KAKI FRUIT

Autumn is arrived, and these beautiful and sweet fruits ripen on the trees that now have lost their leaves.
Diospyros kaki - Kaki fruits - acquerello su carta - Angela Maria Russo

Red deer - female

Angela Maria Russo - watercolour and pencil 

Grey Heron and Mallard

Did this sketch in Ballycotton harbour last year, an immature Grey Heron, unfortunately it flew before I got all the colour down, so will put some watercolour in and see how it looks.

Another discarded painting I found while rooting in my studio. A bit stylized, but maybe with a bit more colour in the sky it can be salvaged. Also think the female needs attention, she looks like she's on the water like a cork rather than in the water.

Dandelion time - Maree

“It gives one a sudden start in going down a barren, stony street, to see upon a narrow strip of grass, just within the iron fence, the radiant dandelion, shining in the grass, like a spark dropped from the sun!”
- Henry Ward Beecher



My lawn (and the fields surrounding our house) is absolutely covered in Dandelions! In one spot it looks like a yellow carpet - wonder what the soil configuration is that makes them so rife in certain spots? I have always picked dandelions for a small vase I have, but it is only upon very close inspection when I was sketching them that I realised what true little beauties these small flowers are, each a masterpiece aster in miniature.

Did you know that Dandelions can be beneficial to a garden ecosystem as well as to human health? Dandelions attract beneficial ladybugs and provide early spring pollen for their food. In a study done at the University of Wisconsin, experimental plots with dandelions had more ladybugs than dandelion free plots, and fewer pest aphids, a favorite food of the ladybugs. Dandelions long roots also aerate the soil and enable the plant to accumulate minerals, which are added to the soil when the plant dies.

Not only are dandelions good for your soil, they are good for your health. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a serving of uncooked dandelion leaves contains 280 percent of an adult's daily requirement of beta carotene as well as more than half the requirement of vitamin C. Dandelions are also rich in vitamin A,
Dandelions are also used as herbal remedies. The white sap from the stem and root is used as a topical remedy for warts. The whole plant is used as a diuretic and liver stimulant, and the fresh juice of Dandelion can be applied externally to fight bacteria and help heal wounds.

(I found this interesting information at "Northwest Coalition for alternatives to Pesticides")

Chinese Watercolor Roosters

Chinese Watercolor Roosters
Originally uploaded by Ricky Holtman

Well I had a day in the studio cleaning....whoopee! So I just decided to go through and practice some styles I haven't painted in for quite a while. This of course are the famous fighting roosters in the Chinese watercolor style.
It was really challenging again and fun. Moleskine book. You know how I am about birds and especially roosters..ahahha

Meet the Correspondents--Andrew Henwood, Saying Hello.

Hi there!

Kate has generously invited me to join this blog, so I thought I should check in and introduce myself.

I am retired, living in Niagara-on-the-Lake, or, as I like to point out - the South Coast of Canada. The last few years have seen me gradually working a little more on my sketching and painting, especially since I signed up to 'Flickr'. I do find great inspiration there, amongst so many good artists, and so I recognize that this blog, being a more specialized venue will enable me to enjoy and learn from yet more people who share similar interests.

I like to work a fairly wide range of media, subject and size: still exploring at a fairly basic level to find what suits me best, so I haven't actually done much nature sketching yet. I enjoy this area for a number of reasons though, which lead me to look forward to doing more. I like the easy and universal accessibility of good subject matter, and the fact that one is enabled to use lots of happy colours. And one more most agreeable feature - that no-one is to say that a flower has to be absolutely symmetrical to be beautiful; as opposed say, to a portrait. This allows those of us who find good drawing often to be a frustrating challenge to relax a little and find some freedom in small sketches from nature.

I look forward to meeting new friends here and finding lots of interesting work to appreciate. I have enclosed a link here (I think), to my site on Flickr, where you may find what I have been up to so far with my art.

Best regards to you all, from Andrew