Come Walk With Me

I've spent most of the last two days on the computer trying to improve my relationship with Photoshop and my printer. I might need a therapist on this one. My family will vouch for the fact that I am definitely in a better mood on the days that I paint.  I literally floated after finishing my little chickadee painting on Sunday. Gravity and I have had a closer relationship the past couple of days. :)  

It occurred to me that it might be a good idea to take an extra long walk today with Meeko and my new camera.  Fresh air and focusing on nature can be a good way of recharging the batteries (and avoiding complete insanity).  Come along with me and Meeko.  Despite the grey clouds, it was a very pretty walk.  I was astonished by the life and colour that is still in our neighbourhood and my garden this late in the season.

I call this photo 3M (the m's stand for mushrooms, macro and Margie, the owner of a beautiful blog that involves all three!).  Hey Margie, I got my knees wet taking it!

Aren't these golden cutleaf maple leaves beautiful? I saw them a couple of days ago and didn't have my camera with me.

Meeko decided they were the perfect backdrop for a modelling session. He was very intrigued by some noisy ravens which helped him stay in place.

This maple leaf was just waiting on the pathway for a photo.

Back in our garden now.  Guess who's been eating my beautiful crabapples? (Shameless, isn't he?)

Apparently they are delicious.  Actually I am surprised that there are that many of them left on the tree as this is a regular snack.  If I go into the yard and ask him what bad things he has been doing in my garden, he joyfully runs to my crabapple tree to show me. (I don't think he understands the weight of adjectives.)

I found this verbena still flowering in its pot.

This is a gorgeous oak-leaved hydrangea shrub which has never flowered for me in eleven years.  I can forgive it for that when it gives me an autumn display like this.

I couldn't believe it when I saw how alive and well the diascia was.  This pot is not visible from the house.  It's a great annual if you're ever looking for one that is frost hardy and doesn't complain about being in the shade or sun.  It also comes in pink and white.

My delight in finding the pockets of colour is because most of my garden right now is the colour above--brown.  I am one of those messy gardeners who leaves most of the perennials in place until the springtime.  It may not look beautiful but the birds appreciate it. The chickadees and goldfinches will enjoy the echinacea seeds in the months ahead.  I love watching them tip the stems with their weight as they harvest the seeds.

Notice the leaf in Meeko's hair (wheatens have hair, not fur).  He comes into the house regularly with the evidence of his activities attached to him. Not a clever criminal. But cute.

These are crabapples from my Sir Lancelot tree, a sweet, small crabapple that gives just enough height to provide us with privacy from the back neighbours  (when it has its leaves of course).

There are many violas still blooming in my square foot garden that is normally a vegetable plot.  I can't wait to show it to you in the springtime. It's an efficient and pretty way to grow vegetables in a small yard. Actually the classic method is more efficient than pretty, so I added the 'pretty' to my method.  That way, it appeals to both the left and right sides of my brain (which is important to me)!

Remember this little guy?  My alyssum growing in the crack of our front steps made it to the end of the season!  I think it may be be hugging the oak leaf for warmth. :)

Thanks for joining me on my walk.  It did me a lot of good.

I hope to do some more painting this week. I appreciate all of the warm and encouraging comments about my recent paintings. I hold your comments to my heart.

It occurred to me this week that when I write about my painting, I lose the garden, nature and dog enthusiasts.  When I write about my garden and nature, I may lose the art lovers. When I write about Meeko, I lose the not-so-crazy-about-dogs readers. (He's going to have a hard time believing that one!)  I hope it all makes sense over time as they are all things that are part of me and my life.  I appreciate you coming here to share them. ♥

My Little Chickadee

It was a pretty quiet weekend--lots of homework being done in our house.  I took advantage of the quiet time to paint.  I haven't painted many birds before.  I did a painting of a snow bunting earlier this year but I wasn't happy with it.  I decided to try again and I'm glad I did.

The chickadee is one of my favourite visitors to our backyard.  It is a polite, delicate and joyful bird.  I find the sight and sound of it to be uplifting.

I did this painting on a paper I've never used before.  It's actually paper that is mounted on a thick board (Crescent Watercolour Board).  I normally paint on textured cold press paper but this paper is hot press and therefore has a very smooth surface.

Maybe it was the new paper. Maybe it was because I am constantly inspired by the gorgeous bird paintings of Geninne and some of her beautiful 'birdieness' has rubbed off on me. :) Whatever the reason, I think it turned out!

I just might have to give that snow bunting painting another try.

Rocks and Hearts

Some days I think it would be very useful to have a crane, the mechanical sort or the bird.  Either would do but, come to think of it, the bird sounds like more fun. Anyway, I imagine it plucking me from wherever I am and whatever I am doing and placing me gently but decidedly at my work table in my studio.  Oh, how I get caught up in doing other things.  I don't know why it is so hard to climb those stairs some days, as I am always happier once I am up there painting.

This morning I decided to work on a painting that I started when we were in Ogunquit, Maine a couple of summers ago.

I love rocks. I love hearts.  I guess it should be no surprise then that I love heart-shaped rocks.  I originally had two rocks in my painting but found a third small one this morning in my rock collection and so added it to the composition.  They look like they belong together--a family of rocks, a family of hearts. I like the symbolism.

The painting is on paper that I don't often use.  It was in a old, small Canson Montval sketchpad that seemed the right size to pack for our trip.  I quite like the texture of it and the way it handles the paint.  I definitely will use it again.

As I was working today, I was feeling the echoes of another painting I did a long time ago.  I dug it out so that you can see it. It's actually half a painting. I did it from some photos that my brother took many years ago when he worked for a week or so in Pond Inlet, a remote Inuit community on the northern shore of Baffin Island in Nunavut. (He was there as part of his medical residency. He's a psychiatrist.) I was very unhappy with the top part of the painting, the water, so I cut the painting in two.  I don't remember ever having done that before but it worked:  I was happy with the rocks, spent a good deal of time painting them and there was enough interest in them for them to be the focal point.

To give credit where credit is due, my daughter Emma took the photo of me working in my studio.

(I have retaken some of the photos I took yesterday.  I may post them in yesterday's post--a before and after--or in a new one. I'm making some progress working with my new camera.)