Monarch and Sunflowers

 

I don't think I shared this painting, and it already has a new home!  I have enjoyed seeing and painting the flurry of monarchs that have arrived. With so many chores to be done in the garden, I really treasure the moments I can actually paint what I've been tending!  This painting was briefly on display at Powell Gardens and is number 4630 in 4630 days, and now I'm getting ready for the first Chiefs game of the season!  

Sunflower in August with Monarch

 

As I work in the garden, I listen to gardening podcasts that cover all things garden related.  I've heard in the last few years of the drop in numbers of the monarchs.  I was amazed, because we had so many around the flowers, and we leave stands of milkweed in the pastures.  Well, this year, I have noticed a drop in numbers.  I live out in the country with plenty of open land and native plants, so I felt like our numbers would never drop. I'm thrilled each time I see one, and I try to do a quick painting in the moment.  Perhaps they are a little late this year, one can only hope they are on their way! I just dropped this painting off at Powell Gardens!  Come see this and more when you visit this beautiful place! Painting number 4601 in 4601 days. 

Monarch on Hydrangea

 What an amazing day for painting and gardening! I bought this Bobo hydrangea years ago solely because that is what we sometimes call our sweet lab!  Now Beau is 10, and this hydrangea overflows with blooms each year, and I get to capture the magic in paint!  It's so nice to see the monarchs in the garden.  Painting number 5153 in 5153 days.

Monarch and Sunflowers

Oh, I am having so much fun with these sunflowers!  The bees, birds and butterflies are enjoying them, too, as I spend a little time here with ink and watercolor.  I am exploring my colors a bit, and playing with a brand new artisan handmade watercolor palette, which I am using to embellish my strokes. It's a lovely rabbit hole to get lost in, and I'm looking forward to what unfolds! Painting number 5136 in 5136 days. 

Monarch and Coneflowers

Working on a few paintings for an upcoming Flint Hills show, I've been in search of wonderful Kansas wildflowers along the roadsides. The sunflowers aren't yet in bloom here, so I'm choosing another perennial favorite, the purple coneflower!  Butterflies and bees love the native wildflowers, and we have plenty of monarchs in the Midwest - though I hear they are scarce further west.  So today, I enjoy my sketch time among the coneflowers, welcoming the winged visitors as they pass.  Love these warm summer days!  Painting number 4295 in 4295 days. 

Bluebird in the Pear Tree

Bluebird in the Pear Tree
Pen and ink on paper, 5x7

Oh my!  This bradford pear tree is glorious with blooms!!  It is so full, I can hardly see the birds as they fly into it’s branches!  This tree was one of the first we planted so many years ago - and now it is 30 feet tall and nearly as wide!  What a beauty it is each spring, and it turns a fiery red each fall!  The bluebirds love flying from tree to tree up the lane, and it is a joy to see them getting closer to the house!  This piece is the 1175th in 1175 days :)

Goldfinch in the Plum Tree

Goldfinch in the Plum Tree

I’ve been stretching myself way too thin lately, so I am taking a little “pen and ink” vacation, where I revel in the ink for a little art therapy!  I will return to the figures in a day or two, but for now I am enjoying the freedom of the birds in my fruit trees!  Everything is exploding in bloom - and I am drawn to capture it in pen and ink!  I may have to get some of this down in paint, as well!  Spring may just be my favorite time of the year!!  Drawing number 1174 in 1174 days.

Cardinal in the Flowering Pear

Cardinal in the Flowering Pear
Pen and ink on paper, 5x7

The flowering pear on the front lawn could not be more abundant with blooms, and this sweet little female cardinal has found a favorite perch!  I love capturing the spring beauty with pen and ink, freely using my pen as I squiggle on those petals feathers and bark.  I have a wonderful collection of india ink Pitt pens, but I return again and again to my favorite superfine and brush tips.  It seems I don’t even pick the others up until my favs runs completely out of ink.... and then, of course, I do!  This drawing is the 1173rd piece of completed artwork in 1173 days.

Monarch

Monarch
Pen and ink on paper, 5x7

Another day reveling in the freedom of drawing butterflies!  I should be working on figures, and I really need to work on my cafe scene skills, but instead I choose india ink and paper for a light and airy butterfly sketch!  I love to watch them fly about, and with spring unfolding before my very eyes - the grounds will soon burst with them!  This drawing is number 1172 in 1172 days.  Perhaps, I’ll return to my figure work tomorrow......

Butterfly on the Trumpet Vine

Butterfly on the Trumpet Vine
Watercolor on paper, 7.5x5
Purchase Information

These trumpet vines were planted by my grandma on our cellar, and every year they yield these perfect orange trumpets.  They have migrated to a few other locations, one is right outside the kitchen window where I can easily paint them.  The hummingbirds and butterflies love them, and in the last few years, we have hummingbird moths that also flurry around them. This is the first time I have painted them in watercolor, instead of my usual oils or acrylics.  I've lately been thinking of trying out my pastels, too.   Hmmm, I love to experiment!  This painting makes 607 in  607 days.

Sculpted Prairie Wildflowers

Sculpted Prairie Wildflowers
Acrylic, molding paste on panel
Konza Prairie Wildflowers

Summer at the Konza Prairie finds so many different flowers in bloom!  There are more than 60 prairie grasses and a whole page list with four columns - full of flowers and plants which grow on this prairie!  With this painting, I first sketch out my composition with pastel sticks.  Next, I capture the petals and foliage with my palette knife and light molding paste.  It is important to first have a sketch here, so I can be sure and put the paste where I want it!  No willy nilly application when it comes to molding paste!  After this dries, which is fairly quickly, I go in with my first layer of paint.  Using Golden Open acrylics, I thin down with water and regular gel medium - building up the color and value.  Stepping back periodically, to make sure I get a good feel for where the painting is headed, I make adjustments to the diffused background flowers.  I have tried a stiff, semi gloss medium between layers, but will top this off with the regular gloss for the top coat.  Applying a clear medium between layers adds another dimension to the paint.  I hope to enter this painting for a fundraising auction to benefit the Flint Hills.  It is important to do all we can to preserve the beauty of this Kansas prairie for generations to come.  This painting makes 586 in 586 days.