Botanical Blues/ Watercolour Finish

July 6, 2016

 Almost every day I have a pen or pencil in hand. That means I have quite a few pictures to choose from for painting. Next up on the painting board a fairy. 

 "The Pretty Pair."

Progress on the Rustling Leaf Beret.  Tosh sock. Colourway well water. A row here and there adds up. I am so pleased to be able to knit again. 

Reading...

I've been searching for this book on Canadian Wild Flowers by Catherine Parr Traill for some time.  It's second hand, but is in good shape. There's another one I'd like to own, but haven't found it yet. For those of you who may not know, Catherine and her sister came to Canada from England in the 19th century.  Catherine wrote the Backwoods of Canada and she sister Susan Moodie wrote Roughing It in The Bush. ( They each wrote two books about pioneer life.)  If my memory serves me correctly, it was Susan who spent a winter alone in the bush with her children while her husband was off working. Can you imagine?

Thank goodness Catherine had the foresight to collect and record Ontario's wild flowers. Her niece Agnes Fitzgibbon illustrated her wild flower books. Catherine knew expansion would deplete much of the wood lands and she was, of course, way ahead for her time. I'd love to see Catherine's herbarium housed at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Have a great week...

Sketching Flowers Part II

A little jazz for my new sketchbook. Top of the week to all of you!  I don't think I've every posted this early in the week. Because it was so drab, I decided to dress up my new sketchbook; that, no doubt, is probably the point of buying one of these books. (I bought it because the paper.) I am not sure how long these watercolour flowers will stay on the Kraft paper, but I enjoyed painting them. Over the years, I've heard many people say that they can't draw.  I don't think that's entirely true. Why? Because I was one of those people. It was only when I changed my mind that I managed to get something down on paper other, that is, than a stick man.  For me, drawing is a dream/wish come true! (Hmm, I wonder what else I can change my mind about ~ not sky diving!) To expand upon that thought below is a video that someone sent me. It's amazing ~  you can't believe your eyes.  As you watch, you'll notice the deep concentration going on behind that paintbrush. However, with that said, I do feel very ambivalent about this video. In many ways it's heart breaking because, of  course, I'd like all wild animals to be free, but that's not always the case, especially these days. (This elephant is also someone's bread winner.) We all know elephants are very intelligent, but should an elephant be taught to paint? We used to think that only humans used tools, this video goes well beyond that idea. On the other hand, perhaps this type of training will help the world recognize and cherish animals more, including saving their habitat. What are your thoughts?