Adventures in Art, Product Design, Home Decor, Cooking, and Gardening
And speaking of orange, here’s my completed tulip painting. I plan on featuring it–and the orange poppies my daughter painted–on my upcoming tangerine tango redecorating series. I may drop in a background at a later date, but for now I’m calling it done. I like the simplicity of this painting and intensity of the colors. This painting was based on a tutorial from the book, “Tulips in Watercolor,” by Fiona Peart. Watercolors on cold pressed Acquarello Artistico paper by Fabriano.
This photo is a bit dark since it’s cloudy today, but I thought I’d share a view of my garden from my kitchen window while everything is still in bloom. Today’s show features red hardy hibiscus, red calla lilies, purple pansies, and purple crepe myrtle. Here’s a close up of a hibiscus bloom; humming birds can’t resist them.
This morning while I was eating breakfast and sipping my coffee, a humming bird fed at the hibiscus for a bit, flitted off for a snack at the crepe myrtle bush, then was gone in a flash. What a treat. Here’s a photo of my hibiscus plants from the outside.
And here’s a photo of my little pal, Piggy, hanging out in the garden with me.
That’s my boy.
A little elbow grease, some major sweating (the heat has been unbearable in our area), power washing, deck staining, a bit of shopping and assembling of furniture, and I’m finally ready to do the tangerine tango on my deck–as soon as my table arrives, that is. It’s the last item remaining and it’s scheduled to arrive this week. I can’t wait to pull everything together and enjoy dinner on my freshly redecorated deck–and to share photos with you. In the meantime, I’ll just have to share photos of my little pal, Piggy. He likes to be the star of the show.
He really knows how to distract me from my photo sessions. He’s so darn adorable.
I love the lighting in this photo and the close-up view that shows the texture of the paper. This painting is a departure from my typical cool color scheme. I used only four paint colors (permanent rose, winsor blue, cadmium yellow deep, and indigo) by Winsor Newton. Watercolors on cold pressed Artistico paper by Fabriano.
So our little friend, Frodo, survived Friday’s monster storm (called a Derecho) and instead of spending the day chillin’ in his underground home (toads are nocturnal), he spent the afternoon hanging out in the corner of our deck in 104 degree heat. To help him beat the heat, we set up a little pool for him. Next time, I’ll add a mini beach ball and perhaps a lounge chair with an umbrella.
And here he is about to step inside to hang out in the air conditioning. I guess the shallow pool water got too warm.
The next thing you know, he’ll want his own TV.
Another tutorial from the book, “Tulips in Watercolor,” by Fiona Peart. I used only three colors in this painting–Winsor blue (green shade), permanent rose, and green gold–my three favorite colors by Winsor Newton. Watercolors on hot pressed Acquarello Artistico paper by Fabriano.
Giant red hibiscus. Hummingbirds can’t resist these enormous blooms that I planted outside my studio windows. That way I can enjoy the flowers and the fleeting beauty of hummingbirds feeding on them while I paint.
Velvety red calla lilies. These bulbs proved to be too tempting for the rabbits living in my garden. They dug many of them up last fall and ate them for dinner. This fall I’ll plant them in greater numbers so hopefully there will be plenty for the rabbits and for me.
Purple pansies. I planted pansies three years ago and haven’t planted them since. They keep reseeding themselves, often times in places that I wouldn’t necessarily choose, but I’ll take them wherever they grow.
My purple crepe myrtle trees are almost ready to bloom. I have three of them and definitely need more. I’ll post photos when the show begins. I see some potential watercolor paintings in my future. I don’t enjoy the physical act of gardening, but I so enjoy the fruits of my labor. Happy gardening.
I worked on this painting for several hours yesterday and again tonight, but I got too tired to finish it. I’m happy with my progress thus far, so I’m posting a sneak preview. For this painting, I reversed my usual process and painted the background first. I used masking fluid to prevent the dark paint from bleeding into the lighter parts of the painting. It was my first attempt at using masking fluid. I found it a bit tricky to apply; it dried quickly and became thick in a few seconds. I’m not sure if this is typical or if the masking fluid I purchased was a bit on the old side. I used only three colors in this painting–Winsor blue (green shade), permanent rose, and green gold–my absolute favorite colors by Winsor Newton. Watercolors on hot pressed Acquarello Artistico paper by Fabriano.
My latest painting–another lesson featured in Fiona Peart’s book, “Vibrant Flowers in Watercolor.” Watercolors and acrylic ink on cold pressed Acquarello Artistico paper by Fabriano.
I went shopping at the farmer’s market yesterday–one of my favorite things to do–and brought home these beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables. I’m going to be eating good this week.
I plan to make stuffed green peppers with these beauties.
And a batch of eggplant Parmesan with these babies.
I also picked up some cherry pie filling, cherry jam, blackberry jam, and some enormous fresh blackberries. I’ll throw some sugar over the blackberries plus a tablespoon or two of blackberry jam for extra goodness, spoon them over biscuits or sponge cake, and top them with whipped cream. If you haven’t tried blackberry shortcake, give it a try. It’s a real treat.
I also picked up some pulled pork, sausages and peppers, homemade banana bread, blueberry muffins, fresh eggs in a rainbow of colors, and hand-made soap. You can’t find goodies like this in the grocery store. If you have a farmer’s market in your area and haven’t given it a try yet, what are you waiting for?