Switzerland!

What joy to spend two glorious weeks there with dear friends!

We saw a wonderful VanGogh show in Basil, visited the great Paul Klee Museum in Bern, shopped in sweet, beautiful Liestal, experienced the Alps in Engelberg (town of Angels) at a mountain home at the feet of Mount Titlis, made wonderful drives through countryside of unspeakable beauty, lunched and shopped in Zurich with family, celebrated a birthday, heard church bells, visited a wonderful Church and heard the monks sing or chant at noon, visited a glass studio, visited Karin's art classes (one she takes, one she teaches), and best, the three of us, Karin, her husband, Daniel (who climbed Mount Titlis while I was there!), and I spent hours together painting, talking, and laughing!

A few sketches from Switzerland.... A view of Liestal in Basil State, close to Bubendorf, the village where my friends live.

Next, the river which runs near their home....

View of Gelterkinden, a nearby village, where, as I was looking and drawing, at 4:00p.m., two sets of churchbells played in tandem. It was wonderful beyond all expectations.

In wonderful Engelberg!!! In the Alps, at the foot to Mount Titlis. I sat on a fine bench and drew as my friend walked her Swiss Mountain Dog, Mira. I sketched them as they returned.

The building holds a marvelous restarant, Duke's, where we had dinner that evening, with Mira near our table. I love that dogs can go into restaurants! The owner/chef came out several times to give Mira treats. I am sure they were not as good as our treats were. Such a great dinner that was!

"Swallowtail on Syringa"

Oil on canvas panel 14"x11"

sold

The blossoms this year on the Syringa (Idaho State flower), have been glorious and thick. Each day that they were in bloom I have been unable to get to my brushes..... Finally Friday I found a prepared canvas, plucked a few stems, brought them into the studio, pulled my Swallowtail specimens out of the drawer and started this painting.

I have had a standing arrangement with neighbor children that they get a small painting if they find a dead butterfly and carefully bring it to me. So with 12 or so years of children finding expired butterfly carcases, I have a usable collection. I actually now have a right and a left wing of the Swallowtail I can observe and make my interpretation in paint.

For this painting I decided to begin with the butterfly and build the flowers around it rather than begin with the flowers as I have done before. It was not all bad that way. The last one I painted, a student liked the beginning and bought it without butterfly (does that mean I put too much finish into my work?).

I also wanted warm colors for the composition.

It took both Friday and Saturday to complete.

I am posting it today for my Grand Niece, Mattina, who stayed with me for a month and brought great joy into this house.

"Poppy"

Oil on Canvas Panel 11"x14"

Friday Morning I entered my studio to find my cut poppy was still beautiful and had opened more! I pulled out another canvas and went to work with it for the third time! What a great excuse to mix outrageous reds!  

"Joy in June"

Oil on Canvas Panel 10"x8"

sold

The short days of brilliant, bright and glorious red-orange poppies is here! Wanting to add one to the a painting I am assembling through this growing season, I snapped one poppy, singed its stem with a match, popped it into a vase, and painted it. When I came to the studio the next morning, it was still viable! So I used it as a model the second time on a small vertical canvas and was quite happy with the results. As I was painting it, I considered incorporating some gold leaf in the composition. That was Thursday, June 4, during our local open studio event that we named "1st Thursday". Two of the women who visited that day asked about the gold square on another painting and during our discussion of it one said, "So that is like your signature?" I thought it was a brilliant idea and am considering using some touch of goldness on every canvas..... As the final detail on the Poppy painting I did add some wandering gold.

 

One of my favorite clients called a few days ago and asked me to repaint and add to a mural project I did for them about five years ago. Then I panted dinosaurs for their boys and sunshine and flowers for the young girl. The boys have outgrown their dinosaurs, but she still likes the flowers. It was fun to update the colors and add more in her expanded room.

Little Girl's Room

10' x 10' x 20'

completed May 26,2009

"Mourning Cloak on Crab Apple Blossoms"

Oil on canvas panel 16"x20"

sold

Shortly after our family home was built in 1949, my mother, Ruthilda, planted a flowering Crab Apple tree on the East side of the house spaced between the living room and kitchen windows. Nearly every year of its life it has put on a spectacular display of pinkness each May. In recent years it blooms only every other year. Last year, not one bloom. While that was nice in the autumn (walking in crab apple wine pulp is not pleasant...), I did miss the spring show. I was determined to make three images of the blossoms this year. Timing is everything for this to happen. Many years the tree flowers glorious pink one day, fades to a pale pink in the sun the next day, and has its blossoms blown away in the wind the third day.

I was concerned that would happen while I went to Salt Lake City on May 2nd.

Miracles happen! When I returned to Burley, cool temperatures and rain had kept the blossoms tightly shut. They opened the day after I returned and cool weather kept them beautiful for nearly two weeks!

I was able to use them as the source for the three paintings I wished!

One year I suffered a springtime cold and was sitting in the living room gazing at the tree when I noticed a Mourning Cloak butterfly flittering among the blossoms. I have used that image in watercolor several times. This is the first venture in oil. If the tree and I both live to Spring 2011, I will give it another go.