Country Life

                                                                   Bluebells May 2010
I am finding bluebells easier to capture in watercolour if you don't use blue shades to paint them!

It seems like ages since I updated my blog and so much has been happening from a painting at a charity event in London this week raising funds for some very special children along with gallery news and so much more.

Having recently moved to a beautiful cottage I have been busy with the task of setlling in and now I am working on the landscape design. It is so important to me to be surrounded with vibrant colour,unusual shapes and light forming shadow patterns to create interest to my eye and artists soul throughout the seasons.

I am surrounded by bluebell woodlands which are so heavenly to walk through especially in early morning light.

I have carefully been choosing plants in the same way I think about painting. I have a blank canvas to fill with exciting colour. I can almost see my result but I want the vision to be flexible. Just the same as when I use watercolour pigments. I allow their natural qualities to shine and create magic. By being restrictive I could end up with a boring painting that is missing in excitement. I don't want a boring garden so I am aiming at surprises around every corner with  a variety of colour and shapes to create interesting contrasts.

I have a large rockery for heathers, an old stone wall for  aged interest and rose beds near the cottage frontage. A seperate larger pebble area looks like s coastal section. This has planters of herbs and looks wonderful with a huge old trough planted with alpines in the background. Plants of different shapes and sizes fill small gaps  to  soften the hard edges. How amazing I still think soft and hard edges when I am not even painting.  

I am still creating. I am painting with flowers and plants rather than with a brush for now and I can't wait to sit  still and enjoy painting all I lovingly placed. These plants will grow and mature for years to come of guests visiting to paint and for my own pleasure. Life as always is so wonderful.

                                                  *********************************