". Arranged Words: leaves
Showing posts with label leaves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leaves. Show all posts

16 Nov 2021

All that Glitters



Hi Everyone,

Yellow/gold often gets overlooked when reds, oranges, greens and mixtures thereof take center stage in the fall. But those leaves have already dropped off the trees. And we are left with the staggering beauty of yellow/gold.

I didn't have to go far to capture this cheerful lot, proving that even when matted and wet certain things still look great.


All that is gold does not glitter,
   Not all those who wander are lost;
      The old that is strong does not wither,
       Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

  From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
  A light from the shadows shall spring;
    Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Riddle of Strider, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

One of my favourite verses that speaks of caution, and hope among other things, including the old adage: "Don't judge a book by it's cover."  

 

Along with late leaves of gold, at this time of year, the sunsets flame with yellow as well.

                                                                  


                                                          Something yellow/gold.

Yellow has surprised me because the only piece of clothing I own is a pair of yellow finger less gloves you see above. (You can download my free knitting pattern here 

Further, a year ago, I would have empathically said, "I do not like yellow," but a look back tells a different tale. When I revamped my blog awhile a go, I added gold highlights. It seems while I wasn't looking, yellow/gold, has captured my heart.

The paintings above, others, and greeting cards are available here 

 

Until Next Time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Do drop by the blogs for a visit; there’s much to see and admire.

  Thank you for hosting.






13 Oct 2020

Red, Orange, and Gold


Hi everyone,

Weeping Willow Pond and not a turtle in sight. 
They must already be in their winter quarters.

Less than a week later--a lot of leaf fall. Here I am ready to kick my way through the autumn leaves. When I was a child, I loved to do just that. So in the spirit of keeping those memories alive, I still kick my way through the leaves now and then.

Now that it has cooled down, I have the urge to knit. Not sure what yet. Espace Tricot has a lovely free hat pattern on Raverly. Do I need another hat? Probably not, but it would make a nice gift.

I am not sure what these wildflowers are. Maybe Asters bleached out from the sun?
The tree to the right reminds me of an Ent from "The Lord of the Rings.       


         Flowering Moms thrive in cool weather.


                                                 There always seems to be plenty of Crab Apples. 
                                          
On the weekend, we took a drive along The Parkway. I left my camera at home, but I won't forget the beauty anytime soon. Autumn, it seems, still has splendid tales to tell of red, orange, and gold.

                                                                     Blue skies.

* * *
From the Easel...
                  “Sentinel”                          
   Unison Pastels on UART 400 sanded paper.                                                                                                    

Although planning a painting has its place, I often prefer to dive into the deep end. In other works, take my chances with intuitive painting. For this pastel, I did an underpainting with FW acrylic Ink. Colour: Purple Lake. You can catch glimpses of it here and there. Uart holds pastel well, but it tends to curl, and no matter what I do it will usually curl a little. When I took this picture, I forgot to tape it flat, so that slight curl cut off a bit of the tree.

Recently, I bought Canson Mi-Teintes Touch 320gm paper. While made for pastel, I heard that it can be used for mixed media, including watercolour, ink, gouache, and pastel. I am anxious to give it a try.

'Til next time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Thank you, everyone for hosting!

6 Oct 2020

Autumn in Full Swing

Hi there,

                                      Well dressed maples. I think they might be showing off. 

At this time of year, I my senses pick up. Everywhere I look, wonderful colours catch and hold my attention. Over head I see and hear the geese; they will soon be honking out their goodbyes. The squirrels are busy, scurrying everywhere looking for nuts to fill their stores. And I can smell the scent of autumn's magic. I wish all this beauty would last. But the rains will come soon and wash the leaves away. Until then I will be outside as much as possible, enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of autumn.






                                               
                                               So many beautiful paint box colours in this picture.
                                    

                             My son, Jesse, was with me and we walked this path seldom taken. We saw a rabbit and I believe a coyote in stealth mode.                                                                  


A drive by photo. The picture: a blurry cornfield that I cropped so that you wouldn't get dizzy, but just look at the colour of the sky! Amazing!
In case you are wondering what corn. It's cattle corn and the last of the harvest that will be brought in later this month. Before tractors had lights, the farmers worked late into the night under the light of the harvest moon. Hence the name harvest moon.


                                                      Dahlias really love the cool weather.    

I can't resist picking up pretty leaves.
          
      

And what would autumn be without pumpkins? I've been decorating a few, using FW acrylic ink. Pumpkins...weird material to draw on. For the next one, I will use a pencil instead of pen, although ink can easily be removed with rubbing alcohol. 
Easy to do... just wash and dry the pumpkin, and a sealant would have helped the paint glide easier.  I used two coats of black ink, and three coats of white; it requires another coat of white, but I am off to press.
                                  
"Along the River"

A  pastel painting that I painted awhile ago.




As we all know, 2020 has been a year. Events have been happening that we can all do without.  But with Thanksgiving day coming up on Monday, I have been taking stock and thinking about what I am thankful for. Among other things, although this one is at the top of my list, I am thankful and grateful that my 97 year old mother recovered from pneumonia that she had in late February. After two and a half weeks in the hospital, spent mostly without visitors because of Covid restrictions, she passed go and was sent home in good health. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Thank you all for the lovely comments on my last post.

Be safe and well!

'Til Next Time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Ladies, many thanks for hosting. 

12 Sept 2017

Stepping into September

Goldenrod

Kissed by the frost.  Fall changes are happening slowly.

Sumac

The birds aren't singing and I don't see very many out there.  It reminds me of the title of Farley Mowat's book And No Birds Sang.  Already, I miss and long for their songs.
If you stand very still in the woods you may hear a peep here and there. They are molting and resting for their journey south where they will have many stories to tell and songs to sing.

Squatters on the turtles' deck. 

My Chrysanthemum has come into its own. It loves the cool nights and cooler sunny days. 


* * *

Besides enjoying nature, I've been throwing acrylic paints about and loving it. 
 

Cool Blues
And the brights
I finished this painting in August. They both will t be sealed with Krylon spray varnish.  I'll need to go to the great outdoors for that...ventilation and plenty of it is essential.

The annual autumn leaf pick-up has begun, although there are only a few "pretty" leafs just now. I'm thinking of adding leaves and seeds to my hawthorn berry painting that I painted last year. 


Using Arches watercolour block and Senellier paints for bookmarks.  For the front, I'll use the Jane Davenport paints. Unfortunately the paper for the colour coding is, for me, too slick for proper graduations, but nevertheless, as you can see, her colours are bright, beautiful, and transparent. What a lovely mix!

Laminated bookmarks would be nice, but the machines are expensive, so I'll try self-laminating sheets.  Ooooo. We will see what happens with that. I have visions of being stuck to the sheets. :)
Experimenting with different pens to see what works.



 It's difficult to say this but I know a few readers may have been in the path of the hurricanes, the earthquake, or the wild fires. I do hope you are all safe! Of course, I wish safety for everyone affected, and I do hope people are getting the help and relief that they so desperately need. My heart goes out to everyone.


'Til next time . . .



8 Nov 2016

Outwitted

November 8, 2016
 
We had a heavy, feathery snow fall last week, but as you can see it disappeared and I am still kicking through the leaves on the trails. On this trail, there are bird feeders every so many feet. I was dropping seeds into one when when I heard the tiniest of peeps. After scanning the trees, I spied a wee chickadee. Clearly excited she swooped down several times to investigate, but wouldn't stay long enough to grab a seed. She did, however, check the ground just in case I may have dropped one. Nope not one! Then she flew up to branch at eye level and looked me in the eye. After that she flew across the path to a tree where she teetered on the limb and continued to crisscross the path from tree to tree, making, as she flew, a great flourish of it. When she reached the bottom of the hill, she chirped loudly and watched me ascend. Once I was safely at the bottom, a black and white blur whirled by overhead. I turned and looked up the hill;  I could faintly see her feasting at the feeder. Well done birdie!

Sunlit 

I'm drawn to moss. It's always looks so fresh and green.

Sketching...
 I'm gathering the sketchbooks.  I think there must be one or two somewhere with bits and bobs inside. I like smooth paper, so if it isn't smooth enough I turn it into a journal. I do draw in the margins though.




As you can see, my sketchbooks are not watercolour friendly.
Calendar dreaming...maybe next year.
I find it difficult to use black ink. I prefer blue.
On the needles..

The Violet Cap: a lacy hat from the 1st issue of Making Magazine.


For those who asked, unfortunately The Maestro will not be made into a print at this time because it's too large for my scanner. It needs to be scanned in parts and photo shopped...above my capabilities just now. I could have the printer scan it but it costs a lot. So very sorry.

Thank you for reading along.

 Enjoy the week...