Charcoal Sketch
Another quick charcoal sketch for my intermission. I was seriously horse crazy as a kid. I lived in what is pretty much the worst neighbourhood of our state. Not safe, and certainly no horses in the area. Horses are actually why I got into drawing. Because we didn't have one, and rarely got to spend time with a horse, I wanted to have a horse, but since I couldn't I felt as if drawing them was a way to be closer to them. I would love to spend time with a horse right now, but my father-in-law's horses died from old age, and I don't have access to any other horses.
It is ridiculously hot here right now. If you know anyone from Oregon, probably all they are talking about is the temperature. I believe we got up to 114 degrees F today, and at 8:40pm, it is still 106 degrees out! Absolutely insane, and now there are starting to be power outages. Thankfully we haven't had to deal with it yet, but that is scary. My in-laws said they were fine when I had my husband call to check on them, but they don't have air conditioning. Thankfully they have a basement that they can use a pump and blow cool air up from, and they have a huge chestnut tree right by their home. My parents are out at the coast, and it is only 75 degrees out there. I am sure the beaches are more crowded than they have been ever, except for maybe on the 4th of July. I am part of a group that is for Oregon homesteaders. We aren't a homesteader, we are just a family in the city who wishes they were out in the country and likes to pretend. There are a bunch of people who have their small livestock inside, and one person even has their goat inside after losing 2 of them to heat stroke. Please, if you are in my area, be careful. If you get a headache or get dizzy, go somewhere cooler immediately. Don't wait until you get to the point where you are vomiting or feeling confusion before you try to cool down. Check on the elderly in your area, and anyone who doesn't have air conditioning. If you can, put water out for the birds and bees, but replace it when it starts getting too warm. Putting a rock in the water or something the bees can climb onto if they fall in will help save them from drowning. If you have any stray dogs or cats in your neighbourhood, water where they can access it too is really a bit of a must too. If you don't have air conditioning, call and find a cooling center near you, go to the movies, or see if you can make a swamp cooler. Call a friend with air conditioning and offer to buy dinner if they will let you put an air mattress in their living room. Whatever you need to do in order to stay safe and healthy.