Cosmos!

Garden inspiration is on the easel today and rhe bees on my cosmos have captured my heart!  I grew them last year, the first time in years, and fell in love with their airy habit and cheerful blooms that required little from me during busy days.  I saved seed, but didn't need to, because many volunteers have popped up where I had them last.  So, I've been moving them to almost every bed in the hope that they will bloom profusely and pop up again next year.  The busier I am, the more I lean on the vigorous growers in my gardens to do the heavy lifting. I also spotted a rare pink lily at the local nursery today, and I may just have to go bring that home, too!  Painting number 4942 in 4942 days. 

Lilac and Butterfly

 

Is there anything as sweet as the fragrance of lilacs?  I wish they bloomed all year so I could bask in their aroma at any chosen time.  The butterflies are out and a quick sketch is on order before heading to the Augusta Plein Air Art Festival, something I look forward to all year long!  I've only a few blooms in grandmother's old fashioned lilacs this year, and they must be immortalized. Painting number 4859 in 4859 days. 

Drifts of Yellow

 

I love painting wild mustard in bloom - especially near the barns!  It's just getting started, and I'm happy to find that the horses don't eat them in the meadow!  So, I will continue to have lovely mustard filled landscapes in the years top come!  Painting number 4849 in 4849 days. 

Cheerful Faces

 

This small pansy painting will be installed at Powell Gardens next week!  Well, technically they are violas, but in the same family as pansies.  I'm so surprised and happy that my pansies all survived the brutal weather.  The blooms all fell off, but the green plants remained green, and now are pushing forth blooms again.  I have a variety that I haven't yet painted, and I'm waiting for a few blooms on a plant before doing so.  It's fun to work in the garden with the chicks out for playtime, and again in the evening as the big girls free range.  I keep them herded together as any watchful mom would do!  I hope to be painting them soon when my garden work subsides a little!  Painting number 4846 in 4846 days. 

Fancy Daffodils

 

Yay - a few of my late blooming daffodils have survived our crazy weather!  SO many froze back to the ground with tiny buds, so these few are a big deal. I love to paint them, and await their reform all year long.  Here's hoping there are more spring miracles to come!  Painting number 4840 in 4840 days. 

Rembrandt Tulip

 Hooray for tulips that defy extreme weather!  I'm so happy to paint this sweet little Rembrandt tulip!  The spring blooms are previous this year, with the killing freeze and storms rolling through.  I hope there will be many more survivors popping up in my garden to paint.  Painting number 4839 in 4839 days. 

Dafs!

 

How beautiful the daffodils were before the cold snap. I didn't have nearly enough time to paint them.  The heady fragrance and promise of abundance throughout the season was mine as I basked in their glory for a day.  It was Beau's last day, and we spent it together among them. I thought I'd return home to them, but instead, both the daffodils and Beau are gone.  I think every spring from now on will bring back the memories of this day.  Painting number 4828 in 4828 days. 

Daffodils

 

The daffodils are simply breath taking in the garden today, as I spend this day saying goodbye to our faithful companion.  He's been so weak, but still wanted to go out early to lay in some of his favorite spots. Thank God for a beautiful day, where we could stay outside in comfort.  The new cats kept us company, Clyde laying nose to nose with Beau for hours.  As he laid his head on my leg, I sketched this beauty loosely, and tried to gain strength from the garden on this very, very sad day.  Twelve years just isn't enough time.  Painting number 4819 in 4819 days. 

Yellow Blotch Pansies

I had so much fun painting these pansies at Suburban Lawn and Garden that I brought them home to my own garden to enjoy.  I'm so happy to have gotten all 18 in the ground before the 2 inch rain.  Six of those are a purple and white large variety, and I can hardly wait to paint them!  Many daffodils popped open today, and I'll need to paint them, too, while they are opening up.  So many flowers, it must be spring already!  Painting number 4817 in 4817 days. 

Three Chicks

 

I feel like it's already Easter with these chicks in the house! It's so fun to cuddle and paint them, and they are showing their unique personalities, too!  We brought them home last Thursday, and they are already growing. Michael and Tess gave me an artisan made Chicken sketchbook, so I have decided to fill it with chicken sketches and paintings. The paper is made of recycled paper and ELEPHANT POO!!  There's a whole backstory to creating these sketchbooks and turning poo into funds to support the elephants and their community.  The paper is porous, so I've sketched in ink and colored with acrylic.  Watercolor does not move at all in this paper. The cover is a three dimensional rooster head, which is the inspiration for the theme of this journal.  I can't wait to try more mediums on these pages as I capture all my girls, one by one.  Painting number 4810 in 4810 days. 

Mustard Blooms

 

Who knew Green Mustard would have such beautiful blooms?!  I had been growing this hydroponically, and allowed the bolting plant to go to bloom to harvest the seed.  Wow!  What a show! The bloom stalks were so of of control that I snipped them off and set them in a vase to enjoy as cut flowers.  I can hardly wait to grow more of these delicious greens!  Painting number 5159 in 5159 days. 

Golden Bloom at the Milk Barn

This rainy, moody day is the perfect backdrop for painting the wild mustard shining in the pasture!  Each year, I look forward to the golden drifts, hoping they will line up with something beautiful in the background.  This is a lucky year and I've only got one shot at it.  They will have faded by the time I return home from Augusta.  Painting number 5157 in 5157 days. 

Two Dafs

On this lovely day, nearly the whole family came out to celebrate our joint birthdays - Tyler, Travis and I!  We tried our new corn popper over the campfire for the first time - and it was SO delicious!  The kids enjoyed s'mores as we played lawn games and visited outside.  Hannah brought enchiladas and we all contributed Mexican fare and more.  It was so nice to gather after so much sadness, and to enjoy being together. All the trees are blooming and the daffodils are magnificent, so I'm sketching a miniature in honor of a fabulous birthday. Painting number 5144 in 5144 days 

First Pansies

 

Today finds me in the garden for a quick pansy sketch before family come by! Yesterday's rain was a little hard on them, but they are still shining this morning.  Pansies are so sweet in early spring, and each line and brushstroke while in the garden lifts my soul.  I soon will have a couple of little helpers out here, too!  Painting number 5143 in 5143 days. 

Sunny Day Daffodils

 

These spring blooms are fleeting, and glorious to paint in their prime.  Every year they return to me, like friends springing up from the ground.  They keep me occupied when too much is on my mind, and the strenuous garden work is welcome relief when troubled.  My duties are light as I head early to Michaela's, and I'm hoping the boys will join me in her garden with the shiny, new garden spades that I'm bringing with me. Perhaps my next painting should be of that brightly colored collection of tools in my basket.  Painting number 5140 in 5140 days. 

Pansies

 

I love painting the cheerful pansies of spring, especially when they are brightly colored.  This has been a hard week and I find solace in these first blooms.  In fact, this may be the most beautiful spring bloom we've had in years.  And I seem to be floating through it in auto pilot, once again. Painting number 5138 in 5138 days. 

Sunny Blooms

 

Sunflowers are the happiest blooms to paint, and what fun it is to squeeze in painting time in the garden!  It makes me smile too see them, and even more to paint them!  I'm trying to paint them while they are here, too soon they fade away for another year. Painting number 5152 in 5152 days. 

Night at Gallery Augusta

It was lovely to spend such a beautiful evening painting with artist friends in historic downtown Augusta, and this golden gallery was irresistible!  Using the light from a street lamp, I quickly marked out my masses with their local color.  I like to start nocturnes while there is still some blue in the sky, before it turns very dark.  This allows me to paint those hints of color that show in the shadows - while I can still see them.  As my friends painted, I finished this and another painting of the cottage across from this building, too.  It's rare to have such perfect weather, so I just had to take full advantage of it all.  Painting number 5037 in 5037 days. 

Pansies

 What a gorgeous day to paint pansies in my garden!  I'm so happy they survived the 22 degree hard freeze!  Painting number 4996 in 4996 days. 

Yellow Pansy

What a lovely bit of sunshine to paint in the middle of a busy day!  These beauties are still inside the back porch, though they could be back outside now. It looks like another freeze may come over the weekend, so I am keeping them under house arrest to be safe!  I may love this color most of all, the sunny yellow is so cheerful and bright!  I'm looking forward to many more days full of flowers!  Painting number 4986 in 4986 days.