Dharma in the Garden

Mosaics - Part 1

It is unseasonably warm today.  More like June than March.  The summer house is baking hot, bees are buzzing, birds are singing and butterflies are fluttering.  I'm wearing factor 50 sunscreen and sunglasses and wondering what happened to Spring.

The weather is confused, the plants are confused, in fact we're all a bit confused.  Which may explain why I decided to teach myself mosaics today.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. I have the basic kit of materials I bought a while ago which contains tiles, grout, adhesive, nippers, goggles, tweezers, even an apron and gloves. What I hadn't realised was that adhesive and grout don't really keep that long.

What happens when the sun shines

I'm using this Clairefontaine sketchpad for some 'wet in wet' work.  It has 180gsm drawing paper so can take a lot of water and doesn't buckle.

It's called a travel album and I think I may have bought it with the intention of doing some painting on holiday.  It was sitting on my shelf just asking to be used and the sun was shining... 

...and maybe I was thinking about summer and flowers and butterflies.

And there it was. A butterfly shaped accident.

I love when that happens!

 

Happy Accidents

My recent art class had us working with ink and bamboo pens and I loved the effects so much I came home and ordered a selection of inks and different sizes of pens.  

I've been playing around with the inks on different papers using the bamboo pens and brushes. This painting was another of those happy accidents which I love so much. I had initially planned to try doing a very black sky using ink on wet paper. The paper was a bit too wet so the ink ran but it produced what looked like a tree when the paper was turned upside down. It made me think of a bleak and snowy landscape so I did a wintry sky using watercolours and used a white ink pen and liquid ink with a brush to create the snow. 

I don't think I would have produced anything like this if I had set out to do it and I am definitely experimenting much more these days rather than working on anything specific. I'm feeling a lot more confident in being able to create my impression of a scene and as a result I'm starting to produce more 'abstract' work.  However the art class was great for helping me brush up on my drawing skills while also challenging me to be more expressive.    

Another beautiful spring day, cloudless blue sky, warm breeze... just perfect.

Been re-aquainting myself the art of portrait drawing, making a few pencil sketches of images in newspapers and magazines. It's been a long time since I did sketches of the face (quite obvious from the results thus far!) but it's still great fun trying to get a likeness. And a great feeling when, with one tiny mark, the person you are trying to capture stares back at you from the paper!  Somehow you've managed to get the exact tilt of their nose, the shape of their mouth or the turn of their head.

Much harder will be drawing from life. Who is going to sit still long enough I wonder...

Well they've had their best ever performance this spring, continuing to give a fabulous display week after week and well past their allotted time. But after many encores my tulips have now sadly taken their last bow.  I can't be too sad because ready to make an entrance is the rambling rose, accompanied by the lavender, the gentiana and the aguilegia.  A welcome return year after year but a new act waiting in the wings is the Gerbera 'Forever Daisies' Collection and I can't wait to see how Crista, Pam, Piroska, Rachel and Sunny will fare among the other stars of the garden.

 

 

A tranquil oasis with trees, waterfalls and bridges, where ducks swim, children play and dogs are walked. Located in a quiet residential area, the noises of everyday life won't disturb you here. There are plenty of quiet spots where you can sit and contemplate, water and birdsong the only soundtrack to your dreams.

The bridges and winding pathways guide you over and around a deep pool which is fed from above by a small waterfall which gurgles and gushes over rocks and stones.

This garden paradise is only a brief walk from our home - we are truly blessed!  Today it was sparkling in the sunshine, a kaleidescope of colours.  The water was like a mill pond creating the most beautiful reflections.

Sketchbook and pencils remained in my bag as the camera was definitely the favoured medium for capturing all this vibrancy. 

The name of this paradise is Johnston Gardens.  More images can be found in this album.

The warmest day of the year so far.  The garden is now so full of life and at its most perfect. I love this time of year.

This is Tulip 'Madonna' - isn't she beautiful? 

The apple blossom will never be more perfect than it is right now.  Expecting a bumper crop of delicious apples this year.

The pots of spring bulbs have been moved from their winter position at the side of the shed to the front of the shed so I can now see their glory from the kitchen window. Sharp sand has been scattered round the hostas to deter the slugs and snails. I've tried to keep the rambling rose from rambling too much or I won't get through the garden gate!  Plants in clay and terracotta pots have been given a large drink of water and books and magazines in the summer house have been re-arranged and weeded respectively. I'm off to put my feet up and read more Wilkie Collins.

Weather or not

This morning a colleague commented on the fact that the sun wasn't shining. I thought it was a perfectly lovely morning - calm, warm and dry.  Anyway, it set me thinking that for most people the weather dictates whether they will be happy that day or not.  Blue skies and sunshine and everyone is happy but on the cloudy days a smile seems hard to find.  Why is that?  Why should we let the weather decide if our day will be good or bad, whether we'll smile or frown?  Yes, life has its ups and downs and there are some days when dark clouds are just an added misery.  But whether we're happy or sad, grumpy or mad, what's the weather got to do with it?

January

"January is here, with eyes that keenly glow,
A frost-mailed warrior
striding a shadowy steed of snow."
Edgar Fawcett

Very apt given that the UK is in the grip of the coldest January in nearly 50 years.  A recent NASA satellite picture shows the entire country covered in snow.



It is beautiful, but I do long for Spring...

September

"By all these lovely tokens, September days are here, with summer's best of weather, and autumn's best of cheer." September by Helen Hunt Jackson.

A definite chill in the air this morning but the sun has shone all weekend and I notice that the leaves on the trees are starting to change colour.  I do love September.

Here is a picture of the summer house we ordered on Saturday.  Finally!  We have had our garden nearly a year now and it has looked incomplete with just a concrete base in the corner where the summer house should be.  That should all change in about six weeks.  Then we need to get the electrics put in and have it painted.  I'm thinking inside it will have white walls and floor with maybe a pale blue ceiling. The exterior will be a wood stain - not too dark. It would be nice to paint the exterior like it is in this picture but I think that might be a litte too bright for our little garden!

Then it's off to the art supplies store to get myself an easel.  I've always wanted one and now I will have the space!

Summer's Lease

"...one wishes for more, but it suddenly turns to leave, dragging summer away." August by Elizabeth Maua Taylor

It's been a particularly awful summer this year as far as the weather is concerned so really we should be glad to see the back of it.  But with autumn just around the corner and winter not far behind, one really does wish summer could stay a little longer.