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| Dew On a Maple Leaf |
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| A Vermont Country Road |
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| New Haven River |
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| Robert Frost Trail |
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| Frosty Morning |
This year I have a 7 x 5-inch spiral notebook to write down the subjects I want to photograph as well as where, and when (aka the time of day). My theme of Embrace Nature helps me focus on those parts of the natural world I don't want to miss.
Traveling is an issue because I do not want to go far. Thankfully, living in a rural area gives me access to a large view of the fall personality.
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| Wild Grapes 2016 |
We are in the time of Find Another Grapevine, as far as birds go. I think about the bears that are showing up, (since the separate compostable trash rule began), and I see the grapes as a big attraction for the bears. Ugh. Balance isn't always as easy as it might seem.
Have a wonderful Week!
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| Birthday roses |
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| Open Summer Fields |
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| Lake Champlain |
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| Town Beach |
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| Tiny Deck Garden |
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| Otter Creek Falls |
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| Fields Days |
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| Lunch Time Along Lake Champlain in August |
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| Spring Sunrise Along Route 125 Ripton, Vermont 16"x20" Acrylic In progress M. Flannery |
It is very expensive to have artwork custom framed. This artist, and I believe many others, have to push our creativity to find inexpensive framing methods. An alternative is to sell artwork without a frame.
Unframed and without a mat, watercolors can be rolled and shipped in a hard cardboard mailing tube.
You can glue cotton canvas to hardboard. Hardboard is thin, easier to ship, and, will fit the thinner depth pre-made frames from big box stores or from rummage sales, and yard sales. Remove the print for your paintings. You can cut the hardboard to fit an old frame that isn't a standard artwork size.
Painting on solid primed wood is another alternative.
Frames make a difference. As I return to painting regularly (or try to), I will begin with the painting in the photo above that has been waiting all these months. It needs the sunrise light added. I like it as it is, but a deal is a deal with my brain to continue with my original image.
The frame is thick wood with no dents or nicks in the frame. It is easy to find yard sale frames that are thin. The canvas depth on the frame in the photo is deep. I feel very lucky.
Ah, not lucky. I still remember arriving late to a big yard sale circa 1996 when I saw a man walking away with a very large gilded gorgeous ornate frame. My heart sank that I didn't get there before he did.
Old wood frames that are ornate are precious finds. If they have pieces missing or the wood is marred, restoring them to an acceptable appearance is, I believe, worth the time. The missing decoration sections can be replaced by making a mold from elsewhere on the frame and using that mold to make the missing piece.
Frame Your Weekend With Fun!
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| Book illustrations |
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| Hand colored |
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| 3.5 inch hand colored book illustration |
They are very hardy, even here in Vermont. The rose hips are large with a lovely dark coral color.
Do you have a favorite summer flower?
The chill in the morning air has convinced me to not resist the end of summer drawing closer. Instead, I daydream about autumn being spectacular. Soup Season is a delightful time of year. I sort of look forward to feeling soft socks on my feet. Even seeing Halloween decorations no longer makes me cringe that they are out so early.
Have a cringeless fantastic week!
Posted using my cell phone
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| An August Lunch Break Canada Geese along Lake Champlain |
The last two days here in Vermont have been lovely with a nice breeze, warm air, and just the right amount of humidity. Good outdoors weather is always a welcomed gift from Mother Nature.
Planning is what I like to do in order to make Spring and Summer feel (to me) like they are lasting longer than the passing of days shows. My 2024 Summer plans have not all been realized. The windstorm last weekend tossed stuff all over my deck. Instead of putting it all back together, unfinished summer arrangement and all, I'm going to change it up for the cold weather. Yesterday I even made notes for the fall.
Knowing what you want, I believe, can get you closer to making it happen. Thus, this Autumn season my theme is: Embracing Nature. Posts will include botanical notes, geology, geography and whatever science branch fits the tree of fall excursions I hope to draw from.
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| Canada Geese resting on the shores of Lake Champlain |
This morning, I was fortunate to get called to fill in on a cancellation for a bone density test. The results are not perfect, but not as bad as I feared. When you are in a depression slump, health can suffer. Exercise is not easy to embrace on a regular basis. I'm on track now, taking vitamins and such. Sweets are off my menu. Exercise, especially weights, will replace some of the hours of sitting in my chair daydreaming.
Not all is lost. I've had some good blog ideas. I've had a lot of laughs on X. I've started reading again. And... I just forgot what else I was going to type. 😂
Anyway, one of the books I'm reading, Code Dependent, Living in the Shadow of AI, by Madhumita Murgia, is fascinating! The introduction alone opened my eyes up to thinking of how AI (artificial intelligence) is so pervasive in everything on the Internet.
Data mining is very scary.
AI is not a subject you don't pay attention to. I highly recommend knowing the scope of AI in your life.
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| An August Sky Over Vermont |
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| August 2022 Route 17 Addison, Vermont |
This summer of 2024 has been the definition of what summer is, hot, rainy, and muggy with weather as delightful as a country fair. I am grateful that I have been able to sit outdoors under an umbrella to have my lunch; and moments to think about nothing special. My list of summer plans may have few things crossed off, but what has filled my days is much appreciated.
Appreciate Your Weekend!
