Butterfly Bonanza

 

The rudbeckia is putting on a show - and the butterflies have noticed!  Of course, I HAD to paint it!!  These blooms really shine as the garden phlox begins to fade.  Though I bought these at a local nursery, they grow wild in every meadow here and I move some up to the gardens each fall. I think this variety has a slightly different shaped bloom than our locals, the brown center more of a ball with dropping petals.  I think the others are flatter, somehow.  I'll have to check that out tomorrow, because they are also in bloom!  Perhaps I should also paint this in oils to see how different they would look!  Painting number 4978 in 4978 days. 

Butterflies in the Garden

 

The gardens at the Overland Park Arboretum are full of butterflies - and it was a joy to paint them for their very first plein air event!  A wedding reception was taking place in the background, and the music wafted up from the terrace as I worked. The temperature was perfect and only gentle breezes stirred the air. Both of my daughters participated, and Mom walked the garden, finding benches in the shade to rest.  Their paintings are beautiful, and all will be on display until November 1st at the Long House.  What a lovely way to spend an afternoon!  Painting number 4624 in 4624 days. 

Black-eyed Susans and Butterflies

The black- eyed Susans are really gorgeous right now, and the butterflies can't seem to resist them!  I have shorter varieties in the meadow, and large ones in my front flower bed!  I love planting all the things I want to paint.  It's very rewarding when my visions come to life in blooming color for me to paint!  Painting number 4622 in 4622 days. 

Monarchs and Goldenrod

 

I'm growing native goldenrod in my garden - and the pollinators LOVE it!!  This one is the first to bloom, and it is blooming with reckless abandon!  Bees and butterflies are all over it, so, of course, I had to paint it!  I don't think I've ever painted this beauty before now.  What fun!  Side note - Goldenrod was my "horse" name on the playground at Pawnee - lol! It's funny what comes to mind when I'm out painting in the garden!  Painting number 4612 in 4612 days. 

Butterflies Four

 

I just learned this painting has flown away to a new home! Yay! I was entering the newest show at the Buttonwood Art Space when I noticed all four of my paintings in the last show sold!  I was out of town at the time and happy I didn't need to make arrangements to get any unsold work, but I did not check any further.  What fun to learn that my whimsical garden paintings all flew to new homes!  I think I need to paint more of these happy scenes from my garden!  Painting number in days. 

Monarchs Four

 

I'm playing with a new Diamine violet ink (All the Best) in this glow in the dark purple fountain pen by TWSBI, and I LOVE THEM BOTH!  I just loaded a dozen new pens with new inks, and I thought I was picking up  Robert Oster's Black Violet, but alas I got my purple pens mixed up, lol! This ink is a deep, velvety purple, and is actually perfect for deepening the blacks of the butterflies and shadow shades of the phlox. I will definitely be reaching for this pen often in the future, and exploring this ink in detail!  Painting number 5181 in 5181 days 

Butterflies and Sunflowers

The butterflies and bees are all over these wild sunflowers - and so much fun to watch as I paint!  I even spotted a little worm inching up a stem, and if you look very closely, you'll see him too!  What started as blue skies, clouded over by the time I finished, but still no rain for us.  It's so incredibly dry here that I am watering again, just to keep this going.  Surely, we'll get a good rain soon!  Painting number 5148 in 5148 days. 

Butterflies and Black-eyed Susans

Black-eyed Susans and butterflies are on my easel today, after a few hours of early gardening.  We're under a heat advisory through Thursday, and our air conditioner went out overnight. I do love the heat, so I spent the first hours working outside in my gardens.  This is in the flower bed by the air conditioner, which I spent a lot of time yesterday bringing back to order.  Intuition, maybe?  These beauties are only getting started here, a gift from my youngest son, Michael.  How could I resist painting them when it is cooler outside than in?  Painting number 5117 in 5117 days. 

Butterflies and Sunchokes

 

I LOVE sketching the butterflies in my garden while listening to cricket song!  It is so very relaxing, such I needed on this day.  A painting very like this one was accepted into a juried show, and I could not find it anywhere!  Normally very organized and methodical, I have been extra busy as of late, so thought I must have misplaced it. After painting, framing and tagging this one for the show, I realized that my missing painting was already juried into the previous show at the same gallery. I only realized it when they handed it to me when I was dropping off the new paintings!  I'm so happy it didn't sell, so I could turn it in for the Manhatten Edition of the Flint Hills Show through the Buttonwood Art Space.  And now I have another, a little brighter and bolder to enter into something else.  Painting number 3906 in 3906 days. 

Butterflies!

It was so fun to sketch the many butterflies that gathered on this rocky beach along the Meramec River. There were many swallowtails, but there were also other varieties that joined to licker something from those rocks.  Mentoring a group of young artists, we were there for hours, as were the butterflies.  One girl even sketched a butterfly as it grazed along her other arm, staying until she finished!  I don't know why they gathered here, but it was a joy to capture the moment in pen and ink and watercolor.  Painting number 4258 in 4258 days. 

Inked Butterflies

After a full day of Easter celebration with family, I work in a little play time with my fountain pen inks.  I am playing with the inks, trying new things to explore just how the different colors mingle. I feel more expressive somehow, untied to the strict lines and angles of my ink and watercolor work.  It's liberating how this media simply takes off - like another personality jumping forward to play with reckless abandon.  It's all about the creative process, and I LOVE it!  Painting number 3392 in 3392 days.

Butterflies in the Phlox

Butterflies in the Phlox
Pen and Ink on paper, 5x6
purchase here

Today finds me playing in the pen and ink.  It feels SO good to get back to drawing!  Getting back to my roots grounds and calms me like no other medium!  This is a quick one to capture the beauty of the phlox before they fade away. Their fragrance is intoxicating, much like lilac, and they last SO long!  They have lasted into November in a really wet season, but this is not that season! Drawing number 1328 in 1328 days.

Butterflies in the Yarrow

Butterflies in the Yarrow
Watercolor on paper, 7x10.5

The purple yarrow in the front flower bed is bursting with blooms today!  Unable to resist the beauty - I am trying this in watercolor.  I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one.  I like the flow and the colors, but I am missing the texture of the thick, buttery oils today - or maybe even the molding paste and acrylics.  I have been working in watercolor for two complete weeks, and perhaps it is time to start mixing it up a bit.  This day was very busy - Tuesdays and Fridays are the hardest workout days at the gym, and I followed that with three hours of pool/garden work outside.  Then, I finally found a painting window (instead of eating) before I need to head out to Michael's baseball game.  I guess I could just be tired - it will be a welcome relief to sit in a chair and watch Michael play ball for two hours!  I'll look at this again tomorrow, and try to paint a little earlier in the day!  Painting number 540 in 540 days :)