Fuschias

My brother gave me several plants recently, among them this ruby and white fuschia. A few days later, I saw a fledgling crow on my patio, perched on my favorite chair. I watched him for several minutes as he hopped over and checked out some flowers on the table which were waiting for me to plant. His mother, I assume, was cawing at him to get the heck out of there and he eventually listened to her and made a slightly awkward takeoff to join her. Later, I found a feather he had left behind. I carved the feather and cut a short slice in the center to use as a quill pen. It worked, sort of, and this little painting is the result.

House Overlooking a Pond

Inspired by Nita Engle's wonderful book "How to Make a Painting Paint Itself," I spattered and slung paint and water for this scene from Latvia on illustration board. It was an interesting experiment but I didn't love the board which seemed to absorb and melt the paint, making it sort of fuzzy looking. All in all, it was ok but I'll be going back to my old standby Lanaquarelle for the next one.

Sidewalk Statue

It was startling to see this wonderful old statue plunked right on a sidewalk on a back street in Riga, Latvia. At some point, she has lost her left hand.

Latvian Laundry

This month Bill Guffey's Virtual Paintout is in Latvia. I spotted this homey scene on a back road out in the country and was drawn to the late afternoon light shining through the wash hanging on the line.

Suzy's Peony

My sister-in-law's birthday (today) falls just at the time my peonies begin to bloom. I painted this as a card for her and was swooning with the fragrance of the flowers all afternoon. I don't know if peonies are her favorite flower, but they are one of mine!