Thursday, May 26, 2011

Pond and Purple Vetch

Pond and Purple Vetch by linfrye
Pond and Purple Vetch, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP

Last weekend, C and I walked another park in our own town. This athletic park has four areas for baseball, soccer and the like as well as a recreation center and swimming pool. Though there were no formal trails, we walked its circumference and found several cattail ponds and colorful purple vetch covering some of the pond banks.

To paint this, I tried to simplify the tumble of grasses, vines, and other wildflowers of this area ... I do want to tackle this again, as I want to paint a bit more of that colorful vetch. Purple vetch, so beautiful in its pink/purple dressing, belongs to the pea (legume) family and is often grown as a cover or forage crop. I LOVED the colors of these especially against the tawny grasses leading to the pond.

We're in a hot, hot spell -- yesterday we were over 90F; today we'll be even hotter. As the temps rise, so does the humidity, making the air a bit sticky and wet feeling ....

The tornados and storms continue to pelt the middle states, and prayers continue for the safety of so many in their path.

Stay safe and cool!

3 comments:

Capt Elaine Magliacane said...

Beautiful purple vetch... I enjoy your paintings and I learn something too.. Hot and Humid here too, but thankfully no tornadoes the people in Missouri and Alabama got hit again last night... I will be keeping them in my prayers for sure.

Joan Tavolott said...

Nice job simplifying the foreground! Lovely colors and softness to this piece.

It is hard to imagine that so many tornadoes have devastated so many areas recently. My heart and prayers go out to those affected.

Have a great day! Stay cool!

Teri said...

The whole scene is just beautiful Lin.