-N- – Page 157 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Flower Quickies

I spent the most part of today slogging along in the Dog Free Zone. Emptying out old pots, refilling them, pruning, sweeping, sweeping, sweeping, planting bulbs, cutting back overgrown critters, toiling away in a sweltering 67F for 3 hours. Poor me, eh? But just imagine what I will see in a few months!! And I still have seeds to plant as well.

So, I was honestly too tired to focus on anything requiring logic. I needed to just paint. Flowers seem appropriate given all the gardening. And I also have a couple of dozen of dazzling orangy red tulips. Trust me, the real ones look far better than this painting!

And then there are those wonderful flowers – bulbs – which grow and bloom in winter, when all is drab and drear. Crocus anyone? Here, a bit of snow is all that is left.

Each of these paintings was done with a time limit of 30 minutes. You can make a lot of mistakes in 30 minutes and paint some truly awful stuff – that is why quick studies can be so educational. And you can paint some great stuff, and wonder, how the hell did you do that!?

Chaos in the Garden

I have a lot still to do – and then the clean up. But the result will be making itself known soon – flowers, herbs, and the sheer pleasure of watching things grow. Birds, bees, and other critters are welcome here – except rats and digging dogs!

Summer Valley

Today we will hit 77F and it is a joyous combination of spring fever, gardening, and just pleasure the weather is so fine! Colors, too, speak of seasons coming and to come.

Watercolor, 9×12, Fluid CP 140#.

Tulips

A couple of dozen is a very nice bouquet!

Olde Berlin

I look at YouTube in the morning after reading the news. The problem is that it is an addicting site. I look at it for art techniques, sewing information, photography, and when it pops up, history. I do enjoy history, modern history probably more than ancient.

When you come across films from different time eras and different places, there is a sense of reality that photos and stories cannot elicit. Here we have one from Berlin, Germany, during what is obviously the 1920s, probably before the depression set in. People are well-dressed (everyone looks well-dressed compared to today’s sloppy standards) – and, it seems, comfortably well off.

Wealthy, middle class. Life in the better parts of the city.

And then . . . enter the world of Christopher Isherwood may have frequented.