WHEW, NEARLY MISSED IT !

Four hours until Easter. 

If I don't make too many typo's this will get "published" before midnight.

This has been a great week. (In another post I will share our visit to Roanoke, VA.  A very fun town to visit, especially when meeting one's daughter. Yep, overnight stay, amazing food, shopping and the most amazing and FAMOUS salvage store ever.

Will share that soon.)

Yesterday, made another trip to garden shop and bought amazing PINK geraniums and more lavender plants.  Just had to poke a few E.E in them.

Last years lavender didn't make it. Sad.  I have a friend who planted her entire front lawn in small sprigs of lavender. A test of patience and strong back. Within a few years, she had a Provence Field of Lavender. Can you imagine walking up to her front door, in knee high lavender?????

While I am out in the yard, one more short story.

 While attempting to HOIST upright a very large outdoor umbrella, unexpectedly, a huge bird nest tumbled out, landing on my head! 

( Fortunately, no tiny bird eggs.) Haven't a clue how Mrs. Bird, built it while umbrella is prostrate on the cement patio floor!  

Being a collector of empty NESTS, I was thrilled, despite the debris in my hair. Perhaps it is apropos, my hair does somewhat resemble a bird's nest. 

A treasure trove always lies inside a vacated nest.  This one had cellophane candy wrappers.  Receipt. Laundry lint. Berries and sticks. Skeleton leaves. 

Paying homage to the mother bird who built this abode.

Despite being large, it is now fragile after landing on my head. It cautiously rests in a pottery pot, with a "fake" egg tucked inside. 

FINALLY I made time to do some spring-y, Easter-y sketches. 

If you read the last post, you know that I was berating myself for not filling a sketchbook before starting another.

OKAY, made a good start.  

Hong Kong has many parks, but a real favorite is the Bird Park, where men stroll the grounds with their "pet" bird in a beautiful cage or a simple bamboo. (Rather like going out for ice cream or a coffee with friends.) The men linger and mingle the afternoon away, discussing the merits of one's bird.  A bit of a competitive air.

 No Chocolate bunnies for us this year. Mr. H and I are by ourselves for the first time ever in our marriage at Easter.  I guess that is one reason why I managed the sketches this week. smile. 

Treated myself to three small grocery store bouquets of flowers.

You can tell I was excited by them as they are in many of my photos!

 In Roanoke I saw this large, enamel mug. I loved the words. Six dollars well spent. I didn't think about the fact that I can't use it in the microwave. Oh, well it makes a great vase, or paintbrush holder.

Bavarian papier mache eggs.  

Decades ago, (wow that sounds old), I had opportunities to travel to German speaking countries. Besides everything else, I fell in love with the authentic Bavarian folk painting...Easter...Christmas...Spring...

each season has its own quaint and colorful look. 

The photo below shows a few of our eggs. They nestle inside one another. Lace-like doilies separate the eggs. The interior has delicately printed paper that indicates where it was made...

The small bowl is my attempt at paper-clay sculpting.

So that's about it.

If you have stayed with me to the end, I want to share a fun website.

No doubt many of you will be aware of it, but if you aren't and you love all things French.  French sketches. French pastry. French open markets. French flair.  Then this is for you.

PARIS BREAKFASTS is written by the very talented Carole Gillott.

You can even subscribe to her Paris Letters and bi-monthly received a beautiful, large, watercolor from Paris. I will share photos of mine if someone reminds me!

Click here..

You will see her post I enjoyed today, via email (you can subscribe to email/no cost.) I love the last photo in her posting...my all time favorite spring blossom, which you never see in the south.

LILAC

And with that, I say adieu, have a beautiful April. 

And for those who celebrate Easter, a prayer for Peace in this struggling world.  Actually whether you celebrate Easter or not. 

smiles: Sharon

OOPS I MISSED A HALLOWEEN POST

OOPS I MISSED A HALLOWEEN POST, I sure did.  So I will attempt a 30 minute catch up.  that means mostly photos...throwing in a few family ones for posterity...fewer words...impossible...and no proof reading...that heads this toward disaster.  so here goes.

 it is true...one childhood is not enough...especially for halloween. we saw so many adults dressed up, and i mean dressed up. old to young to youngest, all join the fun. 

anyway this is my little attempt to bring painting into the picture. 

i never got the left side finished, anyway it tells a story of my scariest halloween as a child...story saved for another day. 

i took sooo many photos of our yard and porch, now i can't find them so obviously they are still in the camera and haven't been downloaded...such is life around here. but at least my sketchbook got a touch of ORANGE...i love orange in the fall but other times of the year not so much..orange and black were our junior high school colors and i really disliked them at that age...so juvenile.

 Good ol' harry was soooo popular....every other kid was a character from this fantastic series of books...this red robed harry is our grandson...doesn't he look like harry, or am i prejudiced and below next to the scarecrow is his sister...the littlest was Anna from Frozen...she disappeared (probably to refreshment table) so didn't get a picture.

we are still foraging for leaves, dried berries and acorns...but the pumpkin patch was the real find...we took a car full of tiny to tall, fat to skinny, smooth to lumpy pumpkins home with us. 

 the kids grandparents from "out west"came for a two week stay...what a fun time for everyone...they were a big part of our october excursions...

 somehow i managed to get a bit of painting done with an autumn palette...have a show next week so under a bit of pressure to paint and play around with the fun-sters!

kids and art just go together like cocoa and marshmallows...sweet, fun and sticky.  here we are studiously, painstakingly working on pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. no messing around, this is serious stuff to get it just right.

across the atlantic or pacific depending which way you fly are the kiddos that live in china...this is a serious holiday for the ex-pats who live there and none get into it more than their papa...

r

papa is concentrating on carving while YiYi sits in her princess dress amidst the seeds and pulp.  note the type of pumpkin they have....pretty cute. then it is off to the most amazing clay...love the colors.  lots of cute characters made by 12 hands.

back to north carolina,  the kiddos made lunches for some lovely women who find themselves without a home and staying at the salvation army. they were guests of a local church who give them respite, a warm place to sleep, and three meals a day. lots of volunteers are needed for such an undertaking, so our family did lunches and a breakfast. 

bags were decorated...sandwiches made...brownies...chips...and personally chosen tiny candy bars filled them to the top.  we drove them down to the church and met the ladies who are having their most beautiful weeks in a long time.  so friendly and welcoming. we left with new friends.

well if you made it this far, let me just wish you a very giving, creative, loving november.  there is always time to think of another. i know that you are finding your own ways of sharing.

smiles, sharon

ps...30 minutes turned to 60 but it was worth it.

Summer's Favorite Things: #1 Farmer Markets

I have been thinking about how much I love summer. Light weight clothing, sunshine (for us mixed with huge thunderstorms), BBQ's and S'mores, painting outside, surrounding field crops near our home, community swimming pool full of splashing kids, trees chock full of dense leaves and song birds, out door art shows, inviting white wicker chairs, open windows, and our wonderful gurgling porch fountain...

This little posting is the first in my list of favorite 
SUMMER ACTIVITIES.

Number 1

 FARMER'S MARKETS

Half a mile from our home is this colorful market. Just love to go there. I am not sure if it is the wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables to choose from, or the very quaint, European market styled red umbrellas that cast a rosy glow over everything.

Behind the scenes of a market can be as interesting as the front. Those gigantic sunflowers make me smile....

My painterly interpretation of  summer's many markets...complete with little floral bouquets wrapped in lacy 
paper doilies. This is a large painting and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute creating it. Available on website or through RiverView Gallery in Maryland.

Four years ago I participated in an outdoor art show in western Maryland, up in the scenic high hill country. Near my booth was this amazing market with its blazing oranges, rusts, and greens. 
Amazon sized pumpkins, stacked corn stalks-squirrels darting in and out, from the awning hung bronzed dried corn, everything autumnal sprawled every which way. Yes the building was a beautiful shade of AUBERGINE!

Now if only one or two fruits seems recognizable, you are probably correct. 
Bali is the setting for this open air market.

No brightly colored umbrellas to protect sellers 
from the scorching sun.
Cement and dirt to put one's wares and produce on.
Rustic, hand-woven baskets filled with fruits 
and vegetables which to me considered EXOTIC.


So many colors. So many textures. So many tastes.
So much to experience.

I love the way this smiling woman's green head scarf matches the green of the plantains.

Patiently she will stay in this position from EARLY morning until afternoon. 

Aren't these baskets wonderful. Weaving baskets is part of the economy and provides a minimal wage. This woman is sorting very hot peppers, a key ingredient in delicious Balinese food. 

Always my favorite, the fragrant, brilliant colors and textures of cut blossoms. 
Many of these flowers are used to make DAILY offerings to the GODS.
Others are used in cooking and adornment.

Along the side of a winding narrow road we saw this dilapidated  wagon. This is a typical
"market" on wheels found in India. Corn is roasted right on the spot, providing a tasty snack or dinner for a passer by.

One does not need to go half way round the world to enjoy an open air market. But it surely is fun and informative. These women are very proud of their fruit and vegetables; just like the energetic 80 years young woman, selling her produce near our home.

The following are pages from my sketchbook inspired by markets around the world.

These paintings are in an 8 x 8 brown paper sketchbook. All are painted with gouache.