My Garden Harvest (June 16-30)

Watercolor Wildlife

Never say never...

I never thought I'd even try painting with watercolor.

I never thought I'd get the hang of how painting with watercolor works. 

I never thought I'd start to enjoy painting with watercolor.

I never thought I'd want to do more painting with watercolor.

And yet...

I signed up for Watercolor Wildlife with Tamara Laporte of Willowing Arts. She's such a good teacher, and I learned so much. I got better and better... And liked doing it more and more... Amazing what lessons and practice will do...

All of the following have been done in the last 3 months.  The first 8 were from her Watercolor Wildlife lessons.  The last 4 were from lessons she did in other places (Sketchbook Revival tempter session, Kaleidoscope taster session, Life Book 2023 session) 

My Garden Harvest 2023 (June 1-15)

Old Barn & Fence in Summer

My weekly-ish challenge was "Barns" this time.  Now that (finally) is a comfortable subject to put on canvas!  When I started painting back in 2007, I painted a lot of barns.  I went back to look and do a little math.  About 1out every 15  of my first 350 paintings was a barn.  (Click HERE to do a quick scroll through of my barn paintings... There are a lot of them!) 

Then... I don't know why... I quit.   I've only done 2 or 3 out of the last 200 paintings. 

What a pleasure to learn that I was "assigned" to do another!

I found the reference image I used on unsplash.com.  There were many barn images available, but I was drawn to this one immediately.  What a surprise I got when I went back to get the link and give credit to the photographer, Mick Haupt. He wrote "Exploring through the Ozarks with the family and had to stop and capture this rustic barn. Enjoy it and paint this scene. Rushing, Arkansas."

Oh, my goodness!  Well, no wonder I was drawn to it! It was taken right here in my own Ozarks! Thanks Mick!

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas
Click "Old Barn & Fence in Summer" if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

Red Panda

Well, hey there! Aren't you a cutie!

This little guy is actually supposed to have been done in watercolor.  I'm taking a Wildlife Watercolor class with Tamara Laporte. I really liked this one, and I had a couple of reasons for wanting to do him well.

Reading between the lines, "do him well" might imply that he wouldn't have looked very good if I'd done him in watercolor.  That would be correct. I'm trying, but I'm not good at it. Am I having fun though? Hmmm... good question... Fun? Well, I'm learning,  I'm committed to do 8 lessons, and I'm being challenged.

A friend's favorite animal is the red panda, so she'll get a surprise for her birthday next week.

Also my weekly-ish challenge was "Unique Creature" so that worked out. 

Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

[GIFT] 

Unique Planters

Relax... Create... Inspire...

These words are the heart of Welcome Home Retreat in Weatherford, Texas.

Pretty much every single thing is fabulous there, but the courtyard is especially wonderful. Plenty of shade and enough rocking chairs to go around... Lovely plants growing out of odd containers... And a feeling of complete peacefulness.

The challenge for my Creative Companions group this month was "Unique Planters." The ladies who keep the grounds at Welcome Home Retreat are so creative with... well, with everything. I could literally just take my pick as there are "unique planters" all around.

For my companion piece,
I had to consider both of my favorite places
to be surrounded by pots and planters.

I've actually painted part of this scene before, but it wasn't quite the same. 

It's not always birds who have a snack at the  sweet little bowl-on-a-stump... 

Original Oil Painting on 18"x 18" Wrapped Canvas

Click Unique Planter if you'd like to purchase this painting.

My Garden 2023 - The Beginning

 The beginning of the story of our garden 2023.

First let's go back to last summer...
See that huge fabulous tree behind the red bench?
After years of wondering whether we should take it down,
we decided it was time.

Next we move into autumn on the day it came down.
It was quite something to watch from the porch.

The upstairs bathroom became a good greenhouse in late winter.
There was plenty of sun, and the door could be closed to keep the cat out.

And finally spring!
In early May, plants finally went into the ground.
This little garden has never seen so much sun!

What a difference a month makes!

Grow, little plants! Grow!

If you wonder why we have fencing around everything...

Hmmm.... maybe because the little Bantam hen and her
chicks thought the loose soil around the little plants
was a fine place to wallow.

Or... maybe because the neighbors who stop by cannot be trusted!

20'x 13' in the ground.
27 half barrels.
But wait! There's more!

Wire over the lettuce? But, it's on the porch rail...
Surely it's safe. Nope. Our deer are happy to walk right up...
Kind of a self-serve salad bar.

If just a little section of spinach is uncovered,
they'll be happy to snack on that.

 Luckily marigolds and zinnias must not taste good.

My herbs! 
Basil, oregano, rosemary, chives.
They smell so good to me,
but the squirrels, deer, birds, and chickens seem to have no interest.

A little paint in all the best colors on some old flea market pots,
and it's a lovely pot garden... ummm... garden in pots on the deck.

It's early, but we've harvested a little bit already!