plants – Page 2 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Daisies, Daffodils, and Basil

With a break in the cold and rain, a relapse of my cold, and sheer need to get out into the afternoon sunshine (74F! – 23.3 C!), I sat down and listened to Lord Peter Wimsey on Audible, pulled out a pan of paints, and looked around me. There are a lot of daffodils in various pots, a bunch of daisies, and a basil plant I just bought. The rains have kept me from replacing and modifying my drip system, but as today we probably had the last of the seasonal rain, it is time to reset them as as well as clean up various beds.

This potted basil was the first bit of painting. I wanted to focus on the lights and darks, the shadows and bright spots. It is quite a complicated bit of greenery to paint – enough detail to get depth and separation of leaves, as well as a sense of the direction of light. Pencil first, and then a try at a bit more than a lick and a promise. Not great, but I did accomplish a bit of what I wanted.

Once the basil was done, the paper was flipped over. I have a huge pot where some spring daisies are just jumping up with an enthusiasm that always frustrates my own when I try to paint them! I tried to paint them as masses – but the white daisies are very clear in shape, white with bright yellow centers – and all this in a field of varying green. The sun was in and out behind the clouds, so the two patches look a bit different. Again, complexity being simplified. The one on the right is my favorite as it feels somehow “cleaner” if that makes any sense.

And then, the daffodils. The one on the left is better than the one on the right; the spiky leaves are okay. What I focused on here were colors and their shapes, not a daffodil. The same with daisies on the right. This meant I did not use pencil, but painted directly.

Altogether, a few hours in the afternoon spent playing and relaxing. Some success, some failure.

Watercolor, 9×12 Arches CP 140# paper.

The Not Taken Vacation: Come Walk With Me

Knowing that we would be visiting the Ness Botanic Gardens while moored in Liverpool (the Land of the Scousers), I decided to go into town in Liverpool in search of another set of pan paints. We went to Cass Art (see above!) and found a lovely set made by Rosa, an artist supply manufacturer in the Ukraine. I chose the “botanical set” that has colors found obviously in nature, and flowers in particular. It includes the reds and pinks and violets that I couldn’t make in my other little set with its 12 colors. While those 12 colors are good for mixing almost anything, there was absolutely nothing that would provide a lovely violet of any shade or any pinks. So, if you’re in a garden, what are you going to do? Well I know what I would do: Go shopping!

As you can see, this botanical set has some really beautiful colors in it as well as multiple greens. A lot of artists like to mix their greens, and while I find mixing greens is fun, having a few pre-made ones from which you can make even more greens is even better. Yes, I am breaking all those artistic rules someone has determined, but so what?!

The first thing I did during this non-taken vacation fantasy was to just look at the different flowers that are available throughout the year at the Ness Gardens. They have lots of flowers, trees, open space, buildings, and just about anything you could think of, as well as walkways and paths and places you can wander in. A good botanical garden is always a pleasure, and one needs color to do it justice in paint.

So, since I was griping about a lack of pinks and lavenders or purples, why not do hydrangeas? White, pink, lavender, and blue. The color depends on the acidic or basic qualities of the soil. I just mixed these vaunted colors together and had a good time.

Sadly, I could not find any map online of the Ness Botanic Gardens, but I can assure you there are buildings to go into as well as pathways to follow. One such building is this one, whose purpose remains a mystery me (shown above), but I thought rather lovely as it had woods behind, and colorful trees and flowers in front of it.

And, relying on photos for my fantasy walk, I took this pathway into the woods beyond. You can see just how beautiful it is with layers of colorful flowers, shrubs, trees, and everything in between.

The Ness Botanic Gardens was going to be one of my high points of our voyage – that and being driven on the left hand side of the roadways! I always enjoy going to botanical gardens because it’s so much fun to learn about plants, see plantings both formal and informal, as well as the variety of trees, flowers, birds and insects. It is all too easy to forget the abundance and beauty of Mother Nature.

Next stop: A Coruña, Spain.

Too Much Work

“For every 100 photos, 1 is a keeper.”

“Two steps forward, one step back.”

Well, that is true for me in the world of trying to make my watercolor paintings more simple in painting style though not necessarily in content. Of late, rocks and plants.

Let’s start with my painting of Greek oregano, growing like a weed in a pot on the patio. The leaves are simple enough, shaped somewhat like an egg (but flatter 🙂 ) on long, straggly stems. The color is sort of that dull, sagey-olive green that plants in the Mediterranean climate often have. In sunlight, a bit of warm yellow shows up. In shade, the greens are darker. Pretty logical, right?

And then there are the rocks I have been thinking about since I did the much more successful cliffs of the other day. The rocks in the fort in the VI was okay as a rock building study, but not so hot as a painting. The beach scene below is of a rocky beach of lava stones – many black ones in particular, but with softer sandy rose colored stones in between. And a few palm trees. And an ocean. And a spit of land sticking out. The rocks were the primary focus as that is the rocky subject I am approaching. Simplification of shape and shadow – some successful, some not.

I sat outside yesterday, using reference photos of lava rock beaches around the world, and then using the oregano plant a few feet away on the concrete. Good to be outside. Good to work on two opposing pages of the sketchbook, waiting for one to dry and working on the other. Back and forth. I was amazed I was out there for at least two hours, with more indoors. I am spending more time on painting a picture than I have before . . .

Success? It comes in steps. A lot of crap with a few successes.

I think it is time to go hem some pants.

Sketches Amongst the Potted

Today I finally had time to sit down and enjoy this absolutely gorgeous afternoon! The sun broke through the coastal fog and suddenly the world was aglow with light and shadow, not gloom and grey. That is the standard weather along the California coast, May Grey and June Gloom. It is dull and boring and monotonously monochrome.

I have a lot of potted flowers on a side patio – my yard is worthless for any beauty at this point. First up, the bigger sunflower in ink and paint.

And then the smaller of the two.

Sunflowers are far harder to paint than I think – don’t know why! From there, I decided to look at the tulip tree peeping over the fence a few blocks away. Here I tried to focus on masses of light and dark. It was a bit hard, but the idea was there. I am using my Schmincke pan paints, and they need to be worked a bit to get dense colors, which can be frustrating!

Lastly, my beloved lemon verbena bush. Every year I cut it back, every year it comes back. The leaves were half in the sun, half in the shade. I don’t have any of the delicate white flowers it produces, but the leaves always delight, in shape and scent.

It was fun to sit in the sun a bit. I don’t usually do this, so letting things dry between colors and pictures took a bit of patience. Plein air is not something I ordinarily do, but why not practice it along with patience?

More to come!

Miner’s Lettuce

Miner’s lettuce is a “wild edible” that is quite tasty! Here in California it grows in damp places, usually along streams, but on our trip up to Paso Robles last week I found some flourishing beneath an oak tree. After all the rains of this past winter I am not surprised, but I was really delighted to find this little patch.