White Fur in the Garden

It was fun painting the white fur in the Polar Ice Cap painting. I'm glad I have some white fur in my garden too. This strange creature is a Lamb's Ears.

Polar Ice Cap

When I am not worrying about my children, pets, and the various birds, mice and insects that live in my garden, I worry about the rest of the world. It seems that I feel guilty about everything I do. Every breath I take, every meal I eat, every thing I buy seems to be killing the planet. I feel responsible every time I see those pictures of polar bears swimming around looking for ice that isn't there. Am I the only one who feels the guilt of all this constantly pressing down on my head? I try to think of the absurd side of this and to paint my mental state as ridiculous. At least this painting makes me smile.

Sunday Morning Visitor

This baby Steller's Jay appeared on my patio this morning. It doesn't seem to be injured but is perhaps too young to fly. Its parents keep visiting it. Will they feed it? I threw some strawberries and some pine nuts in its direction but it seemed uninterested. Please fly away baby jay. My cats hate being locked in the house.

By the way, we have had NO bird/cat incidents yet this summer. Everything has been blissful in the garden - until now. Sigh. And the parent jays are eating the cherries off my tree. Please go away and take your heartbreakingly adorable baby with you.

Update-twelve hours later. Well the poor little bird sat patiently all day but I never saw it being fed. By the end of the day I was an emotional wreck and sure the baby was looking weaker. So I took it to the wildlife rehab center Paws. It is a fabulous place and deserves our support. They agreed that the poor bird was lethargic and needed some intervention. I hope the parent birds really had given up caring for baby. At least it is being well cared for now. I really can't handle mother nature. It is so tragic.

Also today - the cats who were grouchy from being locked in the house, cheered themselves up by cornering a mouse or small rat in the entrance hall. I spent a pretty funny few minutes chasing the terrified mouse (rat?) through every room on the ground floor waving a towel and a plastic bucket around. Amazingly I managed to catch it and took it outside to the back alley. It really was very sweet. (yes I know about the plague)

I hope tomorrow has fewer wild animals in it.

Stripes

I delivered the poppy painting to my client yesterday and found myself apologizing for putting stripes on the ferret she had requested. I don't think ferrets have stripes. Fortunately she liked the stripes. It got me thinking, though, about my inspiration. Does anyone else remember these Kliban cats from the '70s or '80s. Didn't everyone have a calendar or coffee mug with these guys on it? Having grown up with them as part of my life I think they are making themselves felt in my painting. My other striped influence is, of course, my cat Opal.

A New Poppy Painting

New Web Site

I'll email this announcement to my mailing list where it will appear larger and legible. Or click on this version to read the little words easier. It's the same url but updated work.

A Favorite Fabric

I love this piece of old linen so much I don't want to make anything with it. So I take it out once in a while to admire it and then store it away again.


It clearly takes its inspiration from ancient Egyptian wall paintings.


Opal thinks it is boring.

Pill Bug's Vacation

Still too busy to post anything sensible here but I keep rushing outside with the camera to enjoy this amazing time of year. I wish my camera had a manual focus but at least it has a decent macro setting allowing me to imagine living inside a peony or taking a vacation, as a pill bug might, in the shade of this palm tree. I could dip my tiny toes into these dew cups.

Thank you Zoe for sharing your grandmother's story that fairies live in peony flowers. Sounds like she would have been a friend for my grandmother. (How funny that my camera is an elph!)

I don't know what this is but it is growing in an old plant pot in my garden.

Busy, Happy Studio Days

I am finishing up a couple of paintings which I will post soon but I don't want to let peony season pass by without paying homage. I get lost in these petals like when I look out of an airplane window at the clouds and imagine living in amongst them. To have such luxury in my garden! I feel like a queen.

Update

It's poppy time! I want to be in the studio painting these amazing flowers.

The verdict is still out on the lilac I posted last week although Karen's suggestion of Chinese Lilac is likely correct. My Mum also suggested Preston Lilac, maybe Isabella. I didn't know there were so many different kinds of lilacs!

(update update Daniel has commented on the lilac issue. Thank you Daniel.)

I am playing with the look of this blog so please bear with me as I change the picture at the top. This one looks blurry so I will keep working on it.

Seeing the World as Textile Design

I have been looking at mid twentieth century textile design like these by British designer Robert Stewart. Last night's sunset looked like fabric too.



Lucienne Day is also a favorite British mid-century textile designer.



Here are some more from Lucienne Day.