Macro Lens + Flowers = Perfect Match

Flowers are one of my favorite photography subjects, and when you thrown a macro lens in the mix, it's downright magical.

I bought some cleomes last year and the self-seeded this year, so I got to enjoy them yet again. They are cool and weird and just plain beautiful.

I even managed to (kind of) catch a spider with its prey. Circle of life, yo.

Zinnias!

I picked up some absolutely gorgeous flowers at a road-side vegetable stand and had to get some reference photos for future paintings, they're just too pretty. And also because FLOWERS. Zinnias make me dreamy sigh. I just love them.



I also managed to attract some attention, and had a few live models join the photo session.

It's been a while.

I've never been a fan of the excuses-why-I've-been-away posts so I'm just going to skip that. I hope to post here more regularly, so in the mean time, please enjoy this photos from today's visit to Wellfield Botanic Gardens, of which I've become a recent member. It was so beautiful today that I just had to take a few minutes and fill my soul and camera with nature.

The Weekend in Pictures

I could get used to three day weekends. Really, really used to them! Here's a glimpse of some of the things I saw and did this weekend.



We had friends over for dinner Saturday night. They brought us these gorgeous eggs. Now I want to keep chickens even more. Dwight is opposed, but I'll win him over whenever we move to our dream home in the country. We had a few of them for breakfast the next morning. Delicious!



Just before breakfast, though, we made a quick trip to Lowe's to pick up annuals. We hoped to get mulch, but they were out. Oops. We got just one flat of annuals this year, and I also picked up some herbs - Greek oregano, spicy globe basil, and sweet mint. Gotta have my fresh mojitos this summer!



Dwight grabbed a large container of catmint. Have to think of the kitties, too!



Dwight mentioned that he saw some poison ivy in a flower bed at the front of our yard, so I grabbed the poison ivy killer and searched it out. Wasn't hard to find; there was a ton of it, all in this bed filled with snowdrops (still going strong, even this late in the season).



I had a run in with poison ivy last year, and I didn't want a repeat. It wasn't bad, just a bit on my right wrist and forearm - but it was enough. KILL THE IVY!



Our yard is very shady. Like, ridiculously so. It makes growing a variety of plants a challenge, to say the least. However, it does make our back yard look like a park, so I sort of fall in love with it this time each year. I mean, come on. How can I not appreciate THIS?





I have to admit, we can grow the crap out of hostas, ferns, and bleeding hearts, so that's something.



The hydrangeas and rhododendrons  seem to like it, too, despite getting seriously zapped this winter. The snow up to the keester and super frigid temps meant losing one decorative tree, and our hydrangeas and roses to the ground. Stupid winter. Pfft.



Our tree peony only had two blooms on it this year, and I almost missed them! Fortunately, I did manage to get a photo before the petals fell.



Aside from lots of yard work, I also did some artsy stuff. I worked on (and finished) a 12" x 12" panting of a parrot tulip (finished photo yet to come).




And I started a new thing - paper beads. Kind of digging them!





p.s. All photos were taken with my iPod Touch. I'm kind of in love with that thing. Don't tell Dwight.

On second thought, it's OK. I'm pretty sure he knows. He has one too, and I think he's got a crush on his, so we have mutual understanding.

Sunday Sketching

Decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and sit outside to do some sketching. I first cut a few flowers from the yard and put them in a little metal cup to have as sketch subjects.



I started out with just my pencil, but then decided to grab my cheapo watercolors for some extra fun.

They're EVERYWHERE

I had to look up what exactly these are. Dwight calls them "worms" but their official name is "catkins" (or tassels) and they are the spent male flower from oak trees. See, we all learned something new today. I had no clue. Well, one clue. Dwight and I figured they must have something to do with pollination or creating acorns and I guess we were kind of right. They DO contain pollen, and they ARE required to make acorns. Did you know acorns are the fruit of oak trees? Me, neither. At least I never thought of them that way, but I guess it makes sense. After all, acorns are what make new oak trees. (And by the way, we had a crap ton of them in the fall.)

Oak Trees — The tree that keeps on giving. (Don't even get me started on the leaves.)

Red, White and Blue

Brought to you by nature...

Take some time this week to notice all of the amazing colors found in nature. It's breathtaking!

"In The Garden" Art Show

My very first art show! Well, as an adult.

I did have some pieces in student shows while in high school, full disclosure.  But that was like a million years ago, so I'm claiming this as my first REAL show. Yes, it was a small one, but I was BRAVE and entered two paintings. One was selected for the juried show. I didn't ever think I would win any of the prizes, I just want to take the plunge and give it shot, you know? (And, no, I didn't win a prize or ribbon, but I don't care - I'm just so glad I did it!)

After all, I DID proclaim Be Brave as my motto, so I'd better step up to the plate. It was disappointing that Dwight's painting was not selected, especially after seeing some of the paintings that were. But all art is subjective, and just two judges did the selecting. It seemed pretty clear they leaned towards watercolors. Granted, there were a LOT of watercolor pieces in the show, so that probably had something to do with it!

The gardens were beautiful! The main area was circular divided into four wedges, each labeled with a season. In the center was a small pond, complete with lilies, goldfish and croaking frogs.

My parents came along and were so proud - awww. *blush*

Aren't they cute?

They had a two-story deck thing so we went up there and I got some shots of the grounds. I love the little buildings! Both the one on the left and the greenhouse on the right (you can sort of make it out in the third photo below) had paintings on display. Mine was in the greenhouse. It was perfect. I loved it in there. I wanted to dig up the entire greenhouse and take the whole thing home with me!

The outer ring of the circle was paved with regular paving blocks along with bricks bearing every day of the year. 

There were vertical post markers at the start of each month. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be a giant sundial or what, but it was very clever and absolutely beautiful. I was so impressed with all of the gardens there. 

Pansies and violas - my favorites!

I didn't think to take photos of the winning pieces until a bit later, so I managed to skip right over the "Best in Show" as it was in the first booth. Meant to go back, but spaced it (it was a lovely panoramic watercolor {surprise!} of a farm).  Here are the other winners and a couple of the honorable mentions.

1st Place

Mine next to the 2nd place winner - it was an amazing photo-realistic 

acrylic absolutely deserving of a prize!

3rd Place

A couple of the honorable mentions

Here's to more shows and lots of fun making the pieces I'll enter next time!