". Arranged Words: An Array of Colours

19 Jan 2021

An Array of Colours


Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a lovely holiday.  
I always enjoy getting things ready, but I am never that eager to take the decorations down. I have  friends with a big house and they, at this point, keep the Christmas tree up year around to please their little granddaughter. Not a route I would like to take, but sometimes I am tempted to leave the tree up a little longer--say March. 
In other news, the daylight hours have increased by approximately 35 minutes, so what's not to love about that.
And the sunrise and sunset have been spectacular. The photo above: a sunset. Love the cool yellows, and the purple near the top.


Gorgeous dreamy blues with a hint of purple.




A Common Redpoll ~ Handsome to the core.
And not all that common; I haven't encountered one for a long time.

Of course I was out to feed the birds. When I arrived I found the feeders well stocked. There are a lot of people out and about this year. We are under lockdown, but with the mild temperatures the woods and parks are busy spots. Not so other years; we may only have seen one to three people, or none at all.  But it's nice to see families out enjoying the great outdoor, and they are phone free too.

* * * 

My son bought me a lovely pastel set for Christmas. I've been experimenting with some of the colours.


Pastel

I always forget to take pictures of the different stages of a pastel painting. They go through a ragged stage, but I love how they come together as if by magic.


The light is garish today, but the top photo captures the colours well. (Notice that I didn't blame it on my photography skills.)




 Thank you for reading along.

                                                                    Until Next Time...

                                                              Cultivate Your Dreams

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

61 comments:

Kim said...

A lovely new year to you, Dixie. I see you are out and about in your glorious countryside, capturing the beauty with your magical brush. Sunsets and sunrises never fail to amaze, do they. Your watercolour is sublime. The sky, the sun dancing on the water, the distant hills, the water....the bushes hugging the foreshore....each element makes for a most beautiful work of art.

Peabea Scribbles said...

What pretty skies, and the painting are awesome.

Veronica Lee said...

The skies are really pretty and yes, the paintings too!

Happy Wednesday!

Tammie Lee said...

lovely sky photos. winter light has a magic of it's own.
Have fun with your pastels.

Villrose said...

So many lovely colors in a time of the year with "no" colors!

betty-NZ said...

What gorgeous scenes! The photos are great and your artwork is just wonderful to see! You are so talented with the chalks!

Thank you for linking up at 'My Corner of the World' this week!

Tanza Erlambang said...

beautiful photos... and lovely paintings.

Have a wonderful day

NCSue said...

Lovely photos and paintings. I wish I had artistic talent. Stick figures are all I can manage!
Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-peek-at-our-indoor-herb-garden.html

Clare Lloyd said...

Beautiful photo and pastel art

BLOGitse said...

Aaah, looks spring, beautiful!

DVArtist said...

The photos are just beautiful but your pastel is stunning. I would love to see your process. Have a great day.

by EAGHL said...

Your pastel work is beautiful

WendyK said...

Fabulous pastel work, they are not easy to use.

Gillena Cox said...

Gorgeous painting.
took down my Christmas tree last week

Stay Safe

much love...

Linda Kunsman said...

a beautiful sunset photo Dixie! Thanks for sharing the cute Redpoll. I must look it up but I don't think we get those in our area.
And your pastel painting- breathtaking!! So soothing...
happy PPF!

Christine said...

Beautiful painting and gorgeous photos!

https://linsartyblobs.blogspot.com said...

Lovely pastel painting and photos.

Rain said...

Dixie, you pastels are beautiful! I know what you mean about how it all comes together, I get that way with the charcoals too. When I first started Kenny, he looked like a skeleton with a hat lol...isn't art fabulous? :) Your sky photos are so lovely!

riitta k said...

Such a beautiful painting & photos. Enjoy the weekend.

Valerie-Jael said...

Fantastic photos and pastels! Have a great weekend, Valerie

Tarang Sinha said...

Beautiful shots! I feel like painting the first and the 3rd one. Your painting looks lovely. :) I haven't tried pastels yet.

Penelope Notes said...

Well done. The painting has an aura that is soft and serene.

Ayala Art said...

I took my Christmas tree early, I wanted to be done with the year. The nativity I left a little longer ♥ Nice photo and painting! ♥

Angie said...

Dixie - I laughed at your comments about Christmas trees! Ours is still up, and although we had plans to take it down after the departure of our guest, we just decided today that we might leave it up a bit longer! Your sky photos are incredible! And I love your pastel drawings ... thanks for linking up to Mosaic Monday!!!

Arun Goyal said...

Wow ! Stunning capture of nature beauty in the painting. It would be my pleasure if you join my link up party related to Gardening here at http://jaipurgardening.blogspot.com/2021/01/garden-affair-gazania-beauty.html

A Bit of the Blarney said...

Beautiful photos. Christmas is hard to “put away.” But I’ll be as excited as always next year. Have a wonderful week!!

EricaSta said...

Your pastels are fantastisc. It's always good to see other Artists work.
Thank you for sharing.

Happy MosaicMonday

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Happy New Year to you too, Kim.
May it be filled with health and happiness.
At the moment, I seem to be 'hooked' on pastels. They are a lot of fun.
Thank you.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you Peabea. :)

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you Veronica Lee.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

I agree. The light seems almost transparent at times.
So different from other times of year, and I notice a lot of colour in the sky.
Thank you, Tammie Lee.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

True...so true. I notice a lot of colour especially at sunrise and sunsets.
Sometimes the bushes look purple...so pretty.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Hi Betty,
Thank you for hosting, and thanks also for your lovely comments.
Best Wishes

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you, Tanza.
Enjoy the weekend.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you.
I, too, use to be quite good at stick figures. Then one day I decided to give drawing and painting a try. It's really all about seeing, I think.
I hope you give it a try.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you, Clare.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Ah spring. It will be here before we know it.
Do I sound convinced? :)
Thank you!

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Next time I will take a few pictures. To me, pastel paintings do go
through a strange stage, but they do, sometimes, surprisingly come together.
And a few hit the garbage can too. :)
Thank you.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Hi Wendy,
First I tried oil pastels with little to no luck, but I
do like the soft pastels. They have a way of their own.
Thank you.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Hi Gillena,
Christmas trees are so beautiful twinkling away. I never
want to take them down. Good for you for keeping your tree up awhile longer.
Many thanks.
Have a lovely weekend.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Hi Linda,
Redpolls are so cute. They are a little timid, so they are often the last ones to
find a spot at the feeder.
Thank you for your lovely comments.
Best Wishes.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

I was lucky to see such a gorgeous sky on that outing. The colours always
amaze me.
Thank you, Christine.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you.
Enjoy the weekend...

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

I agree, Rain. Art truly is fabulous. I am so glad art and I ran into each other.
Painting, drawing was a dream of mine for a long time. So I can say "dreams really do come true."
I love your Kenny painting.
Thank you.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you, Riitta.
Have a great weekend too.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you Valerie.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Pastels are fun. I hope you give them a try, Tarand.
Many thanks.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you, Penelope.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

I don't think I've ever seen two nativities the same. I love them.
Thank you.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Well, good for you, Angie. Or should I say Dame Angie? :) We can all need a little more Christmas this year, I think.
Thanks so much for hosting, and for your lovely comments.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

You have a very nice blog, Arun. I will link up for sure.
Thank you.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

I decorated very early last year. As a matter of fact earlier than I ever have in my life. So enjoyable. Thank you.
Enjoy the week.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Hi Erica,
Thank you so much for your comments.
You have a lovely blog.
Best Wishes

Gillena Cox said...

Hi Dixie. Happy Monday. I am at #14 on Monday Mosaic linky

Much💖love

Kinga K. said...

Fabulous photos ❤

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you, Gillena.
I'll be over to visit.

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Many thanks.
Have a lovely day.

Create With Joy said...

Dear Dixie,

I hope that you are well! I loved today's post and your beautiful photographs and artwork. I always feel such a sense of serenity and peace when I visit your blog!

Did you know that CONGRATS are in order? You are our Friend of the Week at Friendship Friday at Create With Joy. Hope this brings a bit of sunshine into your wintery world!

Have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo

Dixie @ Arranged Words said...

Thank you so much. :)
It does make the world a brighter aspect today.
Much appreciated and thank you for hosting, Romona.

Dawn said...

Your pastels are amazing and the sky photos are very calming. What a sweet little bird, I'm not familiar with that one. Precious
Dawn aka Spatulas On Parade

Arun Goyal said...

Beautiful post ! Thanks for joining in Garden affair. Keep linking.