Spring paintings Cone Flower and Blue Butterfly

The weather has improved a bit this past week. I have started on my Chasing Flowers paintings. It feels so good to let the images come out of me and onto canvas. The paintings I have done, one a day for the past few days are small, about 4 inches by 4 inches. I get up early and have set as my goal, a painting during my first of the morning coffee. This painting is available in time for Mother's Day if you order soon, it's coming up May 11th. It may be found at my etsy shop priced at 20.00 plus shipping.ShimmeringLeaves

I know, this isn't the kind of flower that's out yet, I won't be seeing any cone flowers until mid summer I imagine. These are also called Echinacea. I paint these a lot, they are one of my favorite flowers.

Echinacea, the purple coneflower, is the best known and researched herb for stimulating the immune system. Thousands of Europeans and Americans use echinacea preparations against colds and flu, minor infections, and a host of other major and minor ailments. This native American herb has an impressive record of laboratory and clinical research. 

“All gardening is landscape painting,' said Alexander Pope.” 
― Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking

The Illustrated Garden

Its starting to snow. No kidding. March 25th, everyone I see is just a little down. Not enough sunlight this year yet.
Artists tend to live solitary lives. Thank goodness for the internet to keep me connected to  people instead of just the fantasy scenes and creatures that live in my head. They have lived here inside of me since I have been a small child, as long as I can remember. Probably they live in most children but mine have never left. They have always needed to be seen though, maybe that's why I need to paint them.

I used to take classes at Riverbend Art Center, especially winter classes when it was to cold to do much outside. Riverbend closed down due to lack of funding several years ago.
Through my blogs I am able to keep up with other traveling artist friends and that keeps my energy levels up. I have just started taking an online course from Val Webb , her blog is called the illustrated garden.  She is an illustrator and wonderful artist and teacher in Alabama. There is also a private facebook presence for her students. This is her open  Illustrated Garden  page, so delightful and colorful, I love her work.I guess I just found more people like me. We are a harmless lot.

This is one of my characters in my fairy tale I'm working on. I think she will also be one of the paintings on my little camper Serenity.  It's driving me crazy, I want to get outside to paint get caught up on work. Not happening for several days, its still cold and snow is on the ground. For goodness sakes, it's March 13th!

A Chasing Flowers Preview

It's time to start blogging and painting again. I have put my foot down and become selfish. I am doing what I need to do to survive and that is to let others take care of themselves as I have taken care of myself. The camper/art studio/where I live/   is getting closer to being ready to take me on my travels. I'm feeling more focused and ready to start my Chasing Flowers Tour of 2014.  I have a small inspirational book I will self publish with my pretty little flower paintings. My next project will be to put together my ideas and paintings of little birds like this one.

Morning at Allwood Reserve

I enjoyed a magical perfect morning at Allwood Audubon Farm early today sitting on the glider just watching the morning pass. If you are quiet, you soon realize how busy other little lives are trying to make a living. I counted several different little birds as well a a few geese that flew overhead. The reserve has lots of Great Blue Heron, actually a spring rookery. When the young are fledging you will find lots of photographers with big expensive cameras taking advantage of the miracles of big baby birds learning to fly. I often take my little painting case and set at one of the picnic tables overlooking the stream and rough in a few small paintings. Today I just read a trashy romance novel until Big Guy arrived with coffee and Donuts from Jim's Donuts in Englewood. We sat on a glider the reserve provides and enjoyed the little birds and sounds of the bugs and birds and water gently flowing over the stones in the brook.
Since I didn't paint on site this morning, I took a few pictures. I'm about ready to go do a painting of these pretty little yellow flowers.

Last Weeks Paintings

In the evenings and early mornings I hide away in my little sanctuary, Little Sanitee and paint to my hearts delight. These are 4X4X2 inches. Most of these will be sold. Most will be scanned to be used for the making of greeting cards.
 Remember, was it Tom Poston? on one of the Bob Newhart shows, the one where he bought a bed and breakfast. The character was a Sad Sack Debbie Downer who wrote beautiful sayings and poems for a card company.
 Brought this up because I have been asked to make the cards with something in them, not just blank. Ever look through cards trying to find just the right saying? I can't afford to do it like that but I am wondering about including a sheet with a bunch of sayings or poems that may be cut and glued in or something. I could probably print it on patterned paper so it won't look tacky. Any ideas?

Vintage Suitcase for Gypsy lovers

Just finished a vintage, 1970's era suitcase with a Gypsy Vanner horse hand painted and embellished, inside and out. These were taken in my 1972 Shasta Compact. For those in the know, you are right, the back window is wrong for a Compact. Big Guy and I put a louvered window in for more air circulation. I'm happy I did it. That's Lucky in the first picture. She wants to go bye bye.