LAST OF THE SUMMER DAHLIAS

I want to move more to the abstract with my paintings. Not easy.

9x12 oil on board

COTTAGE GARDEN

Oil on Board 11x14

This is the beautiful view I have from the french door in my bedroom. Try to ignore the telephone pole. This is the lower water garden. It has a small waterfall just a few inches tall just to the right of the rabbit. There is a upper water garden that has a large waterfall and they are connected by a bridge and stream. As you can see they are frozen. We have been having to break the ice because the temperatures have been so low. But the fish don't seem to mind. We only have goldfish.

PEONIE IN MERCURY VASE

Well, I really struggles with this little painting. I wanted the vase offset and as a result the painting was divided in half no matter what I did. I kept finding solutions but nothing seemed to work. I finally think I'm satisfied with it. It's acceptable. A new word for me.

8x10 Oil on Board

This is a photo I took today of the same patio that the painting from yesterday was painted from. The painting was done in early fall in September. I wanted to show you the same scene and what it actually looks like in the middle of winter. I love to paint. But I also love to garden. I'm not sure which I love the most. Maybe they can't be compared. Anyway, I had forgotten one very important thing. But first let's go back to fall. In October I was sitting in my living room at eight in the morning having a wonderful cup of coffee and enjoying the peace and quiet of my home. Just like I had been the morning I did the painting. One big difference...it was way to cold to be outside. As I was finishing up my coffee I began to hear a loud screeching noise. You know, like fingers on a black board only hundreds of times louder. And there was lots of loud thumps and bumps. I finally decided I had to go check it out. We have lived in our house seventeen years. One of the things we've loved is the trees in the neighborhood. There were several huge pecan trees that were probably sixty to seventy years old in the lot just behind us and to the south. When I went to check on the noise, the trees and the house were GONE!!! The sky was wide open. They had come in with bull dozers that morning and removed everything. I had forgotten that until I looked at my photo this morning. I'm even happier now that I did the painting. The pecan trees were the screen that the sun is peeking through. Without them it isn't the same. I really believe this will be a good thing for my garden. We still have plenty of shade but we will have lots and lots of morning light. My garden should thrive in it.

EARLY, EARLY MORNING

Well, thanks to my very kind friend named Betty I am adding to my blog finally. It's been over a year since I've been able to resume work on it. I found I really missed it and am so grateful to Betty for her help.

Because of an extremely difficult time in our family I was unable to paint last year from January to September. Finally, I was able to pick up a brush again. I was beginning to think it might never happen. What a relief when it did. I was sitting on my patio enjoying a cup of coffee and the peace and quiet and beauty of the morning. I walked out onto our rock patio just as the sun was peeking through the trees and was very inspired. I can't tell you how good it felt to paint. It especially felt good to paint outside and be able to capture something from my garden. As a result I started a garden miniature series. I've been painting adding to it on a regular basis.

11x14

0il on Canvas

LOOKING FORWARD TO SUMMER

It does my heart good to paint these little bursts of sunshine on such a cold, dreary day. But these really cold temps are absolutely necessary. Everything is dormant now, resting. This is another 8X10 Oil on Board