Walking in the Fog

Spring is here and for California that means fog. I walked out the door and went right back in for my camera. Foggy walks are my favorite,

First I found this clover blossom. When I use my macro lens I have to wait to see what I captured when I get back to the computer. All of these pictures can be enlarged and I tried to make them as large as possible.

This is a Dandelion.  Enlarge this one to see all the little droplets.  Very Cool!

This one I gave a little boost with Photoshop.

Dana Point, Califronia

I spent the day at the beach today.  The weather was glorious, the sun was warm and the painting was small so I thought I would share this photo with you.  This is Dana Point in California.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

THE GOOD AND THE BAD!

Here is Ivy dressed and ready for her visit with the neighbors for treats.

This is the skull replica I use as an instruction aide for life drawing lessons.

HAPPY HOLLOWEEN

Poor Puppy

Well this photo is going to take a little explaining.


Sunday a friend stopped by to show me her honey bees that she had in a glass display box with 'the works' honey comb, bees and very loud buzzing. Well, Ivy is a rescue Greyhound and I have to assume that her first 5 years (while spending her time in her crate) her favorite thing was to catch flies. When she came to live at her forever home (my house) she found that I had flies that would bite back. BEES! In fact the only time she has ever barked was on the occasion that she finds a bee. When the bee box was brought in and Ivy could see them bustling about inside and she heard the very loud bee sound coming from the vicinity of the box, she became very distressed, curious but distressed.

Ok the picture came later after everyone including the bees had left. Ivy just needed some comfort as we would all have needed after a particularly difficult and stressful day. She went outside and got her big juicy, greasy fresh bone and wanted to bring it inside (not allowed). You can see by her pleading eyes that she fully expected to be let in with that bloody bone. Look at those eyes. I went out and sat with her, for a while, so she could feel the comfort of sitting with a friend and having a gnaw on something gooey.

We all have ways of self soothing and I certainly am one for gnawing on something gooey after a stressful day.

GARDEN

The tomatoes are turning red now, squash and greens are abundant. The garden is so satisfing. I did my part with composting and tilling and planting, but it is such an amazing thing to see hard work be so productive.

FRONT YARD GARDENING DAY

This is my front yard. I have been removing more and more lawn over the last few years and finally removed the last part at the end of winter.

I dumped all of my compost in one corner, put in a veggie garden and planted anything that was growing from my wormery. The wormery is a box with earth warms in it that receives my entire kitchen green garden waste like peels, seeds, spoiled fruit or veggies, potato peelings etc. A neighbor contributed a Halloween pumpkin and the seeds started to grow so I put them out in the front yard. The result is this huge mass of green. I have potatoes, tomatoes (looks like all kinds), squash, pumpkin, watermelon, and some stuff I don’t recognize. I have posted some of the squash on an earlier post. I guess when the bees pollinate the flower the seed can be a mix of anything in the area. This pumpkin has become very big and the plant is now growing through the rose arch and onto the sidewalk.

This pumpkin is the exact same color as the squash blossoms.

GARDEN HARVEST

Here is the second harvest; oranges, apples and squash.

MAGNOLIA BLOSSOM

This sketch of a magnolia blossom has been drawn with a graphite pencil on recycled cotton paper.

The photo below was taken after I had sketched the flower and the petals had started to open allowing more opportunity to see the magnificent center.

GARDEN

The extra moisture in the plant is released at the ends of the leaves forming crystal beads of dew at the edge of the leaf.

This is a macro of a squash leaf and below a tomatoe leaf.



The first squash and apple of the season.

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.

Art Supply Warehouse

They're here! They're HERE!

My art supplies have arrived. I had to go through old sketch and painting journal books last week and put post-its on blank pages to have something to draw on. One book had 2 pages another had 4 and so on. When I got my sketch journal yesterday I wanted to paint in them but they are better for drawing, ink and dry stuff. But now I have this selection. I even got a Japanese fold out. I had no idea they are so small. They look so big in the pictures on the net.

Bonsai

Here are the two bonsai plants we have been working on. We drilled the holes in the containers today and since the containers didn't break we will now see what happens next. They are off to a back corner of the garden for a few seasons.

A Cup of Tea.

A cup of tea and tissue. My life for now.

FIRST BLOOM OF APRIL

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

LA Sunrise on the 105 FRWY

Here are some of the snapshots I took while driving home from the LA Airport. The sun was taking bites out of everything and I had to capture the morning. The Photoshop images came from these and other photos. I enjoy using the tools to distort the images.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

EUCALYPTUS at SUNRISE

This photo came from my early morning walk (hobble), I still am having trouble with my foot. When it started to rain I came back in and played with Photoshop. I love where the light is taking bites out of the trunks. This stand of eucalyptus will be a great painting site to take my class next Wednesday.

FOGGY MORNING

This was a great morning for walking, as long as I stayed off the road. The fog changed everything to a wonderland of glow and defused morning light.

PAINTING DAY

Here are a few watercolor paintings from Saturday in the hills near San Juan Capistrano, CA.

BACKYARD REDO