Farm Fresh Flowers

9"x12" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival board (Raymar)

"Be in awe of all that is alive.
Be in natural wonder.
It is the pace of peace."
- Gunilla Norris, from "A Mystic Garden"


Click on the image for a close-up!

It has been a bit of a hectic pace in our lives lately. One daughter is moving to northern Virginia and we spent last week down there looking for an apartment. It was our good fortune to stay & visit with dear friends that we have known since our children were toddlers, and now they are grown! I am relieved and happy that this is the city where one daughters next adventure will start (and perhaps both of them!).

It was a wonderful thing to come home to a garden growing into a bit of wildness, but not too far gone to craziness! The flowers I had cut from the farm market for my last painting were still alive, save for just a few blossoms. So I cut them down to arrange again for a new painting. Just goes to show you, when they are cut fresh from the ground, they can last for a long time! It felt like forever since I had last painted! I do take a sketch pad with me everywhere, so I can at least "think out loud" on paper, even on hectic trips, I get a few sketches in here & there. So I'll have some material from my sketch book to paint from, too.

Please email me - roxannesteed@gmail.com for more information & pricing of this painting!

This afternoon a friend dropped by & was surprised how 'tame' the hummingbirds are in my front garden. I was so happy that she could share in the 'enchanted-ness' of this little retreat outside my front door. It is such a peaceful place for me. I have a load of basil to harvest out there! The 'Brandeywine' tomatoes are getting bigger still, not red yet, but at least a lighter green! The morning glories are taking over the fence, just in time as the nasturtiums that were once so gorgeous, are now leggy and sad (they got cut back today). We commented on how full and lush it will look next year! I'm still surprised at how far things have come.

One of my collectors wrote to ask if I'll be doing some more Irish landscapes from my last trip over. Yes, indeed- of course! I had full intentions of starting them before now, but was quite distracted by this garden. Naturally I'll be painting some more of the rocky coastal scenes of Kerry, and town-scapes as well. I also have started some sketches (in the idea birthing stage) of some of the figures I saw playing on the beach- two of the warmest beach days I've ever seen in Ireland in June!
And naturally, more boats around Dingle and Portmagee! I'm grateful to my friend Barbara for introducing me to this area- she has posted her new retreat dates for 2010 on her website.