Do you remember the beautiful gardens I had at Summerhill?
I do. I’m reminded of them every day when I look out the windows of our new house and see nothing but a sea of mud in every direction. The contrast to the views I had last spring is hard to ignore.
I remember the excitement of watching my perennials poking up through the ground – the first tiny buds, then stems, then full-fledged plants that seemed to grow a couple of inches a day.
This year I’m watching perennials grow, too, but they’re planted in grow bags and pots. This is my 2022 garden…
Before we moved, I divided some of my favorite perennials and brought pieces of them to plant in our new yard. I ordered grow bags off Amazon, bought bags of organic topsoil at Costco, lugged it home, and spent a few hours getting the plants into the dirt, hoping they’d survive the move.
They not only survived, they thrived!
They’re the one bright spot in the view from my kitchen window, and for days now, I’ve been thinking I should sketch them as a reminder of the early days in the new house. When the sun finally came out on Thursday, I grabbed a minimalist sketch kit and a chair and plopped myself down to sketch.
My supplies included an old Canson watercolor sketchbook I’ve had kicking around for years, a Pitt Artist’s Pen (size S), a water brush, and a Portable Painter Micro Palette, which I was trying out for the first time (courtesy of Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff). I have to say I really liked it.
The mini palette is filled with the following six colors:
- Daniel Smith Hansa Yellow Medium
- American Journey Cadmium Red Medium
- Daniel Smith Quinacridone Red
- American Journey Burnt Sienna
- Daniel Smith Phthalo Green
- Daniel Smith Phthalo Blue
I just held the palette in my left hand, put the sketchbook on my knees, and painted away!
My water brush clogged halfway through the painting, so I switched to another. It’s always good to have extra supplies available in case of a painting emergency. 🙂
I like the multiple mixing areas in this tiny palette. And, although I usually enjoy having a larger selection of colors, these six worked just fine for this sketch. In fact I didn’t even use the bright red.
It was pure bliss, sitting there in the sunshine, listening to the birds chirping in the trees, dabbing on color without worrying about the end result. Just playing around.
I needed this.
The page was finished back in the studio where I added a title and text in the box I had blocked off at the beginning of the drawing process. (Planning ahead is a good thing!)
The moral of the story: Make art while the sun shines! Grab those opportunities for sketching when they come your way.
I guarantee you’ll be glad you did.
22 Comments
I really enjoyed your blog….it certainly cheered me up and made me smile. Thank you.
Happy Mother’s Day 😘
Happy Mother’s Day to you, too, friend!
Hard to imagine your garden will be mud in all directions for very long. Like a blank page in your journal. It’s going to be beautiful. Love the sketch!! Have a wonderful Mother’s Day. Same to Saundra!
Love,Beverlee
Happy Mother’s Day to you, too, Beverlee!
The yard is going to be just dirt all summer. The lawn won’t be put in until September! We have to do concrete work, sidewalks, retaining walls, outbuilding, etc. this spring and summer, so everything will be torn up for a couple more months. I think I should be able to plant some stuff this fall though. I’ve learned to be very patient in the past two years….
What a great way to remember what’s yet to be. Can hardly wait for a year from now and another memory in your sketch book.
Have a wonderful Mother’s Day.
Thanks, Bonnie.
It’s so good to see your post again . I have missed reading about your painting escape’s and your gardens. Best wishes at your new home.
I’ll be escaping again this fall – to the French Alps. I can’t wait! I miss traveling so much.
A garden is a living ever changing work of art. Thanks for the inspiration.❤
You’re welcome, Ann. Thanks for taking the time to read about my goings-on.
You’ll pull the garden together and be so glad your brought starts with you! They are like old friends and so happy you thought of them to bring along!
That little watercolor set is perfect for journaling. Another beautiful page by you!
The primroses actually came from my grandmother. I had to bring some of those along. And the phlox came from my friend Carol. So many memories.
I’m glad I have some time to think about what I want to do with the yard before we have to start planting. I have all summer to mull things over.
You should give the Portable Painter Micro a try. I liked it more than I expected to. Usually I feel like I want more colors and more mixing space, but for quick sketches, this is great.
I brought plants with us to our new home the last time we moved. What a beautiful sketch, as always! Have a great Mother’s Day and happy gardening in your new space.
Thanks for another lovely sketch and list of colors used for the sketch. Enjoy bringing your new garden to life.
It’s good to know you like the color list. I’ll make a point of trying to include that more often.
It has to seem overwhelming and thrilling at the same time. That is one happy sketch!
You know, because you’ve been there in recent years. All in all, we’re feeling really good about the move.
This was such a wonderful post and a beautiful sketch. My gardens are one thing that ensures no big moves for me. But, every Spring is stall an exciting restart. This year, I’ve been starting some things from seed! A learning experience for sure!
Good for you! I’d love to see your garden sometime. I’ve been enjoying your garden sketches on FB.
I usually start most of my annual flowers from seed. I’m too cheap to buy them at the nursery when a 99 cent seed packet will give me 60 marigold plants. And I like being able to grow varieties that you can’t find at the few nurseries that are still in business.
What a wonderful sketchbook to record such a beautiful and meaningful sight! And to record it so beautifully, too! I suspect you might find me in the yard sketching what little new life Michigan has yet had to offer but you never can tell. When it bursts, it bursts big!
Yes, get out there and do it, Jeanie! It’s so peaceful sitting there, listening to the birds, and feeling a soft breeze and the sun on your back. We both need to give ourselves permission to do it more often.