Source Imagery (botanical)

Pine tree, mild winter, Flatirons Vista

Early 2017 has been mild here in Colorado (no snow or ice to speak of in and around town this week).  But even though the ground is dry, the light in the image below still says winter to me.  One of the reasons Colorado’s cultural scene is less developed than those on the coasts, I think, is because the sunshine here motivates you to get outdoors and explore.

Pine tree, Flatirons Vista South, Boulder, Colorado

 

One of my favorite trails right now is Flatirons Vista located on the west side of Highway 93 just south of Boulder.  It has two concentric loops that cover grassy and wooded terrain.  I like it because it’s less crowded than some of Boulder’s other trails, and because the trees smell great.  I also love the variety of views.

Trinity ES&C

Looking southeast toward Trinity ES&C, a gravel mine off Highway 93 in Boulder, Colorado

Look east to see a gravel mining operation and its industrial, sculptural forms.  Look west for mountainous views.  Also, there’s a lot of pleasing texture between the grass and trees which I find kind of mesmerizing.

Flatirons Vista South

My dog Hazel cruising along beside me, Flatirons Vista South, Boulder, Colorado

Anyway, while it’s a treat to be able to get out and hike trails that’d typically be covered with ice this time of year, there’s a relentless quality to the early heat and activity that has me feeling stretched.

Tomato vines

I was going to review an art book for you today, Artists Living with Art by Stacey Goergen and Amanda Benchley, but the fall garden has me under its spell.  So here’s a picture of some waning tomato vines instead.  It’s super-windy right now and the sky has that weird, intense yellow-green color that we sometimes get before a storm.  It’s about to turn cold, I hear.  Are you ready for the change?  I am.  Almost.

tomatoes

Tomatoes in the garden, October 2016

 

September

September is the month my husband and I pull honey, extract it, bottle it, and bring it to market, so I always feel a little extra busy this time of year.  Beekeeping feeds my appetite for tidy/tangled botanical imagery.  In this case, it’s the impromptu grass brush he uses to brush straggler bees off combs that caught my eye.

honey

Honey in the comb, September 2016

Oregano

Just because.

Bee1

A sentimental pic of a honeybee foraging on oregano in Boulder, Colorado, July 2016

 

bee2

Oregano flowers and their tiny hairs are hard to see! I like how photographs can give a clearer picture of what’s happening with a plant at that smaller level.  The thing that most interests me here is being able to see how the oregano’s buds are arranged on each stem.  (That, and the tiny hairs. of course.)

 

 

Summer Yarrow

Noodling around with some ideas about theme and composition for the Boulder Barrel Project.  Here are some updated pictures of the Winter Yarrow I posted about back in January.

SummerYarrow1

Summer yarrow blossoms, July 2016, Boulder Colorado

 

SummerYarrow2

Using a white sheet as a backdrop here do differentiate the blossoms from their background.

 

SummerYarrow3

Most of our yarrow is white but some of it blushes pink, like someone just tossed of a jar of paint onto the garden as they were walking by.

 

Work in Process

 

Studio1

Work in process: this 3-d piece, based on an idea/memory of the painting below, is an ingredient in the new series of photographs I’m making titled “Future Perfect.”

 

Walking-Stick-on-maple-shelf

“Walking Stick,” encaustic and ink on panel, 5″ x 4″

 

Studio2

Wood chips on floor.

 

 

A Little Chaos

. . . is happening in the garden this week.

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Spring chives, April 2016

A post-snow flush of green pushing its way up and out.

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Lavender, just greening, April 2016

 

Enjoy garden design?  Check out A Little Chaos directed by Alan Rickman.  It’s the only costume drama I can think of with a plot that turns on the idiosyncratic placement of a single pot. Middling performances by some terrific actors and a fascinating performance by Rickman.  Beautiful shots of formal and informal gardens in various stages of completion.

 

Tufty grass

Tufty grass

Can anyone identify this orangey species of tufty grass for me?

 

Tufty grass

It grows in Boulder and is curlier and a little softer looking than the other grass that surrounds it.

 

Tufty Grass

Here it is again with some friends.