Lichen, really?

Some thesaurus words for "texture" - arrangement, balance, being, character, coarseness, composition, consistency, disposition, essence, feeling, fiber, form, framework, grain, intermixture, make, nature, organization, pattern, quality, roughness, scheme, sense, smoothness, structure, surface, taste, touch, warp, weave, web.

I love all of the words because of their tactile nature. When I stumbled across these logs in our woods, I thought there were little white butterflies adorning the circle. Upon closer inspection, it is actually a thin white lichen that curls this way and that giving it remarkable character. I just love the look of it and spent about 30 minutes taking pictures of it on all the tree limbs laying on or near the ground. It must love our wooded area and get just the right amount of sunlight because we have these little butterfly jewels scattered throughout. Just makes me happy imagining them as a cluster of wings just waiting for the muse and the moonlight!

Word - Texture

The word for this week is texture.

Its noun meaning - the visual or tactile surface characteristics and appearance of something; essential part; basic scheme or structure, fabric; overall structure.

I absolutely adore texture and look for it everywhere and anywhere. I was out in the yard shooting photos of various trees with lichen, moss and just cool shadows when I happened to look upward and see this interesting little scene. Yes it is out power pole but I loved the various textures it offered in such a small area. The characteristics of each stand on their own yet looked phenomenal just waiting to be discovered. Did you happen to notice the heart shaped knot? Oh yeah, a visually added bonus for your artistic eye, one that might have gone unnoticed had I not looked to the sky for inspiration!

Imperfection is Beauty..

Alive!

I can finally say winter is gone and spring is here. It was a beautifully sunny day here and the clouds just looked amazing. When was the last time you sky gazed? Me, it is an everyday thing. It makes me feel small, in the grandiose scheme of things. But it also makes me realize there is so much out there to explore and discover that I am very thankful to be alive and well today. The cobalt blue sky dripped in a scattering of white values is just a visual treat for anyone to stop for. Be thankful today and please look up at the wonder that awaits!

Forget Not that the Earth..

Draw New Lines...

The Pace of Nature....

I Want Life to be Art..

ahh Spring!

I love, love, love the way the sun is hitting this little daffodil foursome, can you feel the warmth? I know I can!

I have been witnessing what a little rain over the past couple of days has done to our wintry grey surroundings. The grass has gone from a dried army green to a lively bright kelly green. The birds are gathering nest fodder and busily claiming their spots amongst the trees. I spotted a pair of kingfisher over the pond just squawking away at each other showing off with flying loops over the water, a spectacle I have never before seen. The greenery of plants are starting up everywhere you look around every tree and the garden beds. The trees are sprouting luscious buds promising this years awesome blooms.

Oh yeah, Spring is here and it is very welcome in this house!



Sometimes....

Kind Words..

Sunfilled Trio

Another shot of my sunny jonquil treasures, this one showing an amazingly fun trio of blooms. I love the lights and darks of this photo, it really makes you take a deep look into what you are actually seeing. This photo brought you in to see the details and I love that! As an artist it is one of the important things I like to do in my artwork as well. Bright you in to see what I spent a lot of time and energy on. This is no different because I wanted you to see the spectrum of yellow in all of its glorious hues but then break it down into the beautiful trio before you. I hope you are having a great day full of cheery thoughts and bright colors!

Hello Sunshine!

I picked one lovely jonquil to focus on and love the way it just makes me smile. It's just so happy and yellow and sunny and spring like, it just screams "hello sunshine!" I love all the ruffles of the center section surrounded by the pointed smoother petals on the outside. Mother Nature sure knew what she was doing when creating these little beauties. I wonder what her work table looked like and it this was just a happy accident of putting two things together and liking the end result :)
Hope they put a nice sunny smile on your face today!!

Free Jonquils

Our local flower shop, Brumm's Bloomin' Barn, was giving away jonquils with every purchase this week and well, I was a lucky participant! Their bright, lively cadmium yellow deliciousness really put a smile on my face so I wanted to share their color with you. When I took them outside to photograph the sun just lit them up even more, almost blinding you in vibrantly intense warm yellows. Next to the winter landscape, this was a very welcome sight to experience color this way. I loved the way the dark shadow on the porch really makes the flowers take center stage making them almost look cutout and pasted onto the vase. But did you happen to notice that fantastic shadow next to the vase, what an interesting art piece this would make. All the angles of the bloom edges, the rich shadows, the vase, the leaning flowers, the nice line of stems, are all things my artistic eye treasure so yes, you will be seeing this set up again. Happy Spring and thank you Brumm's!



I Like Nonsense..

Spring, Finally

Some Thesaurus words for "finally" - after all, already, at last, belatedly, despite delay, eventually, lastly, someday, sometime, sooner or later, subsequently, tardily, ultimately, yet.

Those words are exactly what I was looking for in the meaning of finally. It is a waiting game and one I'm not sure how to do, patience is not a virtue I use readily or daily. But the gentle disturbance of the thawing ground in the garden always means something wonderful is coming our way. I have looked and waited and looked some more, expecting the little bursts of color and was not disappointed after all. They are here in mass and I love their shocking bursts of color amongst the dreary winter grey surrounding them in the landscape. Spring is on its way, it is a sure sign that winter has finally passed. Thank you for a dreamland of winter whites and magical memories but I am really looking forward to the upcoming bursts of new, fresh and vibrant color. Hello Spring!

Word - Finally

The word for this week is finally.

The adjective meaning of final - not to be altered or undone; ultimate; relating to or occurring at the end or conclusion (finally is the adverb).

I have been waiting, looking to the garden daily for the last couple of weeks and finally have seen the sight I have been hoping for - the crocus flowers. We have large and small, and color varieties from the palest lavender to the deepest violet, white and sunshine yellow. But these striped beauties are by far my favorite. I love their color with the frosted white striations on the outside hiding the medium violet on the inside but the surprise comes in the shape of their bright yellow orange stamen. Love Mother Nature for that glorious treat! Their delicate long skinny leaves with their white stripe are another indication of her ingenious design. I can't imagine what her inspiration was for this tiny treasure but I'm sure glad the muse lead her to it!