Spring Flowers for my Sketching in Nature Journal

Spring is tumbling along with new flowers blooming every few days, and, like last year, I'm having trouble keeping up! The flowers on these two journal pages were all done with a combination of Derwent and Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils, pen and ink and white gouache. The pieces of the little skeleton drifted down out of the trees with a clump of leaves and it seemed fitting that I added a little "old" along with the "new."

Happy Mothers Day

I wanted to be the first to wish everyone a Happy Mothers day!! I hope you all do something special for yourself!My yard is a explosion of blooms, from my trees to my shrubs and then add to that my annual and perinnial flowers! I love it.  5"x7" watercolor.

American Goldfinches (and friend)

We had had a sock feeder up for months, with almost no action, so I finally picked up an inexpensive fince feeder at Orschlen's Farm Store...and the goldfinches found it immediately!  First one, then a flock...they're beautiful, and when they all begin an excited, random twitteration, LOUD.

This little guy was a visitor to our front porch feeder, last winter...usually orange-ish under the wing!

Read more about them HERE, or listen to the variety of their song HERE.

Oh, and the little red-bud colored guy is a house finch, who ALSO likes the new feeder, when he can find room!

Different strokes

These sketches are a bit of a change from my normal "sketching in nature" posts. I worked from photos I took locally of horses belonging to friends and sketched them in the studio using soft pastels.

The patient Bear

I made this paint one years ago (WIldlife Artist meeting in Argentario) gouache on paper Fabriano, I like the strange idea that the picture viewer could identify oneself with a...honeycomb hung on a tree, for example or (an absurd and imaginative hypotesis) imagining himself to be perched on abranch with feet ... a patient bear! I'm joking naturally!

Yellow and Bronze Iris - Lin Frye

Yellow and Bronze Iris , a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

1/8 Sheet
Arches 140#CP

As the spring flower show progresses, the irises both at the Arboretum and at home are making their appearance. The bright purples and whites have already made their appearance, and now those wonderful yellow and bronze iris are having their time in the sun. What a parade!

We're in for warmer temps again this week, which will bring even more flowers and make our vegetable gardens grow as well. Every day there is something new to see and enjoy!

Thank you again for your continued votes!!!
http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/Plant/Index/439?brand=0

Have a great day!

Lin Frye
North Carolina

Sunset over Oxford High Grass Fields - Lin Frye

Sunset over Oxford High Grass Fields, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

1/8 Sheet
Arches 140#CP

As we were coming home the other night, the sun was setting and I was struck by the way it lit up this white house and the tops of the tall grasses in the field....I tried to capture that here.
It looks far better in person - on my screen the watercolor almost looks like pastel --LOL

This week, that grass has already been cut - which goes to show you that some of those things that really inspire us can fade so quickly. All those yellow fields I admired -- this week too, have been mowed ....With all that grass cutting going on - we really are moving quickly from spring to summer ...

Have a super Sunday!

Lin Frye
North Carolina