Fremontia

I am trying to do something every morning, a quick sketch from a photo I took, or something that catches my fancy.  It’s not easy and most of the time I am disappointed by what occurs.  The reason?  It seems that often the only way to save something is to add lines!  I wonder if I will ever produce a “real” painting that is more than just sketch . . . Ah, well.  The point is to do something as often as possible.

Thus, a sketch of a Fremontia, a yellow-flowered bush found here in California.  It’s a woody shrub that splotches bright flowers against dark leaves.  I look forward to them every spring.

Aftermath of a Broken Wrist

I suppose I should also include the finger . . .

Hobbling around on a broken lower limb makes sense if activity levels are lowered, but a broken wrist?  Yep.  I didn’t go out scrambling on the trails nearby for the simple fact that I am right-handed, and if I started to take a tumble, the right hand is the dominant one.  Four weeks, five weeks later, a rather sedentary lifestyle, and I am sore as hell after going out to the local botanical garden, looking for the flowers I have been missing on my usual weekly jaunts.

Gardens change every day, and certainly after 5 weeks, a lot.  Spring is now in bloom and I was so happy to see so many flowers, wild and domestic, native and foreign.  A lot of work has been done, too, in the garden itself.  A new gate on one side.  Cleared brush and hillsides.  New plants, new labels.  Sheer heaven!

Yesterday I felt like a drunk all day, tottering around on extremely sore legs.  Oh, well!  A bit better today.  And, a few flower photos, too.  

Hummingbird Sage

I went out looking for spring wildflowers this weekend and took a number of photographs.  Everywhere were blooms – wildflowers and domestic ones, all in the local botanical garden.  Hummingbird sage is one of my favorites.  I didn’t catch the fuschia-pink of the flower, nor the softness, but the shape worked out fairly well.