July ramblings

The quiet is noticeable here at the lake. After a long weekend of holiday cabin folk and nightly 4^th of July festivities, it so nice to hear the quiet again. And we are rejoicing that the rains finally came! After a month of intense heat and no rains, we’ve received almost 3” in 24 hours and it is such a blessing! No amount of hosepipe (BBC/Monty Don influence) watering can make up for actual rain! This spring, as a filler for two sections of our back garden, we broadcast flax seed. Due to the culinary habits of two main bunnies and deer, we no longer grow any veggies or phlox or gladioli . . . or  really anything with an ornamental garden tag on it! Those are all “blue-plate special” foods for these critters! But as I prefer not to have an 8’ fence right outside the kitchen door – we adapt, adapt, adapt. I’m not sure what immature flax looks like, but we have a lovely bright green carpet of thriving plants covering those two parts of the garden. And the flax has now become a favorite napping place for a beautiful deer. This doe feels right at home, and most afternoons she can be found taking a nap and leisurely nibbling the rogue gladioli volunteers coming up through the flax around her.

It's been a couple of difficult months – I’ve got lingering issues with my concussion from March and with the dramatic changes in my Mom’s health, it’s been a challenge to reconnect with the discipline and joy of painting. So I’m going back to basics – re-working what’s familiar and mixing it up with new techniques and watercolor paper. To prepare for an upcoming class with the international artist, Alicia Farris, I’m experimenting with her favorite paper – 300 lb. Arches Hot Press watercolor paper. Hot Press paper is much smoother and more sensitive to the amount of water and paint than my standard 300 lb. cold press paper. It will only tolerate so much “working,” which makes me use a lighter touch and be much more thoughtful in how I apply the paint.

This week’s painting is familiar, but it’s such a favorite of mine – Artist Point Light, 8” x 11” on 300 lb. Hot Press paper, features an iconic landmark in the northern community of Grand Marais.