Papaver

My poppies are blooming!

One patch is blooming ahead of the other.

A little army of pods ready to burst.

The petals look like crinkled tissue paper.

So delicate, they only last a few days.

They color is just stunning. 

I had to share them with you.

Palm Beach Shells

As promised, some of my shell collection.

These shells are from Palm Beach, Florida.

The tiny orange ones are my favorite. 

They are hard to spot. You might find one a day.

They are are such a brilliant orange color.

I also love the shells with the plum striped patterns

and the texture of shells covered with barnacles.

I have such fond memories of my trips to Florida.

Shell Collector

Is it too early to be dreaming of summer vacations?

My favorite seaside activity is collecting shells.

I love combing the beach for tiny treasures.

One year, I only collected orange and purple shells.

I'm going to have to show them to you.

Maybe tomorrow.

Brush Collection

Tools of the trade.

All lined up and ready for work!

Mostly watercolor brushes, 

an awl and calligraphy nibs.

My favorite brush is the rigger.

I've trimmed off most of the hairs on one of them

to get an extra fine line.

Sneak Peek

I was invited to submit a picture of my studio to istudio,  
a project started by Etsy jewelry designers, Mod3rnArt.

This is just a sneak peek of my photograph. 

The behind the scenes pictures are so intriguing!

click here to visit istudio.

I have a tiny, tragically small, workspace in our cottage.

The truth is, I rarely work in one place.  

I sprawl onto every available surface. 

Including the dining room table.

This fairly neat girl makes a really big mess!

I often think of the painter, Alice Neel,

who worked in her tiny New York apartment.

She always cleaned up for company.

Pretty Green Planet

It has been pouring buckets of rain all weekend.

Everything is vibrant green in our corner of the universe.

I painted several of these fanciful, patterned worlds.

You can see more of them in my shop.

I think these patterns would be delicious on a set of dishes.

Don't you think?

Dogwood

My little Dogwood tree is blooming. It is the Virginia state flower.

I love watching the four petal blossoms unfurl.

I'm seeing some green drawings in my future.

Stay tuned.