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Thursday, June 17, 2010

baby swallows & great news



Here's a painting I worked on yesterday and today. Just look at those hungry little mouths! So cute. 


The great news is that I signed my publishing contract; it's official! My book, Kiki's First Year , will be a published e-book and audio book some time next year. Very exciting! I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity.


Those hungry little sparrow babies will be in the book. Along with the wild strawberry and so many other wonderful pieces of nature. All the more reason to get offline and get back to my paper and watercolors!


xoxo country girl




One Year Ago Today: i'm back! 



Wednesday, June 16, 2010

blueberry hunting & june's tiny nature table!



There are parts of the woods here that are carpeted with wild blueberry shrubs. I wasn't expecting to find many ripe berries this early in june, but apparantly this mixture of heat, humidity, and rain agrees with them. This weekend we'll take some containers with us into the forest and see if how many handfulls we can find. The challenge will be getting them home in the containers instead of our stomachs.


The woods are so beautiful right now; absolutely lush and rampant with blossoms and green. I hope you never tire of seeing photographs of this countryside, because I never tire of taking them.










It's been a while since I gathered up nature's goodies for a tiny nature table (those of you who are new can read about them and see past tiny nature tables here ). I guess it's because I am usually busy peering through my camera. But the other morning, after a wild summer storm wreaked havoc through the night, I found tiny unripe windfall cherries, and they were so cute that I stuffed them in my pocket. And that's when I decided I would keep looking and put together a nice tiny nature table for you.




1. oak 2. wild strawberry 3. brown knapweed 4. scentless mayweed 5. dropwort
6. windfall wild plums 7. wild thyme 8. rye 9. windfall wild apples
10. elderberry blossom 11. windfall wild cherries 12. wild rose 13. wild sweet pea

So many pretty things; all of them reasons to live in gratitude. After I took that picture, I put most of the tiny treasures into a vase for a little summer bouquet.




It's a rainy day; I wore my orange raincoat  on my outing to the post office, bank, and butcher. I'm happy about the weather. I feel cozy and creative, ready to completely immerse myself in painting. 

I hope you'll share a tiny nature table with us soon!

Enjoy this day,

xoxo country girl

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Photo to Painting: Wild Strawberry




I have so many things to blog about that it's overwhelming and I don't know where to start. But I sat down to paint this little wild strawberry which I found in the field, because I am trying to paint every day, and I thought I would share it with you. It's not the best painting I've ever made, but I mainly wanted to give an example of how I work: painting from photographs, mostly my own. I am amazed by painters who paint from memory or imagination!


I am sitting here with red glowing hot shoulders....I was out picking wild herbs in the strong noon sun. I found so many wonderful things (wild mint, thyme, and oregano) that I stayed out in the blaze a bit too long. The herbs are now sorted and drying...I'll be sharing the photos with you soon.


Hope you are having a lovely day!


xoxo country girl

Monday, June 14, 2010

fabulously bookish





Two things arrived this morning: an adorable rain coat from Lands' End , and a fabulously bookish handmade satchel from Wooly Bison on etsy. And don't they just look marvelous together? I did my best posing for you :)


I have so many things to share with you...nature abounds in June, and I have picked wild blueberries and strawberries, found wild thyme, watched the first haying of the year, and gathered a lovely collection together for my tiny nature table. You'll just have to be the slightest bit patient...I have other obligations today, but will blog again asap!


Sending love,


xoxo country girl


p.s. thank you all so much for your support and compliments, i have been doing my best to paint something every day.





Wednesday, June 9, 2010

halleluja, i can still paint!

(click to enlarge!)
My husband will be starting up a publishing company for ebooks and audio books some time next year with two business partners, and he promptly said to me: "You know what this means, right? You have to finish your book!"

I began a children's book, Kiki's First Year, an embarrassingly long time ago and pretty much stopped painting the pictures for it a while back. In fact, I haven't really painted in a long time. There's a few things stopping me: insecurity, fear, every-day distractions, and lazyness.


But since this is such a wonderful opportunity, and I have felt for a long time that this is something I need to do, I knew I would have to start painting again. Since I haven't painted in so long, I decided to start with something not related to Kiki's First Year. A very sweet and thoughtful friend sent me a wonderful gift of her inspiring books, and so I thought I would paint her a Thank You card.


I began very timidly, almost frightened...I really wasn't sure if it would turn out. I left it half finished yesterday evening and didn't like it very much at all. I didn't even show it to my husband for fear he might say, "Hmmm, remember when I said I would publish your book....? Wellllll....." 

But today I decided to work on the details, and I was so happy with the finished picture that I am sharing it with all of you! It was such a relief to see that I can still paint. I guess it's like riding a bicycle. 


So here's to hopping back on that bike! I am so happy to be wheelin' around again.


xoxo country girl

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

summer afternoon perfection

What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade.  
-Gertrude Jekyll















Summer afternoon, summer afternoon....

All you want to do is be outdoors, in the fresh air, under the huge blue sky. It's baking hot. We seek shade or shelter at noon. My arms are browned, my face is freckled, my stomach is full of watermelon. Kiki swims every day now, and chases butterflies and moths on the freshly-mown soccor field. Seed pods float like tiny whisps of cotton on the breeze. This morning, when I awoke, there was a shaft of sunlight warming my face, and the sound of construction workers coming through the open window. I liked that sound...that busy hot sound of summer. Throughout the day you can hear the voice of the lifeguard at the nearby community pool, booming through a loudspeaker. Engines, birds, hammers, lawn mowers, children playing, tractors. Yes...the busy hot sounds of summer.

And then the sun begins to set and everything is soaked in gold. The grass is as tall as me, nods and waves....I like swiping up the pods from the thin stalks and sprinkling them around like I did as a child. There is plenty of yarrow to harvest for tea now, and I've spotted the first few wild strawberries. Ate three. The wild flower meadow is a thick jungle, fit to be cut. Any day now. 

xoxo country girl




Saturday, June 5, 2010

June Day on Anna Farm

My friend Gerit took me to a nearby village, Laab im Walde, where there is an organic farm called Anna Hof. We got there just in time to stock up on grass fed beef, raw milk cheese, organic bacon, and a couple of apples for the walk. The sun was blazing on the rain-soaked land; swallows were flying and dipping through the air. We had a glorious walk.
 
 
 apple orchard and cloister

happy cows grazing on anna hof

kiki setting out on the sunny path


old farm machinery


i discovered a flower which we haven't been able to identify yet

bird song and heat

we ate our tart, crisp apples sitting in the shade of an oak tree and looked out over the land





xoxo and sweet june sunshine, country girl






p.s. 'evening' wasn't as wonderful as i had hoped




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