These pics were taken on a drive from Dublin to Kilkenny by way of the coast. We had a gps, which gave us the freedom to get 'lost' in the countryside on little one lane roads without worrying too much about where we were. The familial word is "zwoobzwabbel" which means intentionally finding and exploring the paths least traveled. We saw numerous ruins of old castles on the roadside, one with a garden shed against the old walls. Beautiful.
On nice days, it's great to go out on the terrace and paint. I've been making big canvasses lately and playing with color and texture on the canvas surface. You can see the leaves that fell on this canvas while I was painting. I like the randomness introduced by the falling leaves.
Tulips are blooming here, or were last week. The fields of tulips fill the horizon. It's hard to imagine unless you can see it for yourself.
Clair and I walked through the woods by the Potomac river a couple of years ago in the early spring. We saw the season's first spring flowers in full bloom. We also could see the season's second growth gettting ready to take over - if you know the woods really well you can pick out the exact time of summer by the flowers that are ascendent in the cycle. It's a special time of year, full of the implied promise (and threat) of a sultry DC summer. Here in Holland, I don't know the cycle of flowers at all, but I can recognize the incipient fading of the season's first growth flowers pictured here. To me, these flowers are a reminder of those we have lost, even while the living blossoms are a reminder to appreciate those who are with us today.
... complete with the finished painting. The leaves that landed on it randomly are now part of the finished painting. I like the randomness introduced by the falling leaves, so I pressed them into the paint.
This painting is really hard to reproduce since it is just one color - so here's a detail which shows the underpainting coming through. This is also about playing with the color and texture of oil paint. It was extremely fun to paint.
Today's painting is a reworked canvas from an older painting. It was painted outdoors, to take advantage of the fresh air and light sun. The canvas is big, more than 3 feet across, so I painted it while it lay flat on the ground. Turns out that is a really fun way to paint. This painting is a doodle, something I do just for fun and to play with the texture and color of fresh oil paint. Fresh paint smells delicious, and I didn't stay in the lines.
