Blooming Flowers Inside And Out

Lately I've sold a few things on ebay and Etsy.... which has allowed me to do a little spending on some "happys" for myself.    One of which, is this sweet painting by Kathryn Glover. I've admired Kathryn's work ever since I found her blog some months back.  She has opened two Etsy stores.  One with great vintage items, and the other with her paintings.  I purchased this charming floral.

I'm really drawn to the colors, subject matter, and Kathryn's painting style.  Take some time to check out her blog and see the wide variety of work she has posted.  I'm keeping this one on my mantel for now where I can see it best and most often.  Kathryn has become an inspiration to me to keep working on my drawings and pastels daily.... I can't report that I've been very good about daily work, but I work off and on throughout the week.

Our peonies are fabulously in bloom right now.  Lots of bouquets all over the house, and the smell is heavenly.  This seemed to be a nice opportunity to do a bright pastel, so I picked a few and put them in an old McCoy vase.   I decided to use colors I love and just kept laying lots of pastel down on the paper.  I took this shot before I'd finished.

And the following in my studio today.  Messy, but fun!

You may be wondering if I"m still rug hooking.... and the answer is yes, but something small and simple for now.  Below is a bit of a new little clutch I'm doing.  Lots of roses, with this luscious pink wool for background.

Our pond  seems to have exploded with growing plants and growing fish overnight!  Yesterday my husband counted 17 water lilies.  These hardy peach lilies have taken over and rooted themselves outside of their pots, and into the mud on the bottom of the pond.  Our pond is man-made, but it's not your typical crystal clear clean pool.  It's sort of taken on a life of it's own.... as has much of our outdoor space.  It's rather wild and natural at this point, but the plants and fish are doing great.  We just let nature it do it's own thing.

The yellow water iris has rooted itself outside of the pond into the ground all around it.  All the little white petals have blown off three large white oaks that you can't see in this photo.

And last, a shot of my Summer Jewels rug minus the kitty from my last post.

Hope your weekend is happy and restful.
xo
dulcy