Inland Valley, California Lavender Farm

5"x7" oil on gessoed masonite archival artboard

"If you pass by the color purple in a field and don't notice it, God gets real pissed off."
- Alice Walker, "The Color Purple"



Well, the quote did give me pause for thought....and a chuckle! Yes, how could you not fall in love with rows of lavender. I have been obsessed with the stuff ever since my visit back to San Diego last week. I had lived there for three years, and it's been almost 9 years since I had been back. When I drove into this inland valley to find the farm, it was like driving into an early CA impressionist painting.....took my breath away. Even when you think you 'remember' how beautiful things were, and how much you love a place, it really knocks you out, to go back there. The way the light changes over the course of a morning, the wonderful aromas of warm earth, sage, rose-geraniums, and....of course - the lavender; combine that with the breeze in the trees, the humming of the bees in & out of the mounds of flowers....it is a wonderful multi-sensory experience. And I can't wait to go back next year for next season's blooms!

Finished up a commission this week, hence the lack of posting; shh, it's a surprise!
(I love weddings!) I have been looking through Amazon.com for every book on lavender, trying to find some beautiful, helpful, books to enjoy on my current passion! I harvested my first crop of lavender this week, here at my own house. I put them in bundles tied off with a ribbon, and placed the bundles in a large shallow pottery bowl by my front door. Oh, it's so nice to be greeted by this fragrance every time I pass by. The memory of my trip is renewed each time I venture across the thresh-hold.

Contact me to purchase: roxannesteed@gmail.com