Mixing It Up

Hi there,

Nothing says summer more than sunshine, dreamy clouds and flowers. And we are enjoying an abundance of all three. A summer day spent lounging about in a lawn chair with an ice tea and watching the clouds roll by is my idea of a perfect day. Of course, a good sunhat and a wonderful book just tops it off. Speaking of clouds, I've always loved this quote by David H.Thoreau: "You must not blame me if I talk to clouds."  (Definitely one for the smile file.)

We are in the throes of a heat wave, so I haven't been out and about on foot a great deal. However, it doesn't take long to adjust to heat, and when the temperatures dip a little, I've been reaching for my sweater. 

                             How hot is it? So hot that there's not a turtle to been seen on golden turtle pond.

But I've been longing to go to the woods, and I was so happy to get out there when the temperatures dropped recently to take a few pics. I didn't want to miss the mid-summer flowers.

Wild lilies ~ Turk's Cap

 

Crown Vetch

Milk Weed

Sumac

 A busy Chipmunk with places to go and chipmunks to see.

Cattails

The heights

Fleabane

I've been painting with acrylics recently. The great thing about it: if you make a mistake, you can paint over it and begin again. So very different from watercolour. And what would an acrylic painting be without a bit of blue?

A bit more of the detail in this picture.

Keeping with the blue and yellow theme. A small cobalt blue pitcher that I found

at a flea market.

The 8 x 10 ocean scene. When I buy a larger

canvas and a few more tubes of paint, I  think I will revisit the sea. If you look closely, you will spy a bit of sea glass from the beaches of Nova Scotia on the left of the painting.

 From my watercolour painting: a butterfly fashioned from molding paste.  

The manufacturer's stamped paper mark will show when this painting is framed. My son said, it's hardly noticeable, but, well, there's no way around it, so... When I was painting the scene I didn't notice it.  (I do have a prescription for new specs!) However, I have the 'new' drawing on the drawing board, complete with a few modifications. For example, I drew a smaller leaf fern and curved it a little to lead the eye back into the painting. I also modified the center part of the orchids and changed up the vase a bit.

A few of my favourite cultivated  flowers. Rose of Sharon, Platycodon, Cone Flowers, Peony

* * *

A small scarf just off the needles and not blocked yet. Actually I knit two. One for me and one for my sister. The yarn: Mini Maiden from Handmaiden.

This post with a mix of things will be linked with Soma's Wandering Camera on Thursday. A very special thank you to Soma for hosting!



And linking to: Mosaic Monday.
 Floral Bliss
 Wednesday Around the World
Pictorial Tuesday
Thank you, ladies.

Leaving you with an oldie to celebrate summer, and if you are in the southern regions I hope you are having a mild winter.

'Til next time...Cultivate your dreams!

Taking Time

Hello again,

On Saturdays or Sundays, I take time out.  I call it a spa day for the spirit. If you have read The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron she calls the time out an "artist date."  I think a lot of people do, now and then, take time out for beauty and renewal. And after reading the book, you understand how important that time is and how it works to heighten creativity.

Sometimes, I take the time to look at beautiful blogs, but if I am not careful I can get lost there. But even if I do stay longer, I always come away feeling better. Here are two of favourite picture blogs:  Ana-rosa  (for A.R. click on the archive) and The Little Hermitage. 

Depending on the season, I find other things to do such as walking or driving along the river, visiting gardens/greenhouses, bird watching, a walk in the woods, museums, etc., or I might flip through beautiful books. In January when the longing for spring strikes, (way too early I might add) I turn to gardening books.

So last Saturday I made a pot of tea and settled down to admire books that I borrowed from the library as well as a few well-loved ones from my own stash.

O blue! No need to say more.

As you can see, in a simple way, I've been playing with the Apple Pencil. The surface on the iPad is very slick--a whole different medium.

I like the Procreate app; there you can paint/draw/write (Calligraphy) with all mediums and textures.  Also good, Adobe Sketch, Brushes, and there are many, many more. 

It amazes me what some people create with these apps and how quick they learn.

Moving on to Monarch butterfly beginnings, with black, yellow, and orange watercolours.

Finished the Calla lilies and a few flowery doodles.

After another hour or so spent painting and drawing, (with temperatures on the plus side--definitely in my favour), I decided to take my time out seriously and go visit the birds. I've been missing them.

~ Last summer, I met an elderly lady in line at the hardware store. Cupping a small bag of seeds in her hand, she proudly pointed out that the seeds were for two sparrows who visit her every evening. "They know me," she said. :)

Mr. Dee Dee Dee. Dressed to the nines in his tuxedo. (Pic from the archives.)

(A bit of data. This little Chickadee and his mate have the capacity to remember hundreds of places where they have stashed seeds to get them through the winter. Next season they can erase those memories to make room for new ones. (No, the birdies are not bird brains.) For details, visit birdnote.org - Old and New Memories of Black-capped Chickadees Fernando Nottebohm. ) Remarkable I say!  

(Apparently if it gets too warm in winter, their stashed seeds will rot, so if you are out in the woods, please carry a few seeds with you.)

An older sketch. 2015, I think, with fall leaves and Milkweed seed casings.

I only saw this hungry sparrow and a few chickadees on Saturday, but I was pleased to see them.     Birds always make me smile.

Spreading Gold

Yesterday, as a passenger on my way to the city, I couldn't capture the beauty of the goldenrod. I ended up with either an electric pole in the middle the picture or a blur of colour, but, as you can see from the pic, beauty can't be denied.

Usually I have my knitting in tow, but yesterday I was happy to look out at the wildflowers. In many areas the goldenrod was complimented by banks of purple wildflowers.

Before the golden phase--complete with a buzzing bee.

Milkweed and goldenrod. Too bad I can't include  the sweet, heady scent of the milkweed for you.

Fortunately, I've noticed that there are a few more wild bees around this year. Several years ago, I took an Apiculture course from Simon Fraser University.  As a child, I collected and released many bees so I was aware that they are engaging creatures, but I also learned, among many other things,  that they not only navigate by following landmarks, but that they also use the tilt of the sun and the magnetic field. In early spring they send out a scouts and the when these scouter bees return to the hive they dance out the directions to the source of nectar/pollen for the other worker bees. They have several dances in their repertoire. For the bees' sake and ours, we need to save these wee creatures. Please sign the petitions against the use of pesticides. On the needles...slow going.   One day, recently, I could have worn this hat; it was 12C or 53.6F.  Thankfully, it's warmer now. The hat is taking longer than I expected, but I am a few rounds closer to the finish line. Have fun this weekend! And thanks for reading...