Ducks at Duke

Journal -

Loved watching these wonderful birds and all the young children feeding them!  Spring indeed!

Pre-ops all done.  Will be back as soon as I can!

Early Spring Landscape in Alcohol Ink

An early spring landscape - my demonstration during my Alcohol Ink Class last week ....  Lots of Fun!

Daphne - Happy First Day of Spring!

Journal --

Happy First Day of Spring!  Though the temps have dropped (again!) and the skies are grey - the signs of spring are evident in the expanding buds, daffodils and first blooms of the forsythia.

I open my front door and the heavenly scent of Daphne odora wafts from the middle of my front property to my nose -- I swoon!

I clip a piece to sketch - and the scent beautifies my art room!

Knee Surgery

Journal -

Drawn from the brochure given to me prior to surgery.  Seems my  torn meniscus from 20+ years ago has completely disappeared and the bones are not only grinding together but shifting -- not fun.  Surgery is scheduled for late next week so I'll be offline for a while after that. Yoga has been helping with the pain - but not enough...sigh.

Lenten Roses and Snowdrops

Journal


Found such beautiful Lenten Roses and Snowdrops at Duke Gardens ...
Dinner with the girls before two of them head to Costa Rica - Always such fun, laughter and great food!

Bud Break

Journal -

In the early morning light, the sun breaks thru the clouds and lights the woodlands, revealing a haze of bud break on the maples and hickories. Long shadows fall on damp soil... spring peepers announce the new Season.

Splash and Splatter Pansies

An absolutely gorgeous day yesterday!  Temperatures in the high 60s, bright sunshine, and the feeling that spring really was on its way.  The parks were filled with people -- some even in shorts!
The hardy pansies, crocus and tiny daffodils made it through the coldest temperatures, ice and snow -- and such a cheerful sight for all of us!

Petunias

Journal ---

I've really enjoyed the snow and the winter hibernation, but the cold -- yep, tired of it .. so painting some warmth ...

Red Barns in Snow

Journal ..

We're on a real roller coaster of weather this week. After 9" of snow, ice, sleet, we had a warm up to mid 50s yesterday, melting most of the snow.  Then today, back in the 30s, tomorrow -- 70!! and then snow flurries Thursday. Sure plays havoc on the joints as well as the plants!


I decided to try something a bit different - a bit more sketching and less watercolor.  I love the look of that style and admire the folks here who do that so well ... I used one of my snow photos to give this a try ...