garden tour with the macro

 

Exploring the garden with the macro lens is so revealing. I normally would be interested in the colorful blooms and light, but today I clipped on my little olloclip and moved more slowly, looked more closely. This amazing guy with the pollen-covered legs was on the pistil of a calla lily. I went from flower to flower, finding surprises at each, whether insect or new bud, delighted with each. Today was a reminder to slow the pace, look more closely, and enjoy deeply.

Postcard Swap

Participating in Kat Sloma's 'Liberate Your Art' postcard swap was so fun. It's the first time I've done it, and it was exciting to prepare the cards I wanted to send and then receive others' art in the mail, one at a time. It's a lovely way to connect with other artists and enjoy the wide variety of art being produced. Thanks, Kat. I'll be sure to play again next year.

white poppies

I'm having fun painting some acrylic on canvas textures to use with my photos. There's so much color theory to consider when layering ( or just keep playing 'till you like it). I first layered a turquoise painting to add contrast in the petals and cut down the intensity of the surrounding greens. A butter-cream layer went over that to warm it up and on 'hard light' blend mode, the distant flowers and foliage began to pop out again. Experimenting definitely has value when creating.

Colors of Spring

When Carol, at 'Focusing on Life' asked, " What are the colors of your Spring?" I started looking through my recent photos of flowers. The season began with the pale pinks of plum blossoms. I then had the pink, yellow, and red of tulips popping up. Violets followed as the irises grew tall and added that lucious lavender to the mix. Oh, I must not forget the lavendar itself. Roses are unfurling their petals of red and yellow now, adding that sweet fragrance to my cut bouquets. My current favorites are the poppies dressed in hot orange and elegant white. Regardless of what is blooming at the moment, I usually paint a texture of contrasting, but similar colors, and lay that over the image to bring in even more color. So, what are the colors of my spring? I want to celebrate the season by having them all, please.

snapdragons

The little girl I give art lessons to brought me these flowers from her garden last week, so I had to photograph them. Snapdragons have an antique feel for me, so I chose Melissa Gallo's texture 'Green Lakes' to lay over the intense blue-violets. The tray, I found at a yard sale. I sanded some of the paint off so it would look antique also. I hope I've captured the sweetness of a child's smile as they proudly present the flowers they've picked.

Hooping

Playing with animation again. Thanks for the tutorial, Kim Klassen ( in BeyondBeyond). This is really fun.

motion

For 52 of You this week we have the challenge to show motion. I created this simple animation from 12 stills. Now I'm anxious to try others.

white roses

Roses are beginning to bloom. I'm fascinated with the layers of petals, the variations of colors, and with some, the lovely scent. Even amidst vibrant colors, I'm attracted to the whites with the oh-so-subtle tinge of pink or yellow.  Here, I've used "embossed fabric/cool" by Melissa Gallo to provide the necessary contrast to highlight their delicacy. I'm stopping "to smell the roses" as much as possible these pleasant spring days and of course, snapping photos too. Enjoy the scents of spring.