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| Shy Frog in Willis |
I consider myself a figurative painter....with a focus on the face, however I am inspired by many things. Last weekend, when I was painting "Bekah in the Garden" I was also taking care of chores around the house. So, in the process of planting bluebonnets addressing various lawn issues (like weeds galore) I made a new, very shy friend, pictured right. This little guy almost went unnoticed due to his clever camouflage trick. I took several up-close and personal photos...so beautiful in his natural habitat I don't think I could create a likeness that could compare with the real thing. Perhaps something for my future challenges.
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| Red Orange Yellow Lantana |
The weekend also brought several other inspirations, including the lantana in our yard. Lantana grow in abundance on our property in Willis, primarily (I think) because they are not the favored delicacy of deer and grow wild. We have a number of plants that I have fussed over. They are spectacular when they are in bloom, which is every season but winter and feature multi-clumps of flowers, each with a slightly different hue. The varieties include flowers that are primarily orange, or plants with blue and purple, to rosy pink petals. I spent some time last weekend 'harvesting' seeds that are formed when the flower cluster dies. This is a bit of an experiment, so I don't know if the seeds need to become intimately acquainted with the digestive system of a bird to re-produce or not. However, my sister-in-law in Oklahoma will be the recipient of these seeds and will test out my hypothesis.
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| Miniature Donkey |
Finally, I had a destination event with the
Woodlands Art League to a home in Magnolia, Texas where we had a paint-out featuring horses (miniature and full size) and a donkey. I got some great reference photos of the animals and an up-close and personal opportunity to see them in 3-dimensions. One of the many challenges with photography is distortion, and I know there is an art to accurately capturing the proportions of the animal (or person). I think the trick is not being too close to the subject.
The miniature donkey is shown right, and one of the mares, below, can be seen resting in the pasture after a full morning of modeling for the group of avid painters.
So, while I may not be generating paintings of some of the amazing subjects in the world, I am certainly thinking about them.
