June Blooms

 

Hi everyone, 

 A lot of trees are in bloom and it’s so lush and green out there. Just lovely. June glorious June!

We are currently in the throes of a heat wave.  35C or 95F. A little too hot for this northerner.  Thankfully, it will be  cooler in a few days. 

It's usually a bit cooler in the morning, so I try and get most things done then. Lately, for dinner cold plates and perhaps a cool ice tea. 

                                       Wild geranium and Solomon’s Seal undergrowth.

                                                            Wild Geranium.  So many this year.

                   Went to the Parkway for a little plein air painting on the weekend. Didn't feel quite like a fish out of water this time, so managed to come up with something.

Gouache on cold press Etchr sketchbook paper.

                               During a cleanup I found this watercolour painting in a drawer. 

                                                          I splashed on some more colour.

                                       As you can see, charcoal will not turn very dark on this paper.

                                               It seems to have a finish of some type over it. 

                                                        (Strathmore Toned Tan paper.)                                                                             

                                                                 Matcha Latte

                                   

                                    Love the shape of this tree. I can see a face. 

                                  It reminds me of an Ent from Lord of the Rings.

                             

                                                 I will be taking a summer blogging break. 

                                 So...thank you so much for your visits and your lovely comments.

                                       Have a wonderful summer or fall, and if you live in the tropics                                                                                         all the best to you too!                                                            

                                          Linking to Link Parties via my link party page.

                                                       Thanks to all for hosting!

 

                                                                   Cultivate Your Dreams

Awakenings

Hi Everyone,

                                                     Squill or Scilla--Garden flower

                                                                 Red Trillium, I think 

                      What a difference a week makes. So happy to see the wild flowers growing                                                              complete with buds that will bloom soon.    

                            Blood Root in bloom. Happened upon these yesterday. :)

                 The froggies were a wooing in the marsh. I have video but I moved too fast, so it will make you dizzy. The sound itself is something else. The wooing only goes on for a day usually, so I was lucky to be there.  If I can figure out how to smooth out the video I will post it.   

Also, a lot of geese were on the move.  All my life I have been watching geese. In my life time this is the first time that many geese flew directly over our heads. They usually veer away. That can only mean that they haven't been shot at.

                                              Happy turtles finally got a day in the sun.                                                   

Put a little Plein Air kit together on the weekend. I've had the wee box for a long time. 

 

                           I can fit all that in, except for the water bottle. To the left is dried gouache.

                            Will leave the gouache out. I don't get along with gouache all that well. I                                                  need more time to practice using it--that's for sure.

 Willing to try again Plein Air painting again this year. Last year I faffed about feeling out                                          of  place. I suppose you get used to it after awhile.                                                                            

                     I use a clip board that sits on my lap for an easel. ( Not my original idea.) It                                              does not slip around with the clip side down. 

                                                                       

                                    A sketchbook can be used as well; just fasten it to the board with an                                                                      elastic. 

                                                  Or for no fuss, just clip the paint and water                                                                                         container to a sketchbook.

                     

                                                             

                                                            Green tea steeping.

                                                                 

                                   Snuck up on this hungry sweetie pie. We know each other.
                                I prefer to think of us as friends, but really I am barely tolerated,                                              especially since I didn't have many seeds. The nerve of some people!

                                                                                           * * *

                            

                                               A drawing of Mary Queen of Scots. 

 

                                         Poor Queen Mary definitely got a raw  deal.                                                                                                           

            The 17th century drawing I worked from had the Queen looking quite                                                                  cross, so I tweaked it a little for fun. 

                                    (I left replies on my last post. Thanks so much for                                                                                               your comments.)                                                                                      

                                                           'Til next time...

                                                              Linking to Friday Face Off and 

                                                                 T Stands for Tuesday.

                                   Linking to other Link Parties via my link party page.

                                                       Thanks to all for hosting!

      

                                                       Cultivate Your Dreams              

                                     

Blue Skies

 Hi everyone,

Blue skies are always a welcome sight. We have had a lot of snow and ice storms lately, so blue skies with fluffy white clouds sailing by are a sight to behold.  While difficult to see just now, nature is working on her ultimate creation--spring. (No sign of any flowers yet though.) But May will tip us over the edge weather wise, and June, magnificent June, will usher in starburst blossoms everywhere, including brilliant crab apple trees. A favourite of mine.

Recently, my main computer developed a few issues. One issue: I could not download my photos.  As you know, computers sometimes have a mind of their own. I mean what really happened between then and now? Perhaps I could have ferreted out the answer and fixed the problem but, thankfully, my son, Jesse, did the wizards job for me.

Many new devices and newly installed drivers download photos, writing etc. that are also held in the cloud. That I am told enables us to train AI. Call me old fashioned but no clouds please--just those in the sky for me, thank you. Thank you very much.

Had visions of an Easter bunny but got a chick instead.

Back to watercolour for a little Easter painting including the tulips to the left. Also to the left a few new Daniel Smith watercolours and to the right Sennelier watercolour. Fun to mix colours with different paints. What works in one set may not work in the other because of  pigment load, colour temperature, and other variations. 

Although I haven't tried many mixing scenarios, the Daniel Smith primaries are both warm and cool. So possible to mix any colour with this set. Time will tell.

                                                                              Desk top. 

                         To the right on the wall is a calendar by Angela Harding.  Her linocuts are complex and masterful. I believe she does wood engraving as well. What is the difference between a linocut and a wood engraving? You can, if you wish, create more definition, texture and tone in a wood engraving.

Speaking of print making, I plan to get busy soon. There are a couple of soft blocks in my stash. I do have something in mind and my tools could use a work out.

An oldie drawing.

Someone ask me about my studio/atelier or workshop. Well, I do not really have one. My desks are in a corner of my bedroom. The small one you see above this photo faces a wall and this narrow desk above runs next to that under the window. 

Because of fumes, dust etc., there is another designated area with a standing easel for acrylic, oil, and pastel painting.

Colour swatches, flowers and ink brighten up the world.

           Lisianthus or Prairie Gentian.

First time buy of the Lisianthus. Great price and they look like roses. (Bonus) What a lovely cut flower. So pleased that the buds are starting to bloom as well.

                                 

 Recently I picked 30 cherry tomatoes from my small indoor light garden.  

                                                      

                                               Soft pastels  ~ mostly Girault and Unison.

       Throughout March I worked on smaller paintings. Tried for two a week. 

Matcha

                              

                                        An early summertime photo. So beautiful so had to add it.

       

Two watercolour paintings.  With detailed watercolour the drawing must be precise. (Oh no a mistake.)  Anyway, I covered the mistake with white gouache. Probably easier to hide in a loose painting? I also read somewhere that you can use white watercolour ground to hide a mistake, although it might need a light sanding before a repaint of the area.

 

Have a very Happy Easter!

                                                 'Til next time...

                                   Linking to other Link Parties via my link party page.

                                                   Thanks to all for hosting!

      

                                                    Cultivate Your Dreams              

                             

Changes

Hi everyone,

Top of the day to you!  I hope you all enjoyed the summer. 

 

It was a hot, hot summer over this way, but we are now enjoying the lovely early days of fall.

The above photo was taken last weekend. Changes are happening...a lot of the trees tops in town have been touched by frost, but as you can see autumn's paintbrush has barely touched the countryside. 

Unfortunately, after this outing, I injured my foot again. Even with physio, last time, it took a long time to heal enough (although not completely) so that I could get around. Wishing it heals quickly, this time, so that I can get out and about for what is shaping up to be a wonderful autumn. If not, well there is always the car etc.

                                                 Always enjoy seeing the steeples.

                                      And cupolas. This clock tower cupola is in Brockville.

Time to say something about the hurricane in the U.S. I was and am so sorry hear about the loss of lives and missing family members and overall devastation. Heartbreaking for people. But many people have stepped up  to help including, bless her, Dolly Parton. 

Praying for massive help in these early days and also with the rebuilding. And I am also praying that the latest hurricane that's on the way will go out to sea.

***

 

Quite a few books were read this year and throughout the summer. Here are a few.

 

Made a pact with myself not to buy books for awhile, so have been reading books from the library.

(But I had an epic relapse today and  ordered Jane Urquhart’s new book: In Winter I Get Up at Night.) Strange and intriguing title—can't wait to find out how it pertains to the novel.

The library's online app also excellent for magazines, movies etc. So very important, especially these days to support the library. We had inter-library loans cancelled at one point, and talk of closing rural libraries. For shame!

 

I won't go into details, but I especially enjoyed  Hamnet and The Feast, and well all of them. Thankfully, no tossers in this stack of books.

Love Tan Twan Eng’s writing. Such a longtime between books, but it was worth the wait.

 At one point, I wrote posts about different authors and books, but haven't done so for ages. If you are interested, here's a short review titled Spotlight on Tan Twan Eng from 2013.

Also, maybe you have read all or some of the books shown here. If so, it would be great to hear your comments.

* * *

                              You may remember a work in progress from last time. At the time, visions of a flying Goldfinch came to mind. While not quite a flyer, here's the finish.

                               

                                     

                                              Acrylic on 10 x 10 linen panel.

                    There are two more of these linen panels... ideas are simmering as well.

                        Linking to Friday Face Off this week with the birdie and flower faces. 

 I've been working my way through one of Sargent's portrait booklets. Because I received a nasty slap on the wrist for a Master copy of a Sargent drawing I posted on Instagram, I am linking to the Friday Face Off with the birdie and flowers.

 

 I wrongly assumed (never assume) Master copies are acceptable; there are many on IG. Oh well, time to look for more open access photos to draw from, although I am still working my way through the Sargent booklet.

                                                Watercolours. Left Strathmore card on a NOT

                                      surface meaning of all things Not Hot Press or, specifically, cold  

                                      press watercolour paper.

                               Fun to try cold press. Would be great for enhancing the texture in                

                                landscape paintings.

                               

                                      Seems I am  obsessed with cone flowers.

                                                            Confession:  They are easy to draw.

                                        

                            Matcha Latte with cinnamon and a little honey.

                               

          My birthday was in August. So thankful and happy to complete another yearly whizz around the sun!  

One of my birthday gifts was the plaster bust; it holds my fountain pens, all except for a large one. Who knows where it came from. It is heavy and cumbersome.

 

                    Linking, among others, to T stands for Tuesday.

 

                              Linking, also, to other Link Parties via my link party page.

                                                        Thanks to all for hosting!

 

       Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post. I left replies there.

                                  Recently enjoyed a late dinner at a restaurant on the river.

 

               Time to say bye bye for now.

 

                                                      or spring, depending on where you are.

Cultivate Your Dreams

Wintering in Colour

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had lovely, happy holidays!

Of late, over this way, I've been puttering about, enjoying painting and experimenting with different mediums. An overall quiet time--winter works for cocooning in place with good books, paints, yarn and, of course, tea. Where would the world be without tea?

This year, February barged in with a bang. The earth moved!

 We have had two small earthquakes over the years. The first one was more severe. The noise was unbelievable with the loudest cracking sound I ever heard. It reverberated for  a minute or two. Your mind turns--where to run to--what to do. Thankfully, it stopped. Always good to have a plan or two in place.

Did you watch the Superbowl? Is that even an admissible question? Fair weather fan here. Enjoyed chicken chili, and watched the half time show. 

Pastel on pastel mat paper.

             
 Thanking Jesse for these beautiful blue pastels.
 Watercolours-Sennelier and three Daniel Smith's. Always fun to mix greens, but Daniel Smith's sap green works well with a hint of red mixed in to tone it down.               

           

                                                  

 The three colours in the last row are Daniel Smith's.  Love the Opera Rose, although it is a fugitive colour.

                                 

A little grocery store bought colour oasis.

Scraps of paper will do when you don't have a lot of time, or you may want to paint quick daily paintings.  As you can see, the painting on the right is halved because I put the lane almost in the middle. A definite no no. (She lives and sometimes learns.) 

* * *

Books:

What an amazing book this is. Not hard to know why it won the Pulitzer.  In a you tube interview with Richard Powers, he said he researched the book for six years. And while it's a work of fiction with a cast of human characters, trees are, in my opinion, the main characters. 

I've always loved trees; was surrounded by them in my childhood, and if you been reading here awhile you will know that I love to be in the woods. It's difficult not to feel sad when watching land being cleared. Now more than ever because there aren't that many tracks of treed land left. 

  

In case you are interested, besides this book, a couple of recommendations are: The Wild Trees by Richard Preston published in 2008, and more recently The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohellben. 

Netflix has bought the rights to The Overstory, so we can expect an adaptation sometime-- can't locate a time line just yet.

After reading these books, I could go on and one. But I will say there's no doubt in my mind that we walk among miracles. Trees are a community.  They help each other out. They are so remarkable it's mind boggling. 

Definitely a crime to cut old growth forests, especially the giant red woods; as you probably know, they can be 20 or 30 stories high and they have likely graced us with their presence since say 786 or longer! 

Speaking of miracles, my Echeveria elegans is blooming. 

Enjoy the week

And Happy Valentine's Day!

Cultivate Your Dreams

                                    Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 

                                                         Thank you to all for hosting.