Garden Harvests (June 16-30)

What fun it is to visit the garden each day to see what's ready to pick!

Guard in the Garden

Guard in the Garden

Or Guarding the Garden

Or as I would say it, Guardin' th' Garden

I don't think of myself as having any accent at all.  Some (as in everyone) would say that I do.  I'm going back home this weekend for my 40th class reunion.  (How did 4 decades slip by so quickly?) My husband says he'll be listening to see how long it takes for me to slip back into my accent.  Oh, I may have been away for a long time, but I can drop my -ings, flatten my i sounds, make two syllables out of the a sound, and slide right back into that drawl without even realizing it.

I know this is a whimsical painting, but before it's judged too harshly for proportions being off with the cabbages too big.  Let me just bring up a photo from the cabbages my sister and I grew a few years ago.

My friend and art mentor, Cheri, and I took several months off from our weekly-ish art challenge, but she decided it was time to start again.  Her word for me was "garden"... or did she say "guardin' "... Hmmm... 

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

Click Guard in the Garden if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

Poppy Field (Palette Knife)

 

I painted some poppies a few months ago, and as I was doing so, I realized that I don't think I'd ever actually seen any poppies growing.  Since then, I have! And, of course, I loved them! 

Our city has beautiful flower beds around The Square. The beds on the corners were filled with pretty red poppies a couple of weeks ago.

There's always so much to see/hear/taste/smell when you visit The Farmers' Market on The Square.  Fresh fruits and vegetables... flowers... someone wanting a signature on his petition... musicians... someone wanting your vote... pets from the animal shelter that need homes... well-behaved dogs (which means we never take ours)... craftsmen and artisans... friends...

I had two favorites today.  One was a kid who called out to me. "Do you want to hear a joke or see a magic trick?"  I said I'd like the joke.  "What to you call an angry teapot?" Tell me. "Steamed!"  Ha ha. Ok. Not sure how much the joke was worth, but his courage to take up a post and ask with a grin was worth a dollar in his hat. 

My other favorite was this band. Who would have ever thought one old guy singing into a megaphone, his buddy on the banjo, and his other buddy on a marching tuba would be so fun to listen to!  I hope their open instrument case was filled with dollar bills by noon.

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Garden Harvests (June 1-15)

Hello, Summer!

These harvests may not look like much, but it's just the beginning! 

 

Sante Fe Doorstep (Palette Knife)

We visited Santé Fe recently. We found it to be very tan. Very tan... The buildings were tan... The ground was tan... The food was kind of tan... The people were tan... The plants were mostly tan... If I had to sum up the trip with one word, tan would be the word. It's not a bad thing... Just a tan thing.

Besides all the tan there were pops of beautiful turquoise. So much turquoise! Turquoise jewelry... turquoise clay pots... turquoise shutters... turquoise doors... turquoise in silver.

I don't know when I've ever taken so few photos on a trip as this one.  But when I got home and scrolled trough all the photos that I did take, nearly all of them were of colorful doorsteps, window boxes, and pretty front porches. Apparently, May is also the month of lilacs in Santé Fe. I did take lots of great photos of lilacs. Maybe some of them will end up in a painting one of these days.

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Sunflower Mural on Fence - Redo

If you've followed me a long time, this might seem familiar.  The fence that I painted five years ago had to be replaced, so I got a do-over!

Ladies arrive at Welcome Home Retreat ready to both relax and get to work on their projects. Last weekend there were 5 quilters, 3 scrapbookers, and me...I just had one painting project to accomplish... a big one.  My sister was there to keep me encouraged and entertained.  

I had to let a few happy friends join.

Thursday night- Sunday morning schedule:

When it's not raining, keep adding to the mural.

When it's storming, stress over whether the rain will make any paint run.

Besides that... rock in the chairs on the porch, eat wonderful meals, visit with my sister, and relax.

Ta-da!!! 

Just like that, a plain fence is a colorful mural.