Leaf Lover

Some people are tree huggers. I am most definitely a leaf lover. Here's a grouping of leaf paintings from the past year. I love painting them so much.

It's hard to take group shots of paintings and get the lighting right on all of them. The burgundy leaf in the back is showing much darker than it is. Kind of like taking a family photo. There's always someone with an odd look on their face (usually me).

My love of trees and leaves goes WAY back. In grade five, I participated in the 'Tree Bee'. This was a Toronto-wide tree identification contest for elementary school children. Our team didn't win but we were runners-up. To this day, I am pretty good at identifying trees although I won't pretend that all of my grade 5 knowledge has stayed with me.

My stash of elementary school badges in a lovely sweetgrass basket my Mom gave me when I was a little girl.

There seems to be good energy surrounding my painting efforts these days. Someone who saw my prints at the craft show I did recently is coming to my studio next week to look at originals. That means I need to get my studio cleaned up! It's good to have the motivation as I am famous for putting it off. I'll post a photo of it for sure. I also have been commissioned by someone who found my work online to do a flower painting as a Christmas gift. Another lovely opportunity.

With the recent interest in my originals, I have found the motivation to put some of them in my Etsy shop for the first time. Up until now, I've only had prints and cards there. I'll be adding more in the weeks ahead.

I used to sell a lot of originals in the days when I was doing trade shows with my Florescence card line.  I often would decorate my booth with framed paintings and fresh flowers. Shop owners would ask about buying the originals for themselves or they would ask if they could sell them on consignment in their shops. Original paintings of mine are in homes in Canada and the United States. But, I guess because I didn't paint for a long time, I'm having extra trouble letting go of them recently. I get so attached to them! It makes so much more sense for them to be loved and appreciated somewhere and not just live in a drawer in my studio. Lots of thinking lately.

Since we're on a leaf theme, I'll close with a sweet gift that Emma picked up for me on the way home from school today. The yellow maple leaf actually fell right onto her as she walked, so it was begging to come with her. Then she found the little snail that looks like it was made for the leaf.  Maybe another painting?

Some Recent Paintings

I finally had a little time in my studio this week.  Emma is back in school. Chloé returns this Thursday. I can't quite believe how fast the summer went although I'll be happy to have more time each day to devote to painting.

When I paint, I don't always know if I'm finished a particular subject. I'll get to a certain point and then set the painting aside. There are usually one or two (or more) piles of recent paintings off to the side of my work table. It's actually a useful method as I come back to the paintings later with fresh eyes.

This week, I went through some paintings from the past few weeks and months and added some finishing touches and details.  Here are some of the paintings I worked on.  Are they really finished now? Perhaps. :)

The next step will be to try and convert some of them into prints for my Etsy shop.

As Visions of Vegetables Danced In Her Head

This past week was an odd one.  Both Emma and Chloé had their spring school break. Chloé ended up sick for half of it. So, many plans for the week were set aside. She perked up towards the end of the week.  I was able to go downtown shopping with her for a spring coat on Thursday and with Emma for her high school graduation dress on Friday.  Both daughters present their own shopping challenges. Chloé likes shopping (a little too much) and Emma doesn't like it (at all). Both expeditions were very successful although I felt like taking a nap after each of them! On the weekend, we also managed a short trip to Trois-Rivières to visit my husband's mother.

Over the past week, I came to truly appreciate the power and immediacy of Facebook for the first time. My 16-year old niece is on a school trip in Africa and I have been able to chat with her on more than one occasion. It sounds like she is having a wonderful experience. She even said that she had taken a photo of an African village garden with me in mind. I was very touched.

On the art side, I didn't get any painting done but I added a few new prints to my Etsy shop at the beginning of last week.  I also had someone inquire if I sold my originals which has launched a huge wave of thinking. I have sold many original paintings in the past but haven't for the last while and never before online. My paintings tend to be small but I can spend days on them. Sometimes making the decision to sell them can be difficult as I become very attached to them. I've talked to a number of people in the past few days--fellow artists, friends and family members--trying to figure out which ones I would be willing to sell and the best way to go about it. Chloé, who is 12, has offered wise words on more than one occasion. It's interesting and quite wonderful when you start to receive sage counsel from young family members. I'll keep you up to date here and on my Facebook page.

This past weekend has brought warm weather that is melting the snow.  Hurray!  Some of my flower beds are still covered but they won't be for long.

There are warm temperatures predicted throughout this week. I took a photo of my raised vegetable bed yesterday (the photo at the very top).  It doesn't look like much at the moment, but I look forward to showing you its progress and evolving prettiness throughout the growing season. I'm very fond of it. It's a 'square-foot garden', a lovely idea for gardens with limited space. So along with dreams of flowers, I have dreams of vegetables these days.

A little watercolour sketch I did of a cherry tomato and pea pod from a past harvest.

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I am counting down the days until the first day of Spring! In the meantime, I am offering a 20% discount in my Etsy shop. Use the SPRING2012 coupon when you check out. (From now up to and including March 20, 2012)