Tag: plants

Adobe

Yesterday was Easter, a quiet time for us. The day was gorgeous and the weather so pleasant – perfect Spring. I love the way the light catches as the seasons turn, and the clear, dry air of the southwest pushes colors to a harshness which at high noon can be glaring, but early or late in the day, when the shadows are long, the light is clear and bright but doesn’t hurt your eyes.

For the past several days I have been working in watercolors on smooth paper to practice pale colors which would work well with ink. I think I am getting it. Easter Sunday, though, I was getting a bit bored with the colors I was using as well as the lack of papery tooth to hold colors. As a challenge, I decided to paint a building. I realized why I am intimidated by buildings – they have straight lines and a jerk of the brush can ruin a good, hard edge.

A few straight line glitches, but I will say I am pleased with what I did here. I took my time and tried to create a simplification of a complex structure that works well with shape, shadow, contrast. I know where I messed up my straight lines, but you can find them and tell me if you like!

Watercolor, Arches CP 140# paper, 9×12.

Afternoon Sketches

It’s a nice semi-sunny day this afternoon, and the wind is soft, the temp is about 70F. It’s perfect for spending a bit of time sketching in ink and color some of the remaining plants after the winter clean-out.

These hot peppers are from last year – and it appears they are getting some new ones! The little tiny blobs of orange are this year’s crop – I guess it is time to harvest some of last year’s fruit. We don’t know how hot these peppers are, but we should give them a shot.

I have three different lavender plants. I am not sure which one this is – I have a tag, but am feeling too lazy to investigate. What appeals to me is the bright purple flowers above the soft grey-green foliage. They look like tiny purple butterflies to me.

This is the tulip tree which graces my front yard. It’s a strange tree – not really a good one for a neighborhood. It tends to be brittle and branches can break and fall. We have had some 6 footers and then some fall onto the sidewalk below. And then it oozes sap all over the sidewalk. Birds love it – sparrows, crows, doves, and owls have been known to visit. The leaves are an interesting shape, and while it flowers, they are not showy. However, come autumn, the leaves turn an amazing yellow-gold and drop onto the lawn – and this is what makes it so beautiful to me. Add to that, right now the bare branches and twigs are just lovely against the sky.

Colors here are very limited. For the peppers I used organic vermilion, cad and lemon yellow, a bit of Hooker’s green and cobalt teal. The lavender was carbozole violet, and the foliage was a mix of lavender, Hooker’s, and yellows. The tulip tree is primarily the leftovers on the palette, so who know what the colors could be!

And now, time to head out for some fine Thai food provided by Auntie Am and Uncle Ed!

Summer’s Harvest

I might do more drawings of my container garden as the next few days pass, but it’s hard to tell. The heat is up here with it in the mid-90s F, so sitting outside to sketch is an early morning thing rather than a mid-day thing.

My vegetable garden this year had some oldies which I know work well, and some new ones, some of which worked and some of which aren’t worth the effort. Above, orange habanero chilis. We usually do pretty well with these.

This drawing is of my heirloom Strawberry Crown Squash, a hard winter squash. I planted a bunch of seeds in a 20 gallon pot, and pulled all but 4 out. I have never planted winter squash, much less in a flower pot, but they seem to have done quite well. The vines grew and flourished and produced a lot of flowers. The vines were about 20 feet long each and moved across the dirt of the back yard with the sun.

But, I only have 2 winter squash for all that! I haven’t harvested them yet, but expect I will in a few days. I wonder if I need to learn about the art of winter squash gardening – but why?! Pumpkins are so prolific!

I don’t have room for a garden as I don’t have any place that isn’t lawn or just dirt. The back yard is a disaster as I still need to remove 11 or so trees whose roots jut out at all angles in the back yard. Until the trees and roots are gone, to the tune of a small fortune, container gardening it is.

These were sketched in a fan-fold Chinese sketch book. The paper is a creamy yellowish color, a bit tan, and very absorbent. It sucks color up so I had to do a bit of scrubbing to even lay in a wash of any size. Scanning, too, was difficult and that can be seen in the drawing of the winter squash. The differentiation between the dirt and squash leaves is not as muddied as it is here.

Watercolor and ink on paper.

Containers

Today I finally got out to the botanical garden! The sweet scents – all these flowers and trees in bloom – hard to believe. Peaceful, tranquil. I took lots of pictures of the plants, which will come later. As always, though, I love to go up to the potting shed and nursery area to snoop around and see what is going on there. Wheel barrows sometimes, other times rocks. Today it seemed that pots and containers were on parade.

Containers

Containers and bins for dirt and leaves as well as new plants waiting to be sold or added to the garden. Storage shed to the left, nursery to the right.