Every month I host “Sketching at Summerhill” here at my house. It offers an opportunity for my creative friends to get together, learn a little something, paint a bit, and enjoy some fun and fellowship away from the daily grind. I love having everyone come to my home in the summertime when the flowers are in bloom, but this month I took my show on the road to a beautiful garden just a few miles away.
My friend, Jan, is the creator of this wonderland. She designed it, planted it, and cares for it daily. It’s a big job, but she loves it, and, best of all, she loves to share it with others!
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| Jan |
She graciously offered to host our monthly sketching get-together for July, and the sketchers were really excited about the prospect of getting to see this amazing space.
We had such a great time, from the moment we walked through the wrought iron gates into the backyard. There was so much to see!
A Japanese-style garden complete with waterfalls and a goldfish pond…
beautiful flowers and bushes…
garden sculptures…
arbors…
fountains…
bottle trees and borders…
wine cork mulch…
a river made of glass pebbles…
a window that Jan rescued from the trash when a local church was being remodeled…
a HUGE wind chime…
and over 100 varieties of daylilies!
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| I think this one may be my favorite |
We tried to see everything, but there was just too much! We kept discovering fun surprises, like a collection of glass suncatchers on a fence or an antique washtub overflowing with petunias. Jan’s sense of humor and eye for design have made her garden a treasure.
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| Click to enlarge |
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| 6″ x 8″ watercolor on 140 lb. paper |
California Coleslaw…
Mint and Lime Fresh Fruit Salad…
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| No, that’s not pepper on the fruit! It’s little bits of chopped mint and lime zest. 🙂
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and Lemon-Pecan Muffins…
A few daring women even tried nibbling on daylily blossoms after our host told us that they are edible!
Jan treated us to berry buckle with vanilla ice cream for dessert. The buckle was made with a combination of blueberries, blackberries, and red raspberries, plus black raspberries she picked on her property.
After lunch, we painted some more. The pace was relaxed. A nice breeze drifted through the studio while classical music played in the background. I walked around and helped anyone who needed it. What a blissful way to spend an afternoon!
Then it was sharing time. Several of my Summerhill Sketchers did an alphabet challenge during the month of June, and they brought their completed (or nearly complete) sketches to share. It was amazing to see how much they accomplished in such a short time. They all spoke about how they could see a huge amount of progress in their drawing and painting skills as a result of the time invested. Practice is the key!
Teresa did a flower for every letter of the alphabet…
I loved the water and reflections on this “F”lamingo sketch of Cathy’s.
And Colleen takes her sketchbook everywhere with her now, including when she volunteered at an arts festival in Pittsburgh. She’s fearless!
5 Comments
Looks like it was a fantastic day! Gorgeous gardens! Wish I was there! 🙂
Wow! It looks like you had a perfectly lovely day: beautiful surroundings, delicious food, classical music, painting and fellowship–sounds like my kind of fun! By the way I love your Daylily Painting Leslie!
amazing garden.. sad to miss it.
Jan's garden is a marvel! What a glorious place to have your Summerhill sketching session! And the food you prepared looks fabulous! No wonder your students were inspired to create such beautiful paintings.
What an amazing garden and such a beautiful painting!