". Arranged Words: Summer Continued

5 Aug 2019

Summer Continued

A word to the wise.

So lovely to be able to say that here, in Canada, summer will meander along until further notice. Today: another glorious day of clear blue skies, replete with sunshine and flowers on the bloom everywhere. One look out the window and gratitude taps you on the shoulder.


 Snowshoes. A friendly reminder to enjoy the lovely summer days.


Sailing anyone?  Looks like we might be heading north. But we can, with a good wind tack in other directions.


Coral bells. O the colour!









* * *

Off the drawing board...a few things.

I've been holding on to my pastels for more than a year now. Sometimes one needs a little push to try something new, especially when it comes to beautiful pastels. (They need to be broken to work with. I didn't want to do it.)
 Recently, a friend send me a picture of a sunset and before I knew it I was breaking pastels, not only with abandon, but with glee. Apparently a little inspiration goes a long way.



 For this painting, I used Uart Sanded Paper. Because this paper tends to buckle,  from now on I will spray it down with water and iron it flat and weight it down (there must be a few heavy books around here ) until it dries.

Last week I started a folder for my sky pictures. ( I have a lot of them and want to get them together for reference for pastel paintings.) From fair to stormy skies, I love them all.  Summer, spring and fall are great times for ever changing array of clouds.  One of my mottos: Look up!

* *  *


I bought this cheap wooden box to put my pastels in. Added a coat of acrylic paint, and then decided to paint a flower.  Because I did not plan to paint anything, I didn't sand the box first, but I may sand around the flower and add a coat of varnish. The smoothness of the wood so lovely to paint on. Gamblin oil paints. What a dream.

Iris in oil on canvas.  

Linking to Mosaic Monday and  Our World Tuesday and on Wednesday with My Corner of the World on Wednesday.

See you in September...



Cultivate Your Dreams!



30 comments:

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I love your art! Wow! How beautiful! I've just started to sketch and do a little watercolors...I'm still learning! Love your pretty flowers! Hugs!

Fun60 said...

Beautiful summery photos. Enjoyed seeing some of your artwork.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, the paintings are lovely. Beautiful variety of flowers and scenery! Enjoy your day, wishing you a great new week!

Hootin Anni said...

I do like to paint myself, so, I truly enjoyed viewing your work. Extraordinary beauty.

Anonymous said...

Love, love, love this post, Dixie. All the wonderful pictures and your paintings. It almost makes me want to give it a shot! Thank you for your blog. I love it. Love, Joannie

Lorraine said...

Such beautiful flowers - so colorful. And that sky pastel is so lovely.

Angie said...

Dixie - I love this sentence- "One look out the window and gratitude taps you on the shoulder." That is just the way I feel every moment of every day! So glad to have you at Mosaic Monday with these stunning flowers and your artwork. Please come again!

kiwikid said...

You create such beautiful art. Lovely to see summer in your part of the world.

betty-NZ said...

I am enjoying your summer along with you as it is still winter down here in New Zealand! Fabulous colors and scenes are everywhere if we just look. Thanks for sharing what you found.
Your artwork is rather awesome, too! Keep on painting :)

I enjoyed your post at 'My Corner of the World' this week!


My Corner of the World

Cielo said...

Oh what a nice post! I love everything :)


Please check out my latest post, too? I'd love to hear something from you! :)
www.cielofernando.com
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

Soma @ inkTorrents.com said...

Everything looks so lovely, Dixie!! I can see why you didn't want to break the pastels, but I am glad you did. The sunset painting looks very other worldly beautiful. You could probably tape the paper using watercolour tape to keep it flat while it's drying. The blue flower in your wooden box is so delicate, and such a beautiful iris. Glad to see you using oil. I also have a folder full of sky pictures for paining reference. :)

-Soma

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you.
Glad to hear that you are sketching and enjoying watercolour. It is a lot of fun.Keep at it. Good for you!

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Oh summer does make for a lot of beauty everywhere. I just love it.
Many thanks.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you for your comments and for visiting.
Enjoy...

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Oh my. Thank you. Always fun to wrangle a brush about.
Just new to oil. I think it might be a keeper.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Do give it a go, Joannie. I believe you would love it!
I'm so enjoying summer. Hope it lasts well into the fall. :)
Thank you

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Pastels are nifty< Lorraine. A few pastels and a bit of pipe foam for blending and you are off. With that said and before I act too big for my shoes,:) I've signed up for a pastel landscape course. I can't wait.
Thank you.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Hi Kiwikid,
Love the name you picked. It's so nice just now, but I know we will be trading off seasons soon. I do love that I can visit your area in our winter and be delighted to see spring or summer. Wonderful!
Enjoy...Are the early flowers in bloom?

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you Betty. And another big thank you for hosting.
Always a delight to visit your part of the world. It must be a great place to live.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you, Cielo.
I'll be skipping over to visit soon.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Oh pastels...they are a great medium. Very different from anything else that I have tried. Unfortunately the paper was like that when I got it. I do tape it down but it still curls. Spraying has helped, and I don't think it will affect framing though.
Thank you, Soma.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you , Angie. I will definitely link up to Mosaic Monday again.
I enjoyed having a look around at all the wonderful blogs, including, of course, yours. You live in such a beautiful area.
Many thanks for hosting!

Celtic Thistle said...

What a lovely glimpse into your locale, I love the snowshoes as wall art :)

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Yes, the snowshoes are fun. I smiled when I happened upon them.
Thank you.

riitta k said...

Beautiful green views! Let's hope the snow does not come earlier than in December. You are a great painter!

Penny said...

Been a while little friends. So glad I popped by. I've not forgotten you. LOVE the landscape. More please. You really are a talented woman. Hugs

Kim said...

Somehow this lovely post went amiss from my little world. How I love to visit your beautiful painterly world, Dixie. Your artwork is truly inspiring. Oh that sunset painting....'tis magical. Love too, the Iris with the pretty doily skipping around it. =)

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thanks you,Riitta.
So far so good; we are having a lovely fall.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Well, my goodness, Penny, Penny, Penny! Thank you.
So happy you stopped by. Lovely to "see" you.
I hope things are going well for you and Dave.
Best Wishes
Dixie xo

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you, Kim.
I think I am a flower at heart. :)
I've seen so many beautiful sunsets and sunrises lately. Inspirational for sure.
Enjoy spring!!!