Category Archives: Beauty of Nature

Mother Nature performs miracles all around us. If we don’t pay attention, we miss them. But I don’t think she cares. Her Majesty doesn’t play for an audience. She performs for her own enjoyment.

Springtime in the Rockies

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Five days ago I was in the Dominican Republic on the east coast in Bavaro and Punta Cana.  Palm Trees lined the beaches and streets.  The sand was white and fine and felt wonderful between my toes.  The sun was dazzling and the blues, turquoises and aquas of the sky and water were breathtaking and took my breath for sure.

I wanted to bottle the air, the breeze, the sand, the sun, the feeling of warmth and salt and freedom.  What a marketable product that would make.  I wouldn’t even put a label on it.  I’d just let it beguile the purchaser all by itself.  Who could resist?

As I drove to the airport, I said “goodbye palm trees”, “goodbye beach”, “goodbye clean, clear ocean”.  I felt a tinge of sadness.  I arrived home after midnight.  It was dark.  I had no idea what I would see the next morning.  But, I sort of knew, because it’s March in Utah.  Utah is a desert and so grey, brown and drab after the snow melts.

Morning came and the was sun shinning.   That was a plus.  As I moved around the house and looked out the windows, bright spots of color caught my eye.  I had to grab my camera and head out for a walk to see what was happening.

Forsythia, pink and white plum trees, crocus and new growth on the rose bushes. Most every tree and bush is coming to life.  It’s Spring!  It’s Springtime in the Rockies.

The crocus are timidly showing and the daffodils are exploding.  The peonies, ground cover and tulips are peeking through.  Even my lilac trees are budding.

Yes, I miss the tropics.  But there is a lot to be said about the change of seasons and the dry air of the desert.  That is the majesty of our Mother Earth.  There is beauty wherever you look.  If you look, there is beauty everywhere.

Little Miracles

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I’ve been taking pictures of the buds popping out on the trees since the first of February.  They started as little nubs and as I walked by them each day I could see the nubs swelling.  Then they began to look fuzzy.  Then a little fissure developed that gradually opened wider and wider until layers of petals were discernable.

Each day that passed brought different weather, a little sunshine, then a little rain, then some wind.  Driving by, the changes were nearly imperceptible.  But this two month metamorphosis was so exciting to watch in the slow-mo of walking. Gradually,  I couldn’t leave the house without my camera.  Something was bound to present itself that should be noticed and recorded.

This flowering plum tree has been my motivator this winter to get off the couch and get outside to walk.  Watching it change so slowly from stark bare branches into a fragrant canopy has given me so much food for thought…..about the little changes in my life going unnoticed…..the little changes in my thinking…..the blossoming of my happiness.

I’m so thankful for all of the little surprises, the little miracles constantly working in my life.  I’m so thankful!

In Progress

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I am plugging along on a painting and pleased with its progress.  It’s pleased with its progress.  I know this because it all but said “ta-dah” as I stood back a ways and checked it out.  I get to a certain point and get anxious to be “done” and start something new.  But, one thing is for certain:  a painting is not done until says it is.

I’ve realized through the years though that once a painting is finished, I lose interest in it.  My enjoyment comes in the doing, in the painting, in the mystery of not knowing what it will end up being.  In this case, there is no question it will be a pink rose.  But there is the potential of it being much more.  It could evoke an emotion or a feeling or a memory of a feeling.  It could draw you in closer only to divert your attention to something lurking in the background.  There’s really no way to know until it’s through with you.

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It’s occurred to me that everything is in “progress”.  Everything in life is always unfolding and expanding. And, it is in the becoming that we find the fun…..the joy.  It’s our job as the creator of our life to lighten up, relax and listen and enjoy the progress.

Where Do You Find Your Inspiration?

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If I wait for inspiration to strike….it will be a long time between paintings.  So, I have to go outside.  Go for a walk.  It never takes long once I look up at the sky, along the mountain tops, scan the trees and catch sight of a bird or two for my mind to relax and begin to wander and to wonder at all of the colors, the shapes, the soft edges and the hard ones. They point me in one direction and then another.  It’s an eye exercise and a brain exercise.

The fresh air must go in and clear out all of the stalled thoughts just like sorbet and vodka between courses.  Because suddenly, everything seems fresher and more appealing.  I’m more receptive.

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I made the trip down to the local Flower Patch shop.  They always have a good selection of beautiful roses.  I was looking for reds or pinks.  These were great for my purposes.  But the big surprise was the red berries.  I love them.  They provided the polka dots I’m always on the watch for.

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The walk did the trick.  The trip to the Flower Patch more than filled the need for reds and pinks.  I’m inspired.  Where do you find your inspiration?

 

The Yellow Rose

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Several days before Thanksgiving, I bought some beautiful yellow roses to use as centerpieces on the table.  It took a couple of days for them to unfold.  Slowly they made their way from compact buds to full flower.  I kept taking pictures of them, moving them around in the sunlight.  With each move, the light bounced around and kissed the petals in a new way and cast intriguing shadows.  Wow!  They were inspiring!

Since I’ve started blogging, I’m taking a lot more pictures…..of everything.  It’s as if I’ve got to somehow document everything I’m doing.  At first, when I noticed this, I thought it would wear off or at least slow down.  But not so far.  In this case, I’m glad I did.  It’s fun, for me, to see how The Yellow Rose progressed.

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This is the finished The Yellow Rose.  January 22, 2015. Watercolor 22″x30″

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I often wonder just what it is about a subject that inspires the artist, the writer, the sculptor, or the inventor.  I’ve had friends tell me that an idea “struck” suddenly…..out of the blue so to speak.  We use so many phrases like let’s brain storm to come up with an idea.  You know, blue meaning sky, ether; storm…..weather, electricity, lightning, thoughts.  Then there’s the whole light thing.  It’s light and lack of light that defines shapes and how we see them.

Actually, what we need to fully investigate these deep thoughts and musings is a glass of wine and a few philosophical friends.  Probably a Pinot Noir.

 

Quilts – Chickens And Eggs

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In the summer, chickens are at their best when they get to wander around in the yard. They peck around among the flowers and sometimes lay eggs there too!  Their clucks are very appealing.  The way they shake and ruffle up their feathers is so much fun.  I even love the way they separate into their own paths and then suddenly converge on each other and fuss…..like kids in the school yard.

I love themes with chickens, roosters, eggs and flowers.  I can’t resist popping them into a quilt or painting.  The chicken gathering her own bouquet (above) is in the center of this quilt and the four corners have these little egg-lilly vignettes.

These two (above) are also gathering flowers.  They have totally different taste though, as you can see.   There is a magnetic quality, in my opinion, in flowers and eggs.  They’re both fragile but contain inestimable power.  They’re both mystical. They both feed the soul.

 

More Polka Dots

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I love polka dots.  They always draw the eye.  These were starlings…..hundreds of them.

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It was  such a moody, grey, January  day.  The clouds kept thickening. I thought it was going to snow.  Then they thinned out and looked stretchy like maybe the sun would peek through any moment.

But an amazing thing brightened the day.  Suddenly hundreds of starlings swooped down near the trees, but it was a fake out…..they veered to the side, made circle on a 45 degree angle and then slid deftly onto the branches.  The first time they did it, I thought it might  be some kind of aberration.  I called out “come look at this…..hurry”.  But, then, as if for a curtain call, they all took to the air again, flew a circle over our neighborhood and repeated the same maneuver as if it were choreographed.

There were  so  many on a branch that their weight forced it down, then they softly bounced up and down again.  There should have been music to accompany that performance.  We all stood there mesmerized for 10…..maybe 15 minutes until they made their exit en masse.

Her Majesty just crafted a performance piece in my backyard.   Art in motion.  I love polka dots!  I love Mother Nature!

This World Of Ours Is One Big Art Gallery

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Our world is a fascinating place.  I think it’s actually one great big art gallery.  Everywhere you look Mother Nature displays another masterpiece.  Take this tree for instance.  It grows near my parking spot between the bank and the gym.  I watch it change with the seasons.  It’s beautiful in the spring covered in blossoms.  It’s gorgeous in the summer dressed  in one thousand shades of green.

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But, look at this.  It’s December 1st and you can see its bare bones gracefully asymmetrical and symmetrical all at once and then covered with polka dots

I love polka dots.

Freeze Frame Fall, Please

Beauty of Nature,

FallOakTreesIt’s October in Utah. That means spectacular oranges, reds and yellows against the rich dark green of the pine trees. On the sunny days, it sparkles. I’ve been out taking pictures of the scrub oak in the foot hills.

The air is so crisp. The blue of the sky has high, thin clouds stretched across it like the cobwebs decorating the local stores in celebration of Halloween.

I want to freeze frame fall.