycle of just going with the flow then we see our potential bloom. Thank you for hanging with me over the past 30 days. It’s been a blast! 😉

  20. What a lovely ending to AtoZ. Thanks for your daily inspiration, Cathy. I love what you’ve done with an iPad and this app. I’ll see you around (as I am now following/stalking you).

    1. Jacqui,

      So glad to have another stalker, I mean follower. lol It’s been great fun connecting with you all this month. You taught me some interesting things in the world of literary genres. I mean, who knew all of those categories exist? Not me! Thanks for visiting and have a great week, my friend!

    1. Patrick,

      Thanks, my friend. We all need a bit of peace in our lives. I find the help of God, family, and friends as solid foundations to keep me grounded and connected with what’s important to avoid staying in pitfalls too long. It’s easy to let stress rob you of life’s goodness. It’s great to see you on the dance floor.

  22. Congrats on making it through! I’ve been reading and enjoying your posts, but alas, your blog hates me and wouldn’t let me comment. I’m hoping this one works. I do love that proverb! And very pretty zinnias. Cheers!

    1. Sue,

      Oh, my blog doesn’t hate but I know it feels that way. I’ve experienced the same problem visiting Blogger sites or when someone uses an odd commenting system. The good mews is your comment didn’t disappear. 🙂 I’m very delighted you came by for visits throughout the A2Z Challenge and I look forward to staying in touch with you. Now, let me hop over to see you!

  23. Cathy, I will never fade away. Thank you so much for voting me in as a Conductor. I, for one, am not going to fade away into the wood work. And, zinnias are one of my favorite flowers – I have enjoyed your art this month and look forward to more of your music in future weeks!

    1. Alana,

      My loyal buds such as you I can count on but it’s true and I’m sure you’ve experienced as well, there are some A2Zers who get back to doing their own thing after the challenge. I must admit unless I’ve really connected with someone on this journey then I’m just as guilty of doing the same thing. Oh, you’re more than welcome for my support in getting you on as our newest Conductor. You have not only been a loyal dance partner but before we boogied together, we shared our love for photography. So, our path has been entwined for sometime over the years. I’m running super duper late and haven’t had my first dance with anyone today. Shame on me! That being said, I’m shaking my tail feathers over to see you! 😉

  24. Hi, Cathy!

    Congratulations, dear friend, on crossing the finish line of the 2018 A To Z marathon! I thoroughly enjoyed gazing at your artwork each and every day of the event, and you continue to impress me with your artistic ability in a variety of media. Your eye-popping Zinnias are no exception. I feel like handing them to you as you take your bow on the stage at the conclusion of this great performance. Brava!

    That Tibetan proverb offers wise words to live by, and that Zen mewsic certainly does have a calming effect. It is a fine example of the power of mewsic to calm, to arouse, to inspire, to motivate or to reduce one to tears.

    Again, Cathy, it was a pleasure to accompany you every step of the way and offer words of encouragement and support on your month long A To Z journey. You did a splendid job with many memorable pieces of art to show for it. I will be thinking about DH this Thursday and hoping for the best possible outcome. Have a wonderful week, dear friend, and a merry month of May!

    1. Tom,

      Thank you for the congratulations. If I’m not mistaken, you were the first to visit my posts each morning with your early presence. I certainly appreciated your loyalty and tenacity to show up each day with your coffee in hand to take a peek at my artwork. It makes me happy that you enjoyed my sketches and you’ll never know how much that meant to me. I have much room for improvement but hopefully, someday I’ll be every bit as skilled as those artists I see on YouTube. There’s some amazing talent out there! We can always find words of wisdom from various sources, taking such sound words to heart would do the world a great service but this must come, one person. This has been another busy day and I suspect it will right up until Thursday. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for DH. We both appreciate you remembering him so much. Have a good evening, dear friend!

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