A Different Rose

We’re coming close to the end of the growing season and our participation with the community supported agriculture we’ve done with the Amish families in Marion, KY. It’s still exciting after more than 20 weeks to see what arrives in our box every Tuesday afternoon. This week there were four large sweet potatoes, a bag of a variety of leaf lettuce, a small bunch of radishes both red and white, a red pepper, an onion, and six rosy turnips. I’m not terribly fond of cooked turnips unless they’re in with other things. Actually I prefer them cut in slices or strips and eaten raw. We used to do that when I was growing up, and I remember them as a special treat that had a tangy sweet bite similar to cabbage.

Since they’ve been sitting on our kitchen counter since yesterday afternoon I’ve had plenty of opportunity to look at them. Their brilliant fuschia is glorious, no matter what you think of their taste. So, in honor of that at least, they became my painting off the day today.

A Different Rose

Watercolor on paper

4.5″ X 5.5″

$50

Contact me for purchase

Tomatoes 'n Basil

All the signs are here that summer is drawing to a close. The grass still grows but it’s darker. Our sycamore’s leaves are beginning to look brown around the edges, and there are no more fledglings, only gold finches feeding at the dried sunflower seeds in our flower gardens. Monarch butterflies are more frequent, my theory being that they’re heading south to Mexico. But perhaps the biggest sign is that our tomato plants are giving what is surely their final production of fruit. We’re bringing in armfuls daily, so many we can’t keep up. The plants themselves are looking old and beginning to dry out. The basil in front of them is sending out flowers and getting thin. September has turned and so we face the end of summer.

My quick painting today is a glimpse of our garden’s bounty which we’ve enjoyed so much this year. I felt it needed a fitting tribute in honor of what it’s given and so I picked a new tomato to go along with two we’d brought in this weekend, and paired them with a couple pinches of basil. They marry so well in cooking and I think they go as well visually. Just one of the memorable tastes of summer, tomato and basil.

Tomatoes ‘n Basil

Watercolor on paper

4.5″ X 5.5″

Sold

Mr. Finch

The lady finch was one of my first daily paintings, almost a month ago, Our sunflowers continue to bloom and dry out, attracting the pair of gold finches. What a delight! My kitties, Dove and Chaplin, get excited to see them on the flowers so close to their perch inside the studio window. But the window pane keeps everyone on their best behavior. The finches watch the window while they eat just to ensure those humans and cats stay safely inside.

One of the sunflowers rests right at window’s edge. This week its seeds were at just the right stage and so we’ve been blessed with particularly close views of this spectacular mister. Today’s effort is in honor of his visit and the privilege it’s been to have him share my flower garden.

Mr. Finch

Watercolor on paper

4.5″ X 5.5″

$50

Contact me for purchase

The Clutch

We’ve had a pair of robins build their nest on our side porch for the past two years. They like the curve in our downspout as it angles down from our roof. It’s a perfect spot since it’s sheltered from the rain, and from our perspective it’s perfect, too, because we can watch the progress of events from Dave’s studio window. Mama doesn’t get disturbed and we get a ring side seat.

The nest has remained in place since Spring until last week when I got busy with porch cleaning, front and back, knocking down the remnants of mud dauber nests, their progeny having made their way out as evidenced by the holes at the ends of the little tubes. I never discourage them from making their nests since I like watching them form perfect cylinders, just like human potters, with mud and a bit of saliva. Well, of course we humans don’t use spit, but you get my idea. So while I was at the process of tidying I decided it was time for the robin’s nest to go, and I pushed it down with the broom handle. To my surprise, it remained wholey intact, a wonder at the birds’ ability to form such a strong temporary shelter made only of mud and grasses and yet successfully helped to rear two baby robins this year. Stuck in neatly among the dried golden grass swirling in the interior was a perfect black and white feather.

For my painting I looked up images of robin’s eggs in nests to get the color and configuration right since my nest was empty, save for the feather. Babies have long ago flown and I see lots of robins everywhere, as we do all summer and especially in Spring when everyone is busy raising their families. That little feather is like a true feather in their cap, the nest, for having done well yet again this year.

The Clutch

Watercolor on paper

4.5″ X 5.5″

Sold

Pinecones

Okay, so I promise this is the last Christmas image until next year. I’m painting these because Lower Town is having an artist competition for a promotional image, so I guess mine aren’t secrets anymore.

I’ve had this idea about pinecones in my head for a while and wanted to see what might come of it. It’s not the image that I had in my head, but then few of my paintings ever are. You learn to live with that if you’re to be successful. At least that’s my feeling. I wanted something that showed pinecones in a different way and gave them even more of a Christmasy holiday feel. The colors do that and I like the background wash.

Pinecones

Watercolor on paper

4.5″ X 5.5″

$50

Contact me for purchase

As I said yesterday, I’m already thinking of the December holidays since the artists here in Lower Town are getting geared up for the special events we have planned for the month. In preparation I’m doing some small paintings to maybe be used as cards or something. We’ll see. This is a lot like yesterday’s paintings since they were all done together. See how it compares.

Lights in Frost

Lights in Frost

Watercolor on paper

5.5″ X 4.5″

$50

Contact me for purchase

Glowing Lights

Sometimes it’s just fun to play with paint and salt. There are several little tricks you can use with watercolors and salt is one of them. Like everything else, you don’t want to use it too much because then your paintings begin to look gimmicky. But for things like frost and other things with a sparkly quality, you just can’t get a better effect than to use salt.

But why Christmas at the end of July? It’s already on my mind as Lower Town has started to plan for the December holidays. I got the idea of lights shining through a frosty window pane, and that’s what I’m going for here. I made two others, kind of an assembly line process which you’ll get to see in the coming days. All similarly done — just fast and fun without too much preconceived notion of what the finished product would look like. After several days of tighter compositions, this was a welcome exercise.

Glowing Lights

5.5″ X 4.5″

Watercolor on paper

$50

Contact me for purchase

Painting at the LowerTown Art & Music Festival (photo credit: The Paducah Sun)

We had an exciting Memorial Day weekend here in Paducah with the LowerTown Arts & Music Festival. I even made the front page (below the fold) of the Paducah Sun with a picture of me painting and some quotes regarding my festival experience. A very nice article that you can read here. This year was orchestrated in a new format than previous years, showcasing local artists instead of bringing in artists from around the country, as is the norm for such events. We faced some challenges in pulling it off so that people weren’t put off by the small number of tents and getting them to circulate through the various galleries in a 9-block area. But the crowds came out in force on Saturday, the weather cooperated with sun and a breeze, and it turned out to be the festival we’d hoped for and then some.

Dave and I had two tents for the first time ever. We borrowed one from one of our LowerTown neighbors along with a set of really nice Propanels from another generous neighbor. And yet another neighbor helped me set up the tents and panels on Friday. That’s what is so great about this place. We all help each other out in big and little ways. People are generous with their time and resources so that you feel supported both philosophically and physically.

Another big change this year was having artists demonstrate their work. I set up a small table in the front of my tent and started a painting, sketching out the image and then beginning the color washes. It was a wonderful way to show the process that goes into creating my watercolors and my technique. I’ve learned from my experience during the Quilt Show that I enjoy painting outside with people wandering by. It’s a bit more challenging to also try to greet people as they come into my tent and make sales. So the painting wasn’t continuous but it still went well and served a purpose.

Not too many sales during the festival, just some small things like sets of note cards and batik star ornaments that Dave has been making. Sunday was literally a washout with torrential rain from morning onward. We struck our tents at 2 o’clock after it was clear that there wasn’t going to be any let up and everyone else along the street was packing up as well. Here’s hoping for better weather throughout the festival next year.

This is just the beginning of what should be a busy summer and fall season in LowerTown. Second Saturdays are in the process of revision, with new and exciting activities in the works throughout LowerTown. We still love it here, in answer to the repeated question about our relocation to Paducah, and are looking forward to a great summer! All the fantastic comments about our work have us jazzed and up-lifted, ready to create new paintings to add to our body of current work. That’s another great contribution from our Paducah community.