Blog

Winter seems so long!  The days are gray and dreary and the cold seems to seep into your bones at times.  By February I am looking forward to the end of winter and the beginning of spring.  It seems as if suddenly at the end of March the trees are in blossom, the crocuses have come and gone, and the beautiful tulips are poking out of the ground.  My heart sings at the awakening of the earth after a long, winter slumber!

 

                                                                                                  

                                                                                                          "Focus"

 

In my town of Spokane, Washington, is a beautiful park called Manito Park.  Just before spring arrives you can visit the conservatory located in the park and find gorgeous tulips and daffodils in bloom.  This painting was inspired by a beautiful display of tulips in the conservatory.   They seemed so cheerful on a dreary day that I wanted to go home and paint them.  Giclees are available of this painting.

 

When spring time arrives there is no end to the inspiring material one can find to paint.  I live in a home that my grandmother used to reside in.  She planted an apple tree in the back yard that has gorgeous pink blossoms.  I have never known what type it is.  There are several apple varieties that have light pink blossoms:  Gala, Empire, and Winesap.  The only varieties that have dark pink blossoms are the Bramley's Seedling and the Kidd's Orange trees.  I suspect Grandma's tree is one of the latter because the blossoms are a beautiful, dark hue.  I did a painting of some of the blossom's found on that gorgeous tree because I couldn't resist putting them on paper.  Giclees and blank note cards of this painting are also available .

 

 

"Apple Blossom Time"

 

Flowers have been a favorite painting theme for me over the years.  I have done still lifes featuring flowers, have created abstract paintings of flowers, and have added them to various landscapes.  I have several florals in my Shattered Reality series, such as the one pictured here.  I hope you enjoy the spring and all of its beautiful offering this year.  The flowers brighten the landscape and lighten the heart.  Happy Spring!

 

"Shattered Reality XVIII"

 

Giclees and blank note cards are available of this painting.

Artists find inspiration for artwork many places.  Sometimes an image just pops into your head and you know you have to commit it to paper in the form of a painting.  Other times you see a wonderful landscape and you want to paint but cannot take the time at that moment to paint en plein air so a photo is shot to use as a reference later.

My husband Glenn and I took a trip this past weekend to visit friends and relatives in south eastern Washington.  Our journey took us into farm country where his cousin lives and I shot a photo of the striped hillside because I was intrigued by it.  The stripes were perfect.  We also visited a small town that was clean and charming.  I photographed it for reference for a painting to be done in the future.  I love the idea of capturing this small street scene in watercolor.



Where ever we go I am on the lookout for interesting ideas for paintings.  The other day I was in the back yard and our apple tree is in full bloom with gorgeous pink blossoms.  I grabbed my camera and shot several photos of the beautiful blooms.  I am not sure what I will do with the composition of the painting I plan to do, however, I have some wonderful reference shots.

I have collected many photos of wonderful things.  Will I paint them all?  Who knows, however, when the desire to paint is strong and I can't let it go, those references will be a great tool to use as I plan my painting.