Monday, May 13, 2013

Spring is bustin' out all over...........

 

We have had fantastic weather this past week so I've been busy in the garden.  I'm not much of a vegetable gardener, I much prefer flowers, BUT I do grow a couple of tomatoes, some radishes, lettuce, a cucumber, a few strawberries and blueberries. 

A few years ago I planted four blueberry plants and look at the berries on this one plant.......they won't be ripe until July but we will have plenty.

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The roses are blooming.....this little fellow's name is "Happy Chappy"!  I like it just for the name!

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On the wild side!  The neighbors have a great patch of California Poppies growing along side their driveway.......

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you have to admire these tough little orange beauties for their resilience and tenacity.

Later in the summer, it makes my heart race to see a field of Poppies, blue Bachelor Buttons and white wild Daisies!

 

 

I decided to try to draw them in my sketchbook and play with my watercolors.

 

IMG_4040 I am not a watercolorist!  I'm trying to teach myself to use them.  I keep getting a look that is much more like acrylic paint than watercolor.  I plan on taking a couple watercolor classes this summer.  I want to see if I can learn to control that watercolor!

Speaking of watercolor, I recently found this set in a garage sale.....former owner unknown.  Someone had put paint from the tube into each cup of this pallet in an order that made sense to their method of painting but I couldn't tell which color was which.  So, I made this little sampler and taped it into the lid.

IMG_4042The piece of paper covers some of the mixing area but I'll make do.  I thought this might be helpful idea for anyone who is filling their own paint pans, it is a visual aid for when the memory fails.........oh, like that ever happens!

3 comments:

Julie said...

You are already quite good with the watercolor! Great little set you found and great idea to make the color chart!!!

elle said...

I see that you are springing into action and with some great examples and tips! :)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Oh, oh, wow. I would give anything for some poppies. I can't even find the seeds here, anymore. And of course, I wish I could grow blueberries here, but they are too temperamental for this climate, or so I've been told.

Thanks for asking about the horse. Yes, it is wood. It is not carved, but appears to be cut on a bandsaw or some such, then sanded down around the front. Lots of imperfections. The background is burlap. I bought it one year at an art fair.