Mad for Magnolias

Many years ago, I worked in a corporate communications job during the day and painted in the evenings. I was living in an apartment in midtown Toronto and having a garden of my own was only a dream. Each spring, I would take an alternate route home from work for about a week or two. It was a winding road through a beautiful residential neighbourhood. Around a curve and at the top of a hill was the reason for my detour--a gorgeous magnolia tree in bloom. 

Years later, I finally have my own magnolia tree in my very own garden. It's a pink star magnolia called Magnolia stellata 'Rosea'. I planted it about ten years ago. It's very slow growing and has taken a long time to get established. It's still quite small, about my height, but the blooms are now plentiful and spectacular.

 Last week I decided that I needed to paint one of its flowers! I took a few photos of the blossom I was going to paint to be sure I had references as I knew it wouldn't last long.

Here's my painting on the second day when I was still building my washes. I paint slowly! The bloom I picked wilted after about 24 hours which is when I dissected it to have a closer look at the colour and markings on the petals.

I love holding garden specimens as I paint them. It allows me to observe their details closely. For example, I had never noticed the little speckles on the magnolia tree's bark until I was doing this painting. It took me three painting sessions over the same number of days to complete the painting. Below is the finished original watercolour painting!

After I completed my painting, I knew I had to create a print pretty quickly if I wanted to photograph it with actual magnolia flowers as the blooming period lasts for such a short time. Each morning when Meeko ran to the back door to do his morning check for squirrels, I would make sure the magnolia hadn't lost its blossoms. To each his own priorities! I am happy to say that I completed my print in time! Here are some photos of my star magnolia print which is now available in my art shop. It's printed on gorgeous paper that reproduces the delicate details of the image beautifully.

Here is my print in front of the magnolia tree that inspired it! You can have a look at more images of it here. Now I wonder what flower I should paint next?

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A Morning Glory Painting

The morning glories in my garden inspired me to do a little watercolour. I have a stack of paintings from the past few months that I hope to convert into prints in the weeks ahead and this will be one of them.

My garden is shifting towards autumn. I want to paint it all but I don't have the time these days. I'm trying to take lots of photographs to use as references and inspiration during the long winter months ahead. I bought some pots of chrysanthemums yesterday, a sure sign that the seasons are changing.

I sometimes wish you could freeze moments in the garden and get things to slow down and linger a little bit longer. It goes too fast. The morning glories are looking absolutely glorious at the moment. I truly understand where their name comes from. I took this photo this morning. They look like the light is coming from within them.

This is a tangle of flowers that are growing near the morning glories: gaillardia and verbena bonariensis. If you asked me to list my favourite colours in the garden, red wouldn't be one of them. However, I absolutely adore this combination of red and light violet. I have to tell you something else. I have the worst mental block for 'gaillardia'. I have to look it up, every single year.

I always have to remind myself that as we are approaching autumn here, that my friends in the southern hemisphere are enjoying spring! In the north, we are dealing with the wistfulness of knowing that our gardens will soon be going to sleep and you are experiencing the joy of spring flowers! For the moment though, in the Montreal region we are experiencing unseasonably warm weather.

I'll leave you with one final photo of my morning glory painting. I hope you are enjoying nature wherever you are and whatever the season.

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Raindrops in the Garden

We had a huge heat wave the past week. So unusual for September. We are on our way to more reasonable temperatures thanks to a big storm yesterday. Today, there was a beautiful light rain in the morning. I decided to go on a walk with Meeko without an umbrella in order to literally soak it in. So lovely and refreshing.

Afterwards,  I toured the back garden and was able to capture some of the raindrop magic with my camera.

Chloé went back to school this past Tuesday. Emma is settling into life in residence and beginning her first year at university. We miss her day-to-day presence but love seeing how happy she is. As for me, I am finally back in the studio. I posted a couple of photos of my current painting in progress on Instagram and Facebook. 

I am thankful that cooler days ahead will allow me to take Meeko for longer walks. (He hates the heat!) I'm also glad that my head is full of a million things that I would like to paint. This time of year always feels like the beginning of the year to me. Even though my own school days are long behind me, my inner calendar still seems to follow the scholastic year. I feel that for all of us here, whether resuming familiar routines or tackling new challenges, this new year is full of promise. 

1) Nasturtium leaves 2) Highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum) 3) Sunflower 4) Spindle wood (Euonymus europaeus) 5) Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) 6) Nasturtium leaves 7) Japanese anemone 8) Bee on Salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue'