Strawberries & Blackberries

What is the taste of summer?

Mmmm.... that's a hard one...
... so many vegetables and fruits... 

There's nothing like picking a berry, giving it a little blow to knock off (most of) the garden dirt, and taking a bite! Right at that moment when it's still warm from the sun and juicy from the vine, it's the best flavor ever.

When I was a kid, my two neighbors and I picked wild blackberries and sold them on the dirt road beside our mailbox for 50 cents a quart jar.  (I bought a quart of them at the farmers' market last Saturday for 6 dollars! And, I didn't even get to keep the box they were in.)

We had a certain routine for our blackberry picking - and I want to say in advance that nearly every bit of this whole process seems completely unsafe and just wrong now; however, back in the 70s, it kept us from getting bored.

• Walk down the trail behind my house to the lake. (but stay a few feet away)
• Toss rocks into the blackberry patch. (to scare all the snakes away)
• Put in a fresh stick of juicy fruit gum. (the sweet flavor would keep us from eating what we picked so that our jars would fill faster)
• Take high steps so that our feet would go straight down into the vines. (to keep from getting as many scratches on our legs)
• Glance behind and under the berries. (just in case a snake hadn't heard the warning rocks earlier)
• Stick an arm straight in, pick the berries, then bring the arm right out the exact same way. (to avoid all the stickers)
• Fill the jar
• Get the sign "Blackberries 50 Cents" and lawn chairs and wait by the mailbox.
• Hop up and run to the edge of the road whenever a car of big truck was coming.
• Make the sale.
• Split the money.

Well, we never got drowned in the lake; we never got bit by a snake, we often did get scratched by the thorns; we never got hit by one of the oncoming cars; and we never got rich from our berry sales.

I'd forgotten all about this process until I was working on this painting.  It was tricky for me to figure out how to make these purple and red blobs look like actual berries.  I had to stop thinking about them as berries and study the highlights, shadows, lost edges, and reflections.  Then... voila... It still amazes me when it works!

I did this painting as a challenge for Studio Atelier.  Visit the site.  It's fun to see the varied styles and versions all done from the same image.

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Yosemite Barn

Don't you just love old barns?

I can't resist them... so much has gone on inside and around them... lambs born, cows milked,  horses fed, hay pitched down, tools stored... 

I painted this barn to submit to the June challenge for A Day Not Wasted.  I love to see the varied styles that different artists use to paint the same image. 

Enjoy a lovely Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces and vintage items) that celebrates the country fair!  Click on Labor Day Country Fair.

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Mallards

Have you ever had a wild pet?

When I was a kid we had a lake on our farm.  (You can see a view of it in Lake at Nunnely)  One year a pair of mallards made their home there.  We named them Patsy and Bill.

This couple was part of a community of ducks that live on the river behind the Old Mill Restaurant in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  They're used to tourists and completely ignored me as I snapped their pictures.

It just doesn't seem fair that the the daddy duck gets to be so beautiful; however, I think the mama is lovely in her own way. 

Original Oil Painting on 6" x 12" Wrapped Canvas
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Red Lily

How many colors do lilies come in?

What a surprise when I drove home and found this gorgeous red lily!  I didn't even know I planted it.
Okay, I admit that sometimes buy a bulb on clearance or get a plant as a gift then just stick it in the flower bed and forget about it.  When I get surprises like this, I'm glad I do it.

 I haven't painted that much with red.  It was a little tricky to add the white highlights without turning it into pink.  I'm actually not even sure I did it right.  I think I'll paint another one just like it and practice the shades and highlights of red.  

I also know that I stress way too much over the greenery.  I work and work to get each leaf and blade of grass right, then I just go in and kind of fuzz it all out.  On my next one, I'm going to try to paint loosely from the beginning.   We'll see.

Click Beautiful Dreamer to enjoy a lovely Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces and vintage items) that celebrates beautiful things. Then visit Christmas Reds for a beautiful bright collection for a wintry day.

I love painting on these chunky little canvases so that they look kind of three-dimensional.    Click "Red Lily" to purchase this little painting.

Copper Teapot

What's the recipe for copper?

a stripe of white

a stripe of cad yellow

a stripe of ocher

a stripe of cad red

a stripe of umber

Then smooth all those edges with a soft brush.

It's kind of a mini-miracle to watch those stripes become metallic reflections.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

Those are a few of my favorite things.

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Canadian Geese

What makes a good leader?

When I started working on my master's degree in the mid 1990s, the first (and favorite) class I took was called Educational Leadership.  As the name suggests, we learned about leadership styles.  Our teacher gave a homework assignment that has stuck with me all these years.  We had to answer this question.  "Do you want to be an elephant or a goose?"  At first it seemed like a silly trick question.  

I wasn't sure how to begin to answer that, but something kind of serendipitous happened that week.  My class at school read a story called Amy's Goose.  Although it's a fiction story, I was reminded enough about geese to begin to know how to answer the question.  Geese share the leadership role.  There's a reason they migrate all those miles in the shape of a V.  The goose at the head has to work the hardest.  After a time, he rotates to the back, and another flies up to take the lead for a while.  They work together.
After a little reading, I learned that when a poacher goes after elephants, he tries to kill the matriarch first.  Without her leadership all the other elephants panic and become easy targets.

I've never forgotten that analogy.  Although I may sometimes be bossy and controlling, I strive to be more like the goose and not only share the load, but surround myself with those willing to do their part when it's their turn.

This particular pair of geese, as well as their many friends, live beside the river that runs beside the fabulous restaurant called The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  They seem to be neither bothered by nor interested in the tourists that walk all around them every day.  

Visit an Etsy treasury (collection of art pieces) celebrating the these lovely birds.  Click on Wings Over Canada.  Then enjoy another collection that uses the most beautiful browns called Looking for Autumn.  Random Favorites that Speak of Fall is another great fall collection.

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 12" Wrapped Canvas
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:)

How does your garden grow?


Maybe yours is...
"...with silver bells and cockle shells
...and pretty maids all in a row..."


But mine is...
"...with sunflower stalks that have no heads
... and only brown soil in the lettuce beds..."


So, I've been sentimental about how we love our deer that step from our woods into the yard then on to the pond.
So, I've smiled at the bunnies that try to sit so still as the dog and I pass on our evening walks.
Well, those deer and rabbits are not on my friendly list this week.  The deer ate the top of of every single sunflower, and the rabbits ate every last leaf of lettuce.


But look!  The first fruits of our labor!  Tomatoes!  Yea!!!

Yellow Mushroom Trio

Where do mushrooms come from?

Nobody plants them .  They don't seem to come back to the same spots each year.  They don't really last that long.  They just sort of appear; then they disappear.

There had been a lot of rain - actually a flood - during the season before our stay at Lake Ouachita. The ground was damp, and the air was muggy. But we made a fun discovery caused by these conditions. There were mushrooms everywhere in the woods by the lake.

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Spring Monarch

How many monarchs have you seen this spring?

I've seen several.  That makes me happy because I've heard that their populations are diminishing rapidly.  They need those weeds that we're all so quick to mow down.  So, next time you think it's time to get the weed eater out for the edges of your lawn, don't !  "I'm saving butterflies!" sounds like a great excuse not to do that chore!

As I was painting this little monarch, I couldn't help but be reminded of an old church stained glass window - sun gleaming off those sections of color between the black outlines.  Beautiful!

A big thanks to Nicole for capturing this image.  I'm glad you didn't weed eat down your joe-pye weeds so that this butterfly would have a reason to stop by your farm!

Enjoy this piece in an Etsy treasury (collection of related vintage items and art pieces) celebrating Nature-themed Artwork. 

If you'd like to purchase this little painting, click Spring Monarch.

Cardinal on a Cedar Branch

Do birds have facial expressions?

I wouldn't think so... 
They don't have lips so they can't smile or frown.  They don't have eyebrows so they can't scowl.
So...
Why does this little cardinal look so angry?

After painting three other cardinals, this guy came together pretty fast, but he looks so mad!  

I bought two bird feeders just so I could lure him (an his friends) to within camera range.  It worked.  They love the birdseed; however, they can tell when I get the camera out.  I think they're actually angry when they hear the click.  

Hmmmm... maybe the picture is right!

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Tulip

Happy Easter!


He is risen!
He is risen indeed!


I painted this from a lovely image provided by Paint and Draw Together.  It's always fun to see the varied interpretations from the artists.  Each painting is exactly the same, yet completely different.


To purchase this little painting, click Tulip.

Sunflower Swallowtail

Where do you get your painting inspiration?

I love to paint what I love, and I love what I see around my own home.  I grew a row of sunflowers at the back of my garden last year.  They were gorgeous.  One day this little butterfly danced, flitted, and posed as long as I was willing to take pictures.  So, I had 30 photos... all nearly the same... to choose from.  I loved this one because the little butterfly opened up and showed off his beautiful wings.

So what will be next?

This is what I saw from my porch yesterday...

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The Playroom

When is finished... finished?

I hadn't painted a child in a while, and I couldn't wait to start this little one.  It was one of those images that I knew as soon as I saw it, that I wanted to put the story on canvas.  

At first it came together quickly, and I even signed me name once it made me smile.  But, for some reason, I'm having a hard time calling it finished.

From the very beginning, I started making changes -- not a good plan for a beginner like me... She was wearing a whitish shirt,holding a whitish,  with a white rocking chair, in front of a white wall, so I felt ok with adding some color there, but it became like the domino effect -- each change required another change.  
Her bow was red to match the pattern in her shirt, but now I had to change the bow to match the purple shirt.  The string of Mardi Gras beads were purple, but now I had to change them to keep from overdoing purple.  I changed the book to yellowish, but then it looked just like her hair.  At one point It was "finished" but looked plain like a JCPennys portrait, so I asked the little one's mom to take a picture of the chair with some of her favorite toys scattered around, and she did send several choices.  That presented the next obstacles that no one but a struggling painter would need to fret over.  Since the photos of the toys weren't taken at exactly the same time of day, the shadows were all wrong to match the existing shadows on the painting.  Then where to put them so they'd look scattered not placed. (Well, I knew right away where to place the ball - right in front of the rocker that I never could get to look right anyway!) Of course, her favorite ball just had to be purple - oh well, bluish would have to be close enough. Why didn't I plan this out before I started? I could have given her a pink shirt!  Finally in a bold act, I got out some green and bright orange and made that book into Go Dog Go!  That's just a favorite of mine.
At that point, it made me smile every time I looked at the painting.  I signed my name.
Then I showed her to a couple of people.  My daughter, who is usually very helpful and spot on with helping me find errors that need to be fixed said, "Something's not right about her eyes.  Why are they closed?"  They're not closed!  She's just looking down!  Then another relative asked, "Who's the little girl supposed to be?" Not good... if the question has to be asked, then something's not right...
So... when is finished finished? 
I loved the story this image presented... a little one surrounded by her things... it made me smile.
But now, I've tossed the canvas onto the table beside all of yesterday's mail and last week's bills... sigh... Do I go back and work on it?  Or, do I go back to the time when she just made me smile and let her hang on a wall?

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March's Flowers

How do you know it's springtime?

It's always a surprise to see spots of bright yellow showing off after the winter's gray.

Who doesn't love daffodils!

And, then there's the forsythia!  

It's as if each month has its assigned colors... March has yellow with daffodils, jonquils, and forsythia.

April gets white and pink with the dogwood trees and the redbuds.

May is purple with irises of all shades.

June gets orange with day lilies and tiger lilies.

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Winter Cardinal

What sight makes you stop and take a moment to enjoy?

... a rainbow...
... a clear night sky filled with stars...
... the orange sky as the sun sets...
... a full moon...
... red cardinal on a winter day...

Enjoy an Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces) that celebrates all kinds of birds.  Click Birdsong.

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Kiwi

Do you remember your first kiwi?

I do.  I didn't even know that kiwi existed until I was an adult!  My students were eating lunch in the classroom, and I noticed a student with an odd fuzzy brown fruit.  He took a bite and the inside was green.  Honest to goodness, I'd never seen one before that.  Not long after that discovered them in the produce section  and had my first taste.  Yum!  

I painted this kiwi for the February challenge on the Paint and Draw Together site.  I love seeing scrolling through to see all the varied artistic styles - and to think that they all began with the same reference image!

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Iris

When did it "click?"

I started painting in February of 2007.  

First my teacher guided me through the painting of a Summer Tree.  (I loved it!) 
Then I tried the again, but this time it was an Autumn Tree. (I thought of myself as Monet!)
My next lesson was to paint a white cup. (It was the hardest thing ever and looked like a blob!)
That was followed by a White Daisy. (How were all those colors inside the white!)
My fifth and sixth paintings were of an owl that lives in my backyard. (They didn't turn out like I'd envisioned they would... Ok, they were awful... I haven't had the nerve to post them.)

Then it happened...
On my seventh painting, something clicked.  I put those colors and shapes on the canvas, blended them together, and stood back amazed.  Those colors and shapes looked like an iris!  
I'd made one petal appear to be behind the other.  I'd made another petal appear to be turning back.  I'd managed to create some depth!  

The other day, I wondered what ever happened to this painting.  My daughter said she'd taken it.  It hangs in her house now.  What an honor; I couldn't be more pleased.  

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Orange Lily Trio

How's the best way to spend a snow day?

When I went to bed last night, I expected to wake up to a blanket of snow and a day off... but alas... the roads were clear, the buses ran, and the kids came to school.

Anyway, I had a plan for how I'd spend my snow day.  I had planned to paint something bright and summery like these lilies that grew beside my house last June.

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Bluebird

What triggers your memory from way back?

As I was painting this little bird, I kept thinking of a piece of song my dad used to sing to me in the mornings.  I haven't heard it in decades, and I can't even remember the tune!
All the same, it's a snip of a memory that makes me smile. 

Birdie with a yellow bill,
Hopped upon my window sill,
Winked a shiny eye and said,
"Aren't you ashamed, you sleepy head?"

I may have to go back and add a little more yellow into this little birdie's bill!

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 8" Canvas.
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Slice of Cantaloupe

How do you paint silver?

It seems that silver isn't any color.  It's just reflections of the colors around it.  How odd... I have a tube of  paint called silver, but I don't think I've ever given it a squeeze.  

I found a recipe for silver (white, burnt umber, & black) in an old painting book called Leon Franks on Techniques that's proven to be valuable several times.  It tickles me that the book clearly says on the cover that the price was $1.00, and in the back it requests 15 cents for shipping.  I couldn't find a copyright date anywhere, but it's nice that some things stand the test of time.  And by the way, I checked Amazon.  You can purchase this exact $1.00 book for about $20.00 + $5.00 shipping.

I'm thankful that I have books (and the internet) to help me figure out painting problems, but I miss my art teacher so much since she moved to a different state.  I need a new painting partner... (insert sad face here)

I painted this to submit to the art challenge site Paint and Draw Together.  I always enjoy seeing the varied styles of artists.

Enjoy an Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces and vintage items) celebrating Cantaloupe and Cornflower Blue.  

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