Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day and I wanted to celebrate it with you by showing you a view from the garden. This is my favorite statue and a new climbing rose that is out of control at the moment but still beautiful in my eyes. I cropped it tightly to give you the full scale of the yard that includes all the luscious green layers and the bright sky. I hope you take the time to appreciate the little miracles of the day, I know I do.

I'm getting ready to embark on a new adventure, rediscovering my paints. I know I can still paint a straight and steady line, my nervousness comes with the ability to design and create something exciting. It's been a while since I haven't relied on photographs so bear with me and don't laugh out loud too much when I share some art with you. I would like to start once a week showing you my progressions and I hope it inspires you to get back on your horse again so to speak. We can ride out this journey together, right? I know I can count on all of you for your honesty so jump in and pledge to experience something again once a week. It doesn't have to take a lot of time, heck I would be happy with 30 minutes a week if it meant playing with the medium I loved at one time. I've always been one to jump in feet first, think about it later then experience it to the fullest - and now I'm ready to do it again. Wish me a creative muse, it is going to be a ride of a lifetime!

Summer Days

The summer weather is here today - hot and humid with a faint breeze about every hour. This iris reminds me of summer days by its coloration. Is that how you would describe it? The bright burst of sunshine on the top petals while the lower ones absorb the rays giving them a nice rich orange red hue. It just makes me warm looking at it. The structure of the iris is really seen here with all the inner petals, the fuzzy beards and the protective outer petals - what a beauty!

Cinnamon and Spice

It was a beautiful day today and the evening was quite nice for doing a little yard work. While out on the mower, I couldn't help but notice this wonderful iris. Its color reminded me of cinnamon and exotic spices - I could almost smell the curry. Isn't it weird how the color can send me into spices, they are all connected I guess, our sensory perceptions. It is one of my favorites because it is just so unusual. What could I pair it with to be just as exotic if I were to paint it? How about adding some indian symbols, or lay it on a beaded fringe shawl. I would like to add a large stripe of some kind to counter all the round ruffled petals. On to the background, which do you prefer - the lighter on the left, the darker on the right? Let's see which takes the most votes shall we?

Foxgloves

I spent a couple hours today on the riding mower. Now, I don't mind this except for those grueling hot, humid days and today wasn't one of them. It was nice, cool, with a gentle breeze and bright sunshine so I really enjoyed it. It gives me time to think with nothing else but green grass on my mind and the wind in my hair. Today's topic was what to do for the colored pencil of the month club. I have wanted to do a butterfly for a while now but just haven't found the right one. The iris and peonies are in bloom as well as the foxgloves, poppies, daisies and roses. Here's the Fantasy Foxgloves I did last August for the colored pencil club. I picked them because of the cool little fibers sticking out all over the place adding a bit of mystery to the whole piece. I kept the front flower in bright colors while placing the back bloom medium dark to fade away into the paper choice. It is one of my favorites so I hope I can come up with something just as intriguing this month. Wish me luck, creativity and please send caffeine :)

Comfort and Ease

While away in Wichita, the iris and peony began blooming making our yard a colorful palette for any artist to enjoy. Peonies are my favorite bloom but iris have a special elegance to them that just can't be beat. We have about 12-15 different color varieties around the property and I like them all for different reasons. This one reminds me of a pair of blue jeans that is half worn out but fits you like a glove. I don't know why but when I look at them, that is where my mind goes. Creativity comes from within and my brain doesn't shut down to often so just roll with me on this one. The deep, rich top and pale lower petals just put my ideas into overdrive wondering which medium would do them justice. I'll have to ponder on that for a while...huummmm

Brilliance

This is a close up shot of Tuesday's cloud. Did you happen to see the extremely faint rainbow almost in the center of the lower cloud? We couldn't help but see it since the cloud formation was just huge. It seemed to be the brightest, most brilliant white we had ever seen. Of course, the rain and the grey clouds surrounding it helped that out I'm sure. You can see by the small items in the landscape just how massive this cloud was - it sure made an impression on me! The earths beauty is always a treasure and a spark of inspiration for me. I hope you take time to admire it for what it is - a gift to be enjoyed and marveled at!

Feeling Small

We were in Illinois when we saw this beautiful sight, talk about feeling small. Once again, the landscape was just awesome and I'm thankful to be sharing it with you all. So, what does this kind of photo mean to you? Do you have any feelings attached to it? I just feel small in relationship to all there is out there in the world, not just here on earth. It makes you wonder about the grander scheme of things - is it all figured out in advance or are we able to explore the journey as it unfolds. I sure hope it is the later so I can enjoy the adventure!