Flowers for Change

I've been quiet on my blog. I've been pretty quiet in my life recently too! I'm still staying home as much as possible while we wait out this crazy pandemic! But I haven't been idle. One of the most important things I did recently was to create a painting to support the Black Lives Matters movement. In June, I painted a bouquet with flowers individually chosen for their significance as a tribute to George Floyd and so many others lost to racial intolerance and injustice.

Black tulip - power, strength and supreme elegance

Dill - powerful against evil

Borage - directness, courage and sometimes seen as a remedy for a heavy heart

Black-eyed Susan - justice 

Blue iris - faith and hope

Thyme - courage and strength

Forget-me-not - remembrance

Here's my rough sketch and the early stages of the painting. I used reference photos from my garden for most of the flowers. 

I added a print, note cards and bookmark to my shop in mid-June, all with a fundraising aim. I'm happy to say that as of July 31, 2020, I've raised US$160/CA$222 in total from my "Flowers for Change" print, note card and bookmark sales! Your orders have helped to support the work of: Black Women in Motion, Afrique au Féminin, the Black Health Alliance and, mostly recently, the Black Solidarity Fund. Thank you to everyone who has ordered and, by doing so, supported these important organizations.

The Flowers for Change print, note cards and bookmark continue to be available in my shop. In August, the proceeds from orders of these products will go to the Black Solidarity Fund which unites over 50 Canadian Black community organizations. Donations to this fund are being doubled by P&G Canada up until August 31st! (They will donate $2 for every $1 given up to a million dollars up until the end of August.) So it's definitely not too late to order and help!

 

♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

During the past few weeks, I've been doing more gardening than painting. I've also been reading and baking. I'm trying to take advantage of the summer days and create a soothing rhythm out of the weirdness we're living. Every time I'm working in the garden, I'm thinking that I really should be painting this flower or that. New paintings are in my head for now but I hope to get up those studio stairs soon! I know it would do me a world of good and I will share whatever I do with you.

I hope that you are safe and well wherever you happen to be at the moment. Thank you for dropping by. It's nice to have guests, even if they are virtual ones!

A Season Full of Promise

Well, we sure had to wait for it but spring is really here. The leaves are starting to open on the trees and there is finally colour in my garden. This is one of my favourite times of year.

I'm not the only one celebrating. There was a gathering of cedar waxwings and a robin in the backyard this morning.

It has rained most of the weekend but I'm not complaining. First of all, it's not snow. It's providing nourishment for the garden. Many flowers are in bloom but there are still so many still to come. I have seeds to plant and annuals to buy. It's a season full of promise and possibilities.

Here's a tiny bouquet of garden flowers from me to you.

Fog and Sunshine

A big hello from me and this little fellow who visited our front yard this week. Isn't he a beauty?

The past few weeks have been quite a blur, dominated mostly by computer issues. We had two family computers encounter problems in the first part of May. My daughter's laptop was able to be nursed back to health. The family desktop computer where I do the bulk of my Etsy work (making art prints, etc.) started crashing and encountering unexpected shutdowns. We had it in for repairs twice and a technician visited here. Oh the time that was spent/wasted on it!

Last Friday, it started crashing again and I told my husband I couldn't deal with it anymore. On Sunday, we went and replaced it with a brand new iMac. We are now a two-Mac family. The black cloud that has been following me computer-wise continued this week with weird, ominous start-up error messages on our brand new computer that had the Apple technicians scratching their heads. Yesterday, I spent an hour and fifteen minutes on the phone with an Apple technician and we finally figured it out.

Next big challenge. My Etsy print files aren't printing exactly the same way. I am using the same printer but I am now using a different operating system and monitor. To say I've been feeling a little stress lately is an understatement. I have been waking up at 4:00 a.m. and can't get back to sleep because of thinking about the computer.

This morning, I started typing an email to my husband in the Google search bar. (Hmmmm...hello universe, can you direct this to the right person for me?) I began pouring coffee into a cup that was already full and I missed the turnoff on the highway--an exit I take all of the time.

I know that everything will be fine with time. Better than before. I am certain of it but still wish this transition was a little easier.

A sweet little bouquet gathered by Chloé. It still looks beautiful after a week.

I am behind in everything right now: my blog posts, Etsy team quotas, family responsibilities. I talk about home-cooked meals more than I make them. I haven't painted in over two weeks. There are still flats of annuals waiting for me in the backyard. Thankfully, Mother Nature has been looking after watering them.  The weeds have enjoyed that I've had my back turned to them and they have been sneakily growing taller than their annual and perennial companions.

Meeko keeps looking at me wistfully and occasionally doing this combination whimper/sigh that goes straight to the heart. I know what he's thinking--that a little more attention directed his way would be welcome along with a few extra walks.

What else? Emma turned 18 on June 1st. How did that happen? I am so proud of the wonderful, quirky (in a good, interesting way), beautiful young woman she is.

Emma's birthday cake. I did find time to make it!

Other news from the past couple of weeks? I sold two original watercolours to two separate buyers--both from Australia. I have sold many originals in the past but never on Etsy before and to so far away! It was quite a thrill. I have received lovely emails from both buyers confirming that they received the paintings and loved them. Phew! That makes my heart sing. I've talked before about how hard it is for me to let go of my originals. But when I know they are with someone who loves them, that makes all the difference to me. It's also encouraged me to add a few more to my shop and I'll continue to add originals every now and then.

I also have a couple of new prints ready to add to my shop but have been waiting for a day when I have both the time and enough sunlight to photograph them.

Emma finished school a few weeks ago. Chloé wrote her last exam this morning so the summer has officially started here. Did you hear that, weather? (Maybe it did, because the sun is out today.)

Oh yeah! I got my first pair of real glasses yesterday! So when the fog finally clears, I'll be able to see everything better than ever.

The view outside our front window very, very early yesterday morning.

Colour My Monday Green

It is a holiday weekend here in Quebec. The 24th of June is Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day. We spent part of the weekend in Trois-Rivières to celebrate the 88th birthday of my husband's mother. I took lots of photos of my brother and sister-in-law's pretty garden that I will post later this week.

Today and for the next four days, I have decided to participate in Poppytalk's Summer Colours week. I've been inspired to take part by friends Margie and Sonia. Today's colour is green and it was a real treat to wander around the garden to take photos this morning after a night of rain. 

I love June as the garden always really starts to thrive at this point in the growing season.  Our family has done a fair bit of growing in June and early July as well. We have so many birthdays packed into a five-week period. Emma's birthday is on June 1st, her cousin Erica on June 2nd, my brother-in-law Jean on June 10th, my grandmother Edie (deceased) on June 16th, my brother Bob on June 17th, my grandfather Eric (deceased) on June 21, my mother-in-law Margeurite on June 25, my sister Karen on June 30th, me on July 1st and Chloé on July 7th. Isn't that crazy?

Here's a simple yet elegant arrangement of herbs, leaves and flowers gathered during my garden walk this morning.

Studio Time

I was in my studio all day today working on two paintings.  I can only show you one of them, as the other will spoil a Christmas surprise.

I had two live models with me (no, no, not that kind of model!).  Two little violas were still alive on that lovely tangled bouquet I started working on last week.  My painting is almost finished now.  Did you notice the one upside down viola near the base of the bouquet.  I just left it that way instead of rearranging it.  It's a good reminder that things don't always need to be right side up to be beautiful.

I've taken these photos using artificial light.  The natural kind seems to be in short supply these days. It is pouring here. So much for snow.  Meeko and I got absolutely soaked on our walk this afternoon.

My desktop computer was in for repair today.  It was a good thing as that meant I wasn't tempted to sit down and work on any new prints in Photoshop. The computer will be back tonight but I'll try to walk past it and head up to the studio tomorrow. Hope you are all having a good week.

Late Gifts

I worked on a painting this weekend of a small bouquet of violas I picked as I was emptying some pots in the garden.  I never have the heart to toss anything out if it's still remotely in bloom.  There are some people who tend to their gardens according to their watches and calendars.  I will wait as long as some flowers are there which means occasionally I can get backed into a wall of snow.

Here's the mug of violas in progress alongside a pansy painting I did a while ago

As I was working on my painting, I was thinking that for sure it was the last bouquet of the season. Then yesterday, I found a bunch of verbena still growing in a pot that I usually abandon outside all winter.  There was enough for not just one bouquet, but two! Talk about late garden gifts.

I think it points to what a temperate November we have had.  I would have enjoyed a little more light some days but it's hard to complain when I am still gathering flowers in late November! The temperatures are definitely changing.  The high didn't go above zero yesterday and tonight they are calling for freezing rain.

I have spent more time indoors than outdoors this week.  I have been working hard on converting my paintings into prints and have added a few more to my Etsy store.  Here's one of them:

I received a couple more orders on the weekend. When you open a new shop, it's hard waiting for the orders but so exciting when they do start coming in.  My youngest daughter Chloé saw how happy I was and, spur of the moment, decided to make me this cake to celebrate. (I posted this photo on my Facebook page, but decided to share it here for those who don't go on Facebook.)   She was limited by what we had in our kitchen drawer so my Etsy celebration cake was decorated with Winnie the Pooh candles, smurf-blue icing and sugar pearls we bought in Paris this past summer.  It was beautiful and delicious!

Here's a funny little story. A few days ago, Chloé asked me if we were going to have any guests at our place for Thanksgiving.  I said 'Pardon?'--not because I hadn't heard her, but because I wanted her to repeat the question to see if she realized what she had said.

You see we live in Canada and we celebrate our Thanksgiving in October!  It shows you what a big impact the U.S. celebration has on us. Chloé is not a kid who gets confused easily. We see the American Thanksgiving mentioned on cooking shows, in magazines, on blogs and on television shows to the point that we feel that we are celebrating along with you!

To all of my U.S. readers, good luck with all of your preparations, travel and celebrations.  I will be offering a special in my Etsy shop over the weekend, so be sure to have a look!

Florescence

With my fingers numb from the cold, I walked through my garden this morning and picked what I am sure is my last bouquet of the season.  Looking at these flowers, you might imagine my garden to be full of lush and colourful growth.  But no.  So much has died in the past week from the cold.  I was very lucky to find these valiant and beautiful survivors.

I always feel a little sad at this time of year.  Part of me goes into mourning as the annuals die and the perennials, shrubs and trees go into hibernation.  This year in particular I feel guilty that I did not look after my garden the way I normally do.  I wonder if it will forgive me.  I think it will. With a garden, there is always the promise of next year.

This year, I have had my paintbrush in my hand far more often than my garden trowel.  My computer mouse too, as my girls pointed out to me yesterday.  The past few months have been tense, intense and exhilarating as I learned how to be and became a blogger, a Photoshop operator, a digital printmaker and an Etsy shop owner.  As of this week, I even have a Facebook page for Trowel and Paintbrush. I certainly wouldn't have predicted that a year ago.

Many years ago when I left the corporate world where I worked in public affairs and communications, I chose the name 'Florescence' for my art business (initially a line of greeting and gift cards based on my watercolours).  The word 'florescence' means blossoming time and that seemed like an apt name for a business owned by someone who loves flowers so much.  Symbolically, it also fit in terms of what happened when I started concentrating on my art.  I blossomed.  Making time for my painting this year after leaving it to the side for such a long time has been transformational. I have had wonderful encouragement from family members and friends (you know who you are). It led me to my blog, the friends I have made here, my Etsy store and a lovely group of artists who have encouraged me there.  I am painting. I am writing. I am learning. I am happier. I am blossoming again. ❤

Turtleheads

A beautiful summer bouquet I saw on the Bookhou site today (Arounna's post on 14.9.11)  inspired me to go out into my garden and pick some flowers.  With just over a week to go in summer (autumn starts at 5:05 a.m. on September 23rd this year), we need to get outside or bring a little of it indoors.

The flower I cut today is a late blooming perennial I love. It's not seen in lots of gardens which I think is a good thing. Who wants their garden to look exactly like the neighbour's? It has a wonderful, whimsical name--turtlehead.  If you look closely at the flowers, you can see why.

At the moment, my turtleheads are busy with bees. I tried to get a photo of the bees but they crawl right inside of the flowers!  Be careful not to bring the bees into the house with your bouquet. :)

The botanical name is chelone obliqua.  If you plant young nursery seedlings, space them according to their adult width and be patient.  Chelone obliqua can take a few years to fill into a lovely clump but it is worth the wait.  One other wonderful quality is that it can grow and flower in semi-shade or even full shade.  I have some planted out in the front of my garden behind some hostas (a lovely marriage). I also planted a small clump beside a staircase and behind a shrub where they get no direct sunlight (I can see them from my living room window) and they are quite content.

Some people tend to give up on their gardens once the school year starts in September and the weather starts to get cool. Don't. I'm all for enjoying gardens as long as possible, right up until the arrival of a four-letter word that begins with 's'.

I cut two bouquets this morning--one for my kitchen table and the other to go upstairs in my studio.  I cut the stems relatively short, just down to the next set of leaves where buds are already forming for more flowers.  Their floral display is nowhere near to being over. They will continue to look beautiful even as the days and nights get progressively cooler in the weeks ahead.

"A late summer garden has a tranquility found no other time of year."

William Longgood