SUNFLOWERS

Sunflowers

watercolor on paper 14x11

By Lindsay

Sunflowers

Watercolor on paper 11x9

by Pat Reese

Lindsay, my granddaughter, and I painted these sunflower paintings together.  She is quite talented as you can see.  We purchased these flowers at a local grocery store while I was visiting during Thanksgiving holiday.

POPPIES

POPPIES

Watercolor on paper

ROSES AND POPPIES

Roses and Poppies

Watercolor on Paper

I worked in my garden for a few hours mostly chopping back the undergrowth. It has been a week since I have been able to weed and they have taken over. I am always so surprised to see how fast things change. I usually spend a little time in my garden everyday but with the other things that are going on I have neglected the weeds and they have taken advantage. After filling my compost piles to the brim I came across this collection of mingled roses and poppies and that was it. I stopped to paint and take a break. The poppies are almost gone. I love my poppies. People ask me, 'What is my favorite flower?’ I always say the one that is blooming of course.

Merry Christmas

When I think of Christmas and the Holidays starting with Thanksgiving I think of the blessings I have experienced. This blog and the virtual reality of the internet has been one of the biggest blessings I have received since grandchildren.

First, the opportunity to share what I love to do,

that is to create visual art,

next to meet and communicate with wonderful, kind, generous and supportive friends and

last to hone my art skills by sketching, painting and just plain working on my art every day.

Chinese Brush Painting

Several of you have asked about the Chinese Brush floral painting I talk about. Here are some examples. I studied Chinese Brush painting with Ning Yeh and now teach a class on Monday nights

Water color on Mulberry paper 30x22 inches

These are all watercolor on rice paper

Los Angeles Arboretum

I spent the day at the Los Angeles Arboretum last week. I went with a gardening/painting friend. We had lunch while sitting under a tree called a Tabebuia impetiginosa, also known as the Pink trumpet tree. The sun coming through the tree filled the atmosphere with a pink glow. Kind of like the light in Paris. The peacocks and peahens with their chicks were begging for food, screaming that special peacock scream. There were pink flowers everywhere, on the table, on the ground on my sandwich and the sun was warm on my face.

While we were eating I did this sketch.

After lunch I sketched this view of the San Gabriel Mountains.

What's Blooming?

I have been sitting and painting in this patio for awhile and my greyhound, Ivy, has just decided to do her exercise run. When she does this run she just does a circle or figure 8 of my back yard stopping to make the turns but running full out through the yard till she get to the other end then screeches to a holt in enough time to turn and dig in for another run. She does this about every 3 days and will run about 5 to 10 laps. Needless to say any plant in her way gets trampled. Knowing that she needs this exercise I designed my yard with enough pathways to give her a full run of the yard and for my benefit I have put in scented plants. Now the night air is heavy with the fragrance of lavender, mint and tarragon. Oh, by the way my pup doesn't smell like dog, anymore. I bet your dog doesn't smell like lavender.


I have painted this patio before. The paintings I did today I will have to post another day because the light has gone for photographing art.
This arch has a billowy hallow of the Ballerina Rose blooms and......


this wonderful lily and......


The tomatoes I got at the Green Scene in April are blooming and has tomatoes. But not ripe yet.


Just before the light was completely gone I took this picture of the poppy. For you botanical types it is the Papaver somniferum var. Paeoniflorum. Peony Poppies. The inside is so intricate and special. Don't you think?

Well this is a first. I am sitting through an earthquake right now. It feels like about a 4.5. That is something we do in these parts. We guess at the seismic rating. The pets are all looking at me as if it were my fault. We have been having clusters for the last few months indicating that something is going on. What happens is the small earthquakes release the tension, hopefully keeping us from the “BIG ONE”. I will let you know if there is anything to report, as the reports will come in as to where the epicenter was and if there was any damage. I just heard on the radio it was a 4.7. I was close.

Gardening Day.

Today is a gardening day. I started early to get more done before the sun forces me to head for the shade. I am making a little hideaway under my orange tree. Just big enough for a couple of chairs and some potted shade plants.


This is the path to my studio. I use the studio for many things but usually not for painting. I like to sit in front of my subject (landscape), under a shade tree and hear the birds and feel the wind on my face. I use the studio for classes, framing, and well other crafts that might pull me away from just sketching. The poppy is in the lower right corner.

My poppy finally bloomed. Isn't it wonderful. It's about 5 inches across.



Here is the first start of the Hydrangea. This gardening day is turning into a picture day.

To commemorate my 1000th visitor, I think it was Lin over at View From The Oaks, I would like to do something special. I don’t know what, so I will garden for awhile.


I have planted way too much but when you have something growing in the compost pile, or wormery, (my English friend calls my worm box a wormery) I just have to plant it. I will deal with the extras later.

Here are some sketches in my gardening diary for keeping track of the weather, what I have planted, seed start dates, what’s growing, when it fruits or blooms etc…. You know, nothing is as it was 5 or 10 years ago. Nothing is blooming like it should, or fruiting. The weather is just too screwy. I have an apple tree that has dormant branches, new growth, blossoms and fruit, both old and new. This poor guy is just trying to do it all.

Amaryllis

Today was a sick day but I did manage my daily drawing of this Amaryllis opening.

FIRST BLOOM OF APRIL

Here is my front garden with some of the flowers that are blooming.

CHINESE BRUSH PAINTING

Good morning.

Here are the postings for the last few days. The Peony is from the demo for the Chinese Brush painting class I teach on Mondays.The geraniums are blooming so I had to sketch this one.

CALA FLOWER AND LEAVES

This cala is in a friends yard. It might be finished.