Botanical Blues

Hi there,

Grape Hyacinths are one of my favourite spring flowers. As a child, I remember standing in a garden  completely captivated by these delicate little beauties. Perhaps this is the second time in my life that I've actually had these flowers inside. They are hard to come by unless, that is, you grow them from bulbs.

                                                           Gouache flower cutout.

Yes, I did go to the Art Store in Ottawa. And what wonderful place it is. From the easels to the pencils, it's all wonder.  I know I said I was going to pare down some items, (and I did jettisoned a few that I hope someone else will find useful) but these items are, I reckon, a necessity.

Winsor and Newton Opera Rose...much maligned because it doesn't appear to be light fast, but when you dry brush it over, certain flower paintings ( especially purple) it really does hide the flatness and adds warmth. Because I wanted sanded paper, I haven't tried my pastels yet, but, now, all systems are set to go.

Tip: When you buy new brushes, do throw away the protective plastic tip.  Many people try and put the tips back on. The fine hairs can catch and ruin the brush, and if there happens to be any water in the brush it can mildew.

Can't wait to read this book.

Since I've always been fascinated by the explorers, I was very pleased to find this book. Published in 2017. There is such a wide range of wonderful entries. 

After a 14 week cool down in a neighbor's fridge, I bought the tulips home and they are coming up. No Snowdrop sprouts yet, but, regardless, I will bring them home this weekend.
The trick will be to keep them cool. I have them against a cold window. Next week the temps
are suppose to climb to above zero so I will put them outside. That should help. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The Botanical Blue sketch.

 Apparently, this Micron pen isn't the same beautiful blue that I usually use, although it claims to be the same colour. I will go over the line drawing again and that should bring up the colour.
Hellebore, crocus, daffodils, pansies, tulips, a snowdrop, and, of course, a birdie.

'Til next time...


Cultivate Your Dreams!  

Herbarium and Other Things

I've always been fascinated by the early botanist that sailed around the world and observed, drew and collected plant specimens.  Mostly men, including Darwin, but women trapped in the shackles of the day also threw off suffocating social conventions and set sail to study and paint plants.

I love to go to Kew Gardens to see Marianne North's paintings.  She was an intrepid globe trotter.  In those days, some of the voyages and locations must have been rough indeed. Imagine wearing a full length buttoned up, long sleeved Victoria dress, probably black, carrying supplies while skirting wet rough terrain in the panting heat of the jungle.  If you haven't seen the documentary about her extraordinary life and you are interested in plants and botanical art you can watch an excerpt in the above link.

The other intriguing, lady that I admire: Margaret Mee.  Margaret went to the Amazon to paint  flowers. Her masterpiece: the moon flower. A wondrous white flower that blooms under a full moon. Talk about right time/right place. Can you imagine being in the jungle at night waiting for the flower to bloom?  Thrills and chills! In the link: an excerpt from a documentary; you can watch her in the Amazon waiting for the flower to open. 

Of course there are too many women to list, but Beatrix Potter was also a wonderful naturalists who observed and painted many plants. And Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) was absolutely amazing. As well as Emily Dickinson who kept a grand herbarium. Harvard University holds the rights to Emily Dickinson's works, including her herbarium which they have printed.  Sadly, and much to my chagrin, it costs a small fortune.

And on the home front: early pioneers Catherine Parr Trail her sister Susan Moddie and Agnes Fitzgibbon.  Canadian Wildflowers  was written by Catherine and illustrated by Susan Moddie's daughter Agnes Fitzgibbon. 

              My little herbarium pales in comparison, but I've always been fascinated by plants.
                                                            The common and the exotic.

Horsetail also known as a "living fossil." The horsetail was the first plant on earth.  In early spring they rise dressed in a vibrant green. How vivid? It makes my heart sing.

 

                                                                           Solomon's Seal.

                                                                          Purple Violet.

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                Organizing art supplies. I may send for a small cabinet to further the
                                                                 process along.

Paper and paint at hand. Yes!

Parts of lilies.

A very quick study to try out my trial package of Gouache. 

What an interesting substance. Unlike watercolour you can re-activate it with water and

it doesn't ruin your painting. I also admire the silky feel of it. Because I wasn't sure how it would

react I didn't use a good brush, but the brush did wash out okay. 

I've heard Schmincke makes the

best Gouache but Holbein does cover black paper well. The trick is to play around with how much water to use. A little goes a very long way.

An oldie.

Linking with My Corner of The World.

'Til next time...

Cultivate your dreams. 

Musings

Desktop troop.

 As can see, I bought a few more pottery pieces over the summer. At the flea market, they have a retro pottery booth that I admire. Besides having many wonderful pieces, the people who run it are so friendly and helpful. I only wish I had room for more. Perhaps a six foot Ikea shelf would do it, but no, really, it's time to jettison a few things. Have "A spring clean for the May Queen." Led Zeppelin

( The two pieces of pottery to the right are West German. The blue one is a second that I picked up somewhere.)

It's helpful to lay out your paint in the same order.

I had a question about paint. Specifically what watercolour paint do I use? The answer: several brands, but my go to is tubed Sennelier.

The binder in Sennelier is honey and it adds to the smoothness and enhances the richness of the colours. I also use Schmincke half pans, Windsor and Newton and I have random tubes of Daniel Smith, PWC etc. In other words a lot of paint. But that happens when you like something: the ever growing stash. However, I will try to pare down my art supplies that I won't use in the spring clean too. Well, perhaps. Having said that I already feel a pang of greedy horror. ;^) As you know, it's difficult to part with certain things. For me it's books, yarn and art supplies. 💕

 I prefer mixing my own colours, but I don't always do so. Although magic happens when you mix a few colours together and come up with say apricot/orange, green, brown etc. But there are so many gorgeous colours to choose from, and you can also easily buy what you like. Or if you want to experiment and start small, you can begin with the primaries and mix your own colours. That way you can find the paint that works for you for less money.

If I am mixing a lot of one colour, I mix a large amount in a bigger dish. In this case a dollar store candle holder. And work from that mixture to lighten or darken a colour because it can be difficult, although not impossible, ( I'll let you know when I can do it.) to mix the same colour twice.

I had fun with these acrylic colours. Very different colours from what I normally use.

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Back to the drawing board...

Have a wonderful week.

'Til next time...lovely people.

Watercolour Skies

                               "Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet."
                                                                  Stephen Hawking

 The other day, I stood still in the woods until my hands got very cold, staring at a changing water colour sky. Looks like a light indigo, or French ultramarine and a light phthalocyanine blue. Gorgeous!

This morning I was up before dawn, hoping to catch a glimpse of Venus and Jupiter in the eastern sky. It was worth it!
 I also wanted to watch the recent eclipse of the moon, but the weather had other snowy plans.

               And the sign says: Do not fed the wildlife. It's clearly overlooked and overruled.

More gift tags. Some people also use them as bookmarks. They are time consuming to make, but I love to paint them. I think it has a lot to do with the colours.

                                                      A bevy of Easter colours. Tres uplifting!

                                        I've also been painting tulips this week.

I am not sure if I mentioned it in an earlier post, but I am currently forcing tulips and snowdrops. I've never seen a real live snowdrop. I can't wait! The bulbs are in a neighbor's extra fridge because they can be cooled anywhere near fruit; that creates ethylene gas and that impedes flower development.
I've got my fingers crossed!

On the needles...

                        Beginning a pair of socks. Pattern Lydia Bennet Secret Stockings
from Jane Austen Knits magazine 2011. Yarn from Tanis Fiber Arts.  I love the picot edging.

                                                     Thank you for reading along.

                                                 'Til next time...Cultivate Your Dreams!

A New Day

Hi there,

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year!
We had a wonderful time.

Below are two projects from last year that I wanted to finish before the clock struck 12:00. And I also wanted to ring in the New Year with a blog post, so I am nearly there.

There were a few personal milestones that I had planned to complete in 2018. Check. I never was much of a list maker, though I find lists really do help keep me on track.

I'll spare you the personal milestones, however I did finish a small knitting project, and I did have bird cards printed. I didn't paint and draw as much as I would have liked to last year, but it's a new day.

Long ago (say September- you may remember) I started knitting a hat named  Bough. I used Brooklyn Tweed's yarn named Shelter. I contemplated using a bold, zingy colourway. Somehow that thought vanished. So I chose: Pumpernickel.

Anyway the finish line finally arrived, so yesterday we went off to the woods to take a few pictures.

Just look at that! Canada in January ~ sans snow. One gets the feeling it might be early spring. A florid illusion, I reckon.

A pompom too. How daring! But, then, one should live a little.

 Cables add texture and beauty, and they are easy to make. Wishing my hands liked all that yarn twisting. However, knitting slow, like a tortoise might if he could, does eventually get you there.

 

While I was in the woods, these tenacious leaves and the pine needles below caught my eye.

 The "Fashionista" bird cards are printed and will be listed in my Etsy shop by 4 p.m. tomorrow.

For those of you who are not on Instagram, there's a program called "The Best of Nine." You enter your user name and voila the program calculates your most liked photos for 2018.
Call me fastidious, but I do want to straighten out that blue painting.

 

 

(Signo white gel pen on Strathmore Artagain 400 series.)

Wishing all of you a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year filled with love, and good cheer!

Cultivate your dreams!

All Is Bright

My Christmas list is nearly complete.  The halls are decked and the house has been smelling of gingerbread, cookies and more.  Even the corners, with the help of the Elfs, are merry and bright.

 Mid winter skies all a glow.

A lovely gift arrived too.

A few Santas brighten a corner.
Santa, to me, represents the spirit of giving.

And who can forget the birdies. This one was made long ago.

It looks like we may have a green Christmas this year. Unusual but most welcome!

Weather systems and wind currents are mysterious things. A system bringing a lot of rain is running up the coast from Mexico.
  

Thanking you for reading along, again, this year, dear ones. And for your lovely comments, blog posts, emails, and friendship.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays! 

Cultivate your dreams. 💗