sketching a la Jane La Fazio

I signed up for Jane's sketching book class and lesson two was yesterday, painting fruit. Didn't have time till today, then got a lot done.

I do enjoy painting persimmons. This one is not bad.
Shadow is too big, didn't occur to me to cur it off with the frame.
Shadow really was that big, from the low morning light.
Wrote a haiku. I ate tons of persimmons last fall but this year
Got a rash around my mouth and it's the only new thing I'd been eating.
It's an unsightly rash, so I'm laying off persimmons just in case.
Bummed.

Next up was a lime, which didn't excite me from the start
cause there just isn't much happening with a lime.
The cross section is better but now the pulp areas look too dark.
Ah well.

So then I tried a banana and I'm really pleased with it.
Was using the overhead light so the shadow is tight and dark.
Coming up with a type face for the words and drawing
a fun frame are as enjoyable as the fruit part.

garden v.2013

Ti tree - very happy against the back fence
with that ancient wreath for company.
I quite like the bright pink against
the weathered wood of the fence.

Another spring, another garden. I love spring with all its hopes and plans. More tomatoes! Less basil! Hotter peppers! Better peaches!

Over the winter we took out the white Babcock peach that neither of us liked (that I mistakenly bought when my eyes were blinded by garden lust that day at the nursery) and replaced it with a yellow peach that promptly burst into gorgeous bloom and will hopefully provide us with bushels of peaches.

Apricots!!! Tons of them.
The apricot tree went berzerk this year
and is covered in fruit.
Fingers crossed that the birds leave us some.

To date we've planted <drum roll please> tomatoes (12 varieties), peppers (12 varieties), spinach, fava beans (just cause), zucchini, cukes, cauliflower, Brussells sprouts, onions (3 kinds), oregano, basil, and cilantro. 

Still got lots of space out there so on the kitchen in small pots are yet more tomatoes, peppers, and cukes, plus some broccoli. Soon as they're big enough, out they go.

Nectarine tree in bloom. It has the most gorgeous flowers.
Large 2" dia pink blooms that remind me of a moss rose.

So far, the Excel Garden Plan is holding up well. I dutifully consult the Plan when needing to plant something because the family who gardens together eats lots of good meals together!

Planting the onions sets was a pain. 80 of them. Hands and knees. Scrape bark aside. Poke hole with dandelion digger. Stuff onion set into hole. Scrape dirt back over hole and tamp down. Fluff bark over dirt. Scoot foam kneeling pad 4" backwards. Wash, rinse, repeat.

The backyard. It and the kitchen are why we bought this house.
Further to the right is a covered patio with our table and chairs.
Along the back of the house are the kitchen and family room,
both with lots of windows so that you can always see the yard.
Maggie is watching Mabel the cat who's looking out the door at us.
That's my $2 garden cart in the middle of the patio and
our 5gal paint buckets that now house 6 of my 14 (!) tomatoes.

pear with spoon

Well... just got done playing around with my camera and then photoshop, and I have an image I'm very happy with.

I took several pictures of a pear with some lace and an old spoon, then chose one and began to play with textures and layers. This is the original photo. Not bad but not very interesting.

Twenty minutes and lots of 'undo's later, I have this. Much more interesting.