Loosen up!

Memories of Zoagli

Waiting for Hurricane Beryl

I see the wonderful loose watercolors all over the internet and wonder...how do they get so loose???
My Zoagli photos continue to make me wish I could recreate the beauty and wonder of the dear little fishing village on the Italian coast but they continue to come out strained and flat.  I got a little looser in anticipation of Hurricane Beryl.  Maybe if I painted with wind (lots of it) in mind, it would help.  Any suggestions out there?

Challenge #72-Crescent Moon

Crescent Moon is what The Diva challenged us to this week.  Crescent Moon is like an old friend.  When ever you have a challenge, Crescent Moon will always fit.  So here we go, with a few embellishments.

Paint party Friday

I haven't had as much time to "play" this week as I would like.  But when I was playing it was doodling flowers.  With a lanai full of orchids, they never seem to make it to my page.  Don't hold your breath, but one day I will try to tackle them.  In the meantime "doodle flowers" are my relaxation.  Happy PPF and thanks for visiting!

Pea-Nuckle Challenge

I won't bore you with how many times I drew and redrew this tangle.  They still don't look like they are supposed to but I am done and will study the rest of your entries to see how it is done correctly.  Thank you Laura for another real challenge!

Redland International Orchid Festival

Cattleya mossiae v. semi alba

This past weekend we set out on our annual trek to Homestead Florida, about four hours from us, to the Redland International Orchid Festival.  In the past we drove down, enjoyed the show and then went further south to the Florida Keys for a leisurely overnight stay.  But now we are dog owners, or rather we are Harley's servants.  So off we went and he was fine,  perched in his throne aka dog car seat.  However when we arrived in Homestead, the sun was much stronger than any of us anticipated.  His only goal was to crawl under the tables of the display booths and hide from the sun.  My patient husband took him back to the car  and air conditioning while I raced through the booths.

The Redland International Orchid Festival is evolving into quite a sophisticated show from it's early days. There were 36 vendors from all over the world, classes covering growing, planting, pests, vandas, Schomburgkia, even "orchids of Madagascar".   Each year they have a beautiful orchid poster advertising the show.  Many collect these lovely watercolors for personal display.  I missed last year's poster but did snag one from this year.

No time to waste, Harley and his master were waiting in the car.  I grabbed supplies that I can only purchase at the Festival, bought  four orchids from my "must have" list and headed back to the car.

We stopped for Diet Dr Pepper and Cheetos and headed home.  We were eight hours on the road and about an hour and twenty minutes at the Festival.  BIG difference from previous trips but Harley has added so much to our lives, I am not complaining.

Dendrobium Amabile Nobile

As anyone that raises anything knows, every once in a while you have a "solid gold moment" with whatever it is you are raising.  In my case, my passion is orchids.  Every spring I watch and count the little "pinecones" that will produce beautiful cascades of little orchids, pale pink with an egg yolk center.  This spring my Dendrobium Amabile Nobile produced fourteen (an all time record for it) buds.  They started opening a couple of days ago.  Today I brought it into the house where it is cooler and hopefully the blooms will last a bit longer.  Isn't it beautiful???

70th Challenge!

I cannot believe we are at 70.  Wow!  Way to go Laura aka The Diva.
This weeks challenge was to use brown instead of our usual black and white.  I used a burnt sienna wash and from the time it hit the paper, I felt like I was working on a native American buffalo hide.  And the result??? A native American plea for rain done on some sort of hide.
We could use some too in Southwest Florida.  It is very dry but I know June is on the way and with it the summer deluges begin.

Sketching

This week has been a sketching week.  I have been working so I wasn't able to pull out the "big mess" and create so went with a few minutes here and there.  This is a new adventure in faces.  One was from a photo and the other two from somewhere in my head.  I will keep trying until I get something I like.

Watercolor class

Did I enjoy Linda Lucas watercolor class???  Oh yes!  I love her work with flowers and she shared so many great ideas.  I have a lot to learn but this was great fun.  Unfortunately like so many in Florida, she is a 'snowbird' and won't be back until fall.  In the meantime, practice, practice, practice.

Earth Day Revisited with Strircles and Hybrid

Oh wow, this week I was stumped.  I tried not to peak but could see in random posts that some of you had done some spectacular things with this Challenge #68.
This has been one of those weeks.  I took out the neighbor's mail box trying to park in front of my house and then came in the house, grabbed a nutbar, chomped into it and broke a tooth.
Fixing it required a crown so I guess I will have to make do with current art supplies for a while.  Dentists aren't cheap.
Interesting, when I called to report to the Homeowners Assoc. that I had destroyed the mailbox, they said they were shocked that I was reporting it.  Most people drive off and pretend someone else did it.  No one had ever called in to report it if they had done it.  The damaged homeowner called.  Thanks Mom, you taught me well.
Back to the challenge.  I think I am stuck on Earth Day.  This is a good idea (I think) but the roots don't work.