big sky

Today I helped my friend Aaron Grayum (www.tinymusicbox.com) sell his artwork at a local art show. My favorite piece of his was a landscape, mostly sky, with a boy flying a kite. Later in the day I had a conversation with someone who asked me if I ever focused on skies in my own work. All these references to the big blue ceiling had me thinking tonight about trying a piece with only a tiny bit of land, leaving a little more room to dream.

twilight tree study

I painted this tree over the winter when the sun was setting through its bare branches. We had a long afternoon of slow rain today, and I was drawn to the deep, clean green of its leaves now that spring is here.

mountain heartache

For some reason this week, I have been missing the mountains. I have been thinking every morning when I wake about opening my eyes to misty ridges, hearing the bubble of a stream, smelling that clean pine pure rain smell. It has been a dream of mine for over ten years to make my home there, and sometimes I just wonder what I am waiting for....

neighborhood twilight

I have noticed lately that the sunsets have been particularly warm and golden, even from such a limited perspective as my little neighborhood. Tonight it was a bit rainy, but still a warm, pleasant atmosphere outside as the light faded.

banks of the harpeth

This piece is from an image I shot earlier this spring on the banks of the Harpeth River. We are planning a canoe outing there sometime this week, so I am looking forward to revisiting the area, this time with a view of the water.

evening primrose

A few summers ago I thought it would be great to plant a variety of medicinal herbs and plants in the diverse little ecosystem that is our yard. I was not as good at growing them as I thought I would be, discovering that many medicinals need a delicate balance of forest soils or just the right amount of sunlight to thrive. They survive in the wild in exactly the place that is best suited for them, but they are sometimes difficult to cultivate for that reason-- we do not always know the exact spot to plant them. One of the few plants that thrived in my urban jungle was Evening Primrose. I found out later that it succeeds in poor conditions, even growing between cracks in concrete. These plants that most would consider weeds have reseeded themselves every year, and this is one of last year's dried seedpods, making way for the new green growth of spring.

dead wren

After hearing mysterious chirps coming from the basement this morning, we rooted around until we found this tiny injured baby wren just inside the door. I refuse to kick the wrens out when they nest above the dryer-- they are one of the few examples of wildlife I can witness up close in the city. I reacted as I was taught by my father as a young girl...put on some gloves, put the bird in a shoebox, and see if it recovers. Unfortunately, this one had a heart attack when I scooped it into the box, and died suddenly. It was quite tragic for me, since last year's brood of house wren hatchlings were snatched by a red-tailed hawk right outside my window on the day they fledged. I had hoped for a better fate for this year's babies. We buried it at the feet of St. Francis in the backyard and sowed wildflower seeds on its grave.

forest stream

This image is from one of my recent reference-finding outings. It was a beautiful spot next to a meadow on a dead-end road, and well worth finding when I was lost. I may attempt a larger version of it in the studio this week.