Everything BUT Painting ... well .... almost ...

It was my lovely niece's high school graduation yesterday. Here she is with my aunt, opening a gift.

Yes, that's me, and I did get out of my usual barn gear when I went to the ceremony.

Here's Paulina with her mom.

Even her brother came out from Ottawa to attend. And Paulina just gave him this haircut! 

Some hibiscus from Steph's garden

These will be painted, and that's my only reference to painting.

I had to take pics of this cool antique car, parked outside the Orpheum Theatre downtown, where the grad ceremony was held.

And life on the farm continues. The baby swallows had their first flying lessons yesterday. 

Some were not as brave ...

... as others. These two managed about 15 feet before they landed.

That's all for now. Thank you so much for dropping by!

S ... L ... O ... W ...

I can hardly see ant difference, but I have been putting some shading on the leaf tips in purple. I suppose it is hard to see, when I've been using a brush the size of 5 eyelashes!!!

When I'd reached my limit with the above painting, I moved to the hibiscus, and worked on the leaves.

As always, please feel free to leave comments or questions.

I am off to Vancouver this evening. My handsome, brilliant, wonderful [do I sound biased?] nephew, Julian, is turning 18 today.

Still Cold ... Still Snowy ... Still Painting ...

The view outside my front door this morning

"Hens and Chicks"
A photo I took at Western Gardens 2 years ago

This should keep me busy for a while

Another one from Western Gardens

I may pay for not masking completely, with slightly uneven washes, but the background is going to be very dark, so I might be all right.


I really needed something  warm and summery to paint, and a break from working with all the blacks and darks in Buddy's portrait. So I dug into my photo library, and came out with 2 photos I took [of many] at a local nursery.
Ahhhh, I can feel the heat!!!
As always, please feel most welcome to leave a comment!

Time for a Big Flower

Washes of aureolin, quin. gold and alizarin crimson

More washes - quin. burnt orange, phthalo blue and alizarin

STILL more washes - phthalo blue, alizarin and a final quin. gold

The unveiling

Original photo


I was feeling the need to do something big and floral, so I checked  the photo library, and found this gorgeous hibiscus.  I did a sketch with the leaves included, and found it to look too cluttered. So I decided to paint a background that would give depth but allow the flower to dominate. I think there must be at least twenty graded washes in the background already, and I must say it felt GREAT to splash on paint with [relative] abandon! I'm not completely happy with the masking I'm using - finding it slightly marking the paper. If you have ideas on masking fluid brands, let me know, please. And, as ever, please let me know what you think ...