Birch Trees

                                         

The weather here has been gloomy with clouds, intermittent showers, and very little sunshine. We have finally had a chance to buy our bedding plants, to fill out our perennial beds, but the ground and lawn are too wet to work in. We have had this weather for what seems like weeks now. But our glum outlook is nothing compared to those that are working every day to fill sand bags and protect their property from the rising waters of Lake Ontario. The Lake is higher than anyone has ever seen it, and the experts are saying it will not reach its maximum height until the middle of June. The people faced with these flooding challenges are not worried about planting their bedding plants, just saving their properties. When you see what challenges others have, it puts your own challenges into perspective.

Because of all of this, painting outside has not been possible. My latest attempt was painted using a photo reference and is on an 11x14 board.

An English Town

I downloaded this photo from the internet because it is so typical of a small English village. There seems to always be a river or canal with a lovely stone or brick bridge and a small street with the houses crowded closely together and bordering right on the street or sidewalk. Most of the homes are constructed of the same brick or stone and appear comfy and well-loved. I don't really know if the reality of living in one is different. The whole composition makes a lovely photo to paint on an 11x14 board.

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Like all the paintings on my blog, this one is for sale.

                            

A Beautiful Street

Someone sent me a photo of this street, somewhere in Italy, I think. One look at the photo with those beautiful flowers, tended with loving care, and I knew I had to paint it. I knew it would be challenging and I knew I could not grasp all the beautiful colours, but maybe I could convey some of the care and love that had been taken and still was taken, everyday, to keep these pots of flowers looking so lovely. I thought of the number of mornings, when people just did not have the energy, but got up anyway to water the flowers. On the second floor, who carried up the soil, to put in the window box, and who carried all those plants up the stairs, to plant in the boxes. The people who live on this street, love where they live and take pride in their homes. It shows just in the simple fact that someone must sweep their colorful street everyday because there are no petals or leaves on the pavement from all the pots above. I hope I captured some of that for you.

                    

 This oil painting is on an 11x14 board and of course, is for sale.

Our Saucer Magnolia

A few years ago we planted a Saucer Magnolia in our backyard. Finally, this year, it has bloomed in all its glory. The first year it was in, all the buds fell off. The second year, the buds and some small flowers, drooped then fell off. My husband, who has green thumbs and green fingers, decided maybe it was too dry. After it was given a very long drink with the hose, the tree perked up and the blooms looked healthier, but it was a little late in the season then, and the tree did bloom but nothing really outstanding. This year, the tree is bigger, the buds were numerous and healthy in the fall, and this spring they have bloomed. What a glorious specimen. When I wake up in the morning, I can see the blooms and they appear to glow, especially when the sun reaches the flowers. I attempted to capture some of this in my painting. I have included a photo of the tree also but it is a cloudy rainy day today and the photos certainly will not show the glow that the tree has in the sunshine. This was painted on a 12x24 canvas.

       

                   

This painting is for sale for $175 and if you are interested in this one, or any of my paintings, I can be reached at  hazelspleinair@gmail.com

Edison's Office and Midnight Garden

A few years ago, I painted in Edison's Midnight Garden and enjoyed every moment. This year, when we painted at Edison's Estate in Ft. Myers, I felt myself again drawn to his wife's Midnight Garden behind his office/laboratory . It is a very quiet corner of the Estate, where the thousands of tourists, who visit everyday, by the bus load, tend not to explore. They are busy exploring the swimming pool that Edison erected, beside this small laboratory. When Edison was in his eighties, his wife had this small building erected where he could work if he did not want to face the quite lengthy walk to the main house. There was a couch here, where he could rest and a small lab that could double as an office. After working in the lab, most of the day, he and his wife, could relax together in the Midnight Garden. Most of the flowering bushes and bedding plants were white and the reflecting pool reflected all the candles that would have been  lit around the garden for them to enjoy. What a peaceful scene, that I hoped to capture in  my oil painting.

                            $175

I can be reached at  hazelspleinair@gmail.com if you interested in any of my paintings.

Back Bay

Since Fort Myers Beach is a narrow island that stretches down the Gulf coast of Florida, there are two bridges to get on or off the island. This morning one of those bridges is closed, to vehicles, for the Shrmp Parade.

This is the height of the "season" in Florida. This means that in this month there are the most tourists here. This includes snow birds, like us, college and university students on March break, and any other visitors. As a result the FMB town council puts on the Shrimp Festival, complete with a parade. This creates a traffic back up that is unbelievable. The cars, bumper to bumper stretch for miles. No one is moving for the whole morning. BUT the Shrimp Festival is worth it, with the wonderful small town parade, an arts and craft market and plenty of Gulf shrimp. These shrimp are world famous and definitely worth the effort to get here, in spite of the traffic. Walking is the best means of transportation, esp. during the Shrimp Festival!

But, back to the bridges. The northern bridge is very long and high so that the shrimp boats and many yachts who use back bay as an anchorage, can get in and out. There is a very large yacht basin under the bridge and south into back bay. It must hold hundreds of yachts, all tied up to buoys, with a dingy moored to the yacht. The people live on board for the winter and use the dingy to go back and forth to the many dingy docks when they need to come ashore. Sailing, needless to say, is another great way to come to the Shrimp Featival. When we were painting out this Wed., we were on back bay. We painted at an artists home which is situated on the shore in Ft. MYers Beach. I had a view of Bird Island in back bay with a yacht tied up close by. This painting on11x14 board is the result.

                            

Miracle

My friend sent me a wonderful photo of a child, dressed for the rain, on a pathway. The moment the child reached down to touch or pet the duck, the photographer snapped this photo. I thought it was lovely and as I painted it, I appreciated the skill used to get the photo. The background and forefront are hazy so that the child and ducks, stand out. They do this because they are the only items in focus. I like this focal point and tried to get the same in my painting. Hope you like it too.

                              

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This oil painting was done on a 16x20 canvas and it, and all the work on my blog, are for sale.