Well-Traveled Asparagus

Well-Traveled Asparagus
6 x 6 in. oil on panel


SOLD

Fortunately for the United States of America and Canada, we have a lot of energy…and we use it freely, easily, and lavishly. If the price of oil were to double, we could cut back…and still live well. We might even live better. Because not everything that contributes to our standard of living contributes to our quality of living.

Take asparagus, for example. If oil is cheap enough, you can afford to ship asparagus from California to Maryland and sell it at a reasonable price. Standards of living go up – at least as measured by GDP. The grower in California earns money…his illegal immigrant workers earn money…the trucker earns money…the grocery store in Maryland earns money – voila, the GDP goes up.

But raise the price of oil and transcontinental asparagus may not make any sense.

We ate the most delicious asparagus in Zurich! Big, white, tender…juicy. “Where did it come from?” we asked our host.

“Why… It’s from Zurich, of course.”

He must have meant the canton. We saw no asparagus grown in downtown Zurich.

It was surely not cheap – nothing in Zurich is cheap. But it was good. Much better than the asparagus you find in the US.

We’re just guessing, but we suppose it was good because it was grown for a local market and did not have to be a variety that travels well. A trip from Sacramento to Philadelphia is tiring for anyone; if your asparagus is going to hold up…it has to be tough.

Perhaps, when prices of energy are higher, our asparagus will not be so well-traveled. Maybe, as our standards of living stagnate, our asparagus will taste better.

Regards,

Bill Bonner,
for The Daily Reckoning

Flowers On The Porch

Flowers On The Porch

Summer is made for sitting on the porch and enjoying the view and I did plenty of that this week( in addition to painting on the porch.)  Fortunately, the breezes cooperated and I was comfortable even when temperatures rose.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Hydrangeas In Blue Vase

Hydrangeas In Blue Vase

Bill arrived last night with a large shopping bag full of hydrangeas that he picked at the house, in the rain. Our "Endless Summer" bushes  are weighted down with blossoms and my husband knew how much I would enjoy having some at the beach.  I made several arrangements and decided to paint these this morning. I never tire of these as a still life subject. There is only one shade of blue that tops this one- and that is  Carolina Blue !

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

 

Curlew Sandpiper

Curlew Sandpiper

This bird is the model for numerous decorative items which remind us of the beauty of nature.  There are carved, wooden versions of this bird and the long bill is always a surprise to me but as I observed some of these guys on my walk this morning I realized that their bills reallyare that long.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Morning Run

Morning Run

Down to the pier and back is not a bad run from the house-unless you are a short-legged little dog. Sometimes you just have to stop and wait for your human to come back and pick you up when you don't have the energy to keep up
 
6x6 in, oil on panel

Surf Fishing

Surf Fishing

This is one I painted yesterday-had trouble posting last

night so I will post two today.

I love seeing what everybody is catching on the beach and there are

lots of vacationers here already having fun in this great weather.

I'm planning to go crabbing later in the week!

6 x 6 in. oil on panel



Pinwheel Parade

Pinwheel Parade

Pinwheels have been a favorite of mine ever since I began painting.  I

want to warn you that I have felt a sudden and irrepressible urge to

re-visit an old favorite.  You will probably soon  begin  seeing them in quantity because now

that I have started, I may not be able to stop. I'll try avoiding them for a few days and see if

the urge goes away!

Pottery From Southport

Pottery From Southport

Yesterday was my monthly afternoon working in the 

gallery in Southport.  Sales were brisk and we had many visitors.

I spent my spare time, when we were not busy, choosing several really nice pieces

from the pottery gallery.  This value study was painted today to put in the

DPW challenge by Carol Marine.

This piece is a beautiful grey Butter Bowl by Carol Lynn VonRadesky.

I am looking forward to painting it in color.

6x6 in. oil on panel

Beginning of A Portrait

Beginning Of A Portrait

I've had a wonderful week learning from Tom Edgerton.

We had great models, Karen, Caris, and William.

This is the start of Karen's portrait and obviously has much

that will be polished and finished in my studio from the photos I have of her.

Tom is one of the best teachers I have ever worked with and we had

a very talented group of artists so I also learned much from them.

Maybe I'll post this again when I finish it.

Star Of The Apple Act

Star Of The Apple Act

"I don't know why you're complaining about being in the back-

you know I have always been the one holding this act together!"
 6x6 in. oil on panel



This was my musical inspiration while I painted...

Staring Contest

Staring Contest
Cats can really beat you in a stare down contest.
No blinking or smirking allowed and this cat could last for a very long time.
Babies are good at staring too but they are also much more fun to stare back at.
Did you know it takes 8.2 seconds of eye contact for a man to decide if he
is attracted to a woman?

6 x 6 in. oil painting

Mountain Moonlight

Mountain Moonlight
A romantic week-end getaway is usually made even better
by the appearance of the moon at twilight. This moon was not quite full, but was
much photographed when it showed up among the pink clouds.  There
was a wedding reception with a great band, and the rocking chairs on the porch
were a great spot to relax and enjoy the music after dinner.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Sandwich Fixin's

Sandwich Fixin's

I can already taste those delicious tomato sandwiches that I'm

going to be making all summer!

It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.

Lewis Grizzard

6x6in. oil painting on panel

Available framed at One Eleven Main, Aberdeen, NC

Ready For Bed

Ready For Bed

I'm talking about these flowers, and maybe me, too.

I just love it  that so many of the containers  bedding plants

are sold in now are as colorful as the flowers. These Petunias need to be

planted soon but they have kind of had to wait in line.  I think it just might be their

turn tomorrow.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Salt Marsh

Salt Marsh

This is in a very beautiful spot in Maine, The Rachel Carson National Widlife

Refuge in Wells. It is a wonderful area to walk through and catch glimpses of the ocean

through the salt marsh.  You can also see lots of birds and animals.

6 x 6 in. oil on gesso board. 

Zinnias

Zinnias

This is my favorite flower to grow in the garden

and my zinnia seeds I planted last week are already coming up.

These are some from last years crop. The variations in color

are always so amazing and best of all, they like the heat.

NFS

Hotel-California

Hotel-California

This is a study for a large painting and is one that I have been

planning to paint for quite a while. This gives me a good idea of how the composition

will work and what things I may want to change slightly in the large version.

The flowers are just one of the things I was drawn to.

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Daisy

Daisy
Spring has come when you can put your foot on three daisies”


This is my post for Thursday, May 12, 2011
Blogger has been down for many hours so I was not able to post 
yesterday's painting until now.


6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Old Car In Florida

Old Car In Florida

This is the very first of the Daily Paintworks Challenges and I finally

got around to doing it today. This one came before I started doing the challenges.

 Carol Marine took the photo and

put it up for all of us hardworking painters to take a crack at it.

Thanks, Carol.  It was tough but fun.

6 x 6 in. oil painting

Bugs Bunny Treat

Bugs Bunny Treat

Carrots have more sugar in them than any vegetable except beets.

This could be why Bugs loves them so much. 

I chose carrots to paint because the blue rubber band around them is such 

a fine "compliment" next to the orange.

6 x 6 in. oil painting

Upside Down Stack

Upside Down Stack

Bright colors for a bright and wonderful day!

Happy Mother's Day!

6x6 in. oil on panel

Up-Beet Spring

Up-beet Spring

There is, in my estimation, only one time of the year better than Spring(and that would

be summer).  Where I live, it gets too hot to enjoy gardening after about June. So you

keep everything watered and just have to hope that all the work you did in the garden keeps it 

producing veggies almost til the first frost. Which of course gives you more time to 

enjoy summer by heading off to the beach every week-end. Just pulled these beets up

this morning and looking forward to having them for dinner!

6 x 6 in. oil on panel

Monastery Chicken

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Monastery Chicken

An added bonus on a visit to a Buddhist Monastery in Bhutan was this lively and entertaining
chicken.   This colorful creature was a favorite of the young monks.

6x 6 in. oil painting on museum quality panel

Today's Magnolia

Today's Magnolia

Driving home from dinner in Raleigh last night, I jokingly told my husband that

I ought to go ahead and pick a magnolia now so I can get an early start painting in the 

morning.  Next thing I knew he pulled over beside a huge magnolia tree and asked me if I needed the flashlight.  I should know by now not to say anything like that unless I mean it.

I did get a large flower that was fully opened up and had fun painting it first thing this morning!

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

Southern Magnolia

Southern Magnolia

Rainy morning turned sunny early so I did get to go out and pick some magnolias.

This is the one I chose to paint and I achieved exactly what I was aiming for by

doing a very quick study and focusing on the shapes and contrasting light and dark areas.

I did not allow myself to think "magnolia" because I aimed to paint what I saw

and not what I expected the flower to be.

Tomorrow I will do another variation of this.

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel

Tulip Tree Flowers

Tulip Tree Flowers

Bill and I were walking the trail around the reservoir yesterday

and lots of these beautiful flowers had fallen from the Tulip Poplars. I brought a few

home so I could paint them.  Their fragrance is very sweet, a little like a magnolia, and come

to find out-the tree is not really a poplar at all.  It's a member of the magnolia family.

They attract all kinds of birds, and the squirrels like them too. Hummingbirds also love the nectar from these flowers.  I'm just glad they were on the ground--I woulda hated to ask Bill to climb

that 30 foot tree.

6 x6 in. oil painting

Feline Friend

Feline Friend

This is Bentley, a delightfully affectionate cat.

He is good-natured and maybe it's because he sleeps a lot.

6 x 6 in. oil

Family Resemblance

Family Resemblance

Can you tell which two are related?

The Granny Smith just doesn't fit in with the Galas,

who are discussing old times growing up in the same orchard.

They are small with very long stems. When I was a kid we used to twist the stem

while saying the alphabet and whatever letter you were on when it came out was

the first initial of your future husband.  It never did come out on the "B" so I guess

it wasn't a very accurate predictor!

6 x 6 in. oil on museum quality panel