Pansy

8 x 8 cm Today was plein air. Even if just to the backyard. It's kind of like kids starting out with the tent in the backyard before going camping in the wilds with the bears and mosquitos. And there are wonderful things even in our backyard, like this pansy. Neither one of us planted it, so we figure the birds did. The first thing I did was spill my turpentine. No, that was the second thing. The first thing is that I forgot my paintbox. Duh. I had my brushes, boards, and turp to spill, but no paint. And no rags to clean it up. Good thing we started in the backyard.

Black Bird

aceo

He was in an earlier painting, but you probably wouldn't recognize him. Even though it was even named after him, it only shows his feet.

Bouquet

17,5 x 23,5 cm Unexpected pleasures of life.

Two Pairs

24 x 17,5 cm These pears just aren't pears until they have those tiny little dots.

The Three Pears

aceo

Daisy

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Dancing Daisies

17,5 x 24 cm When I pick flowers from the garden, I like to make loose, carefree arrangements.

Sugar And Spice

aceo Sugar and spice, and everything nice. Cinnamon toast, apple pie, cherry pie. My grandmother.

Spotlight

17 x 14 cm

Sometimes I think I know the truth about something and later find out differently. I know I don't know which mushrooms outside are safe, so I just leave them alone. They are sure interesting to look at though.

In The Pink

30 x 70 cm *

Recycling

30 x 40 cm A friend gave me an old honey jar she found.

Peanuts

aceo This guy works for peanuts.

Das Rotkehlchen

aceo I heard something and looked up. This guy was sitting on a branch talking to me. He had a bit to say.

Secrets In The Sauce

11,5 x 11 cm When my husband and I are cooking together, I make the Hollandaise Sauce. It's not because I'm the expert, but because there's a lot of stirring at the stove involved. He gets everything ready in a pan and says: "Here. Stir." Or I put everything in the pan that he tells me to, then stir, while he's working his magic on something else. He comes over once in awhile to see if the yolks are just the right color to say it's done. Only because I ask him to. While we're eating, he thanks me for making the sauce. Well ... I sort of did.

Carnation

9 x 14,5 cm

Truckin'

15 x 9 cm

On my list of things to buy.

Undercover

aceo I went to the store to get some things I needed, and felt like shopping for doodads. Sometimes there isn't really anything that hits the spot, but this time I wasn't disappointed. This candle, for example.

Uncovered

aceo

The Blue One

aceo He's not Kohlmeise. He's Blaumeise. Related, but he's the blue one.

West

aceo I was experimenting with painting surfaces, so instead of painting the entire bouquet in one painting, I painted The Four Corners of the bouquet.

South

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East

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North

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Salt Of The Earth

12,5 x 12,5 cm

This morning my husband said we need to do something with these tomatoes. Then I thought, hmm. I can use them in this story.

A few years ago we made a trip to Lüneburger Heide, and spent the day painting and drawing. Later I painted two more paintings from there, and have more in mind. It's beautiful with the heather in bloom, the trees, beehives.

Last weekend we went to the city of Lüneburg and visited the old salt factory which is now a museum. The people there in the middle ages became rich from mining and processing the salt from the earth. They protected it with two moats and some guard towers. The salt was used as money, and was as valuable as gold.

Part of the processing required very hot ovens. We learned that they used wood from the surrounding trees until the land became quite bare. Then came the heather.

Ladybug, Ladybug

11 x 11 cm

My husband likes to spoil me with chocolates and tins, and that's fine with me. I like this brand of chocolates. I like this tin. I like ladybugs. And I really like my husband.

Blossoms

17,5 x 17,5 cm This is technically not plein air because I'm on the wrong side of the door. For me, it's still a bit cold outside for painting. I'll attempt that kind of thing later. I do like looking outside to this beautiful spring view, though, and painting in the comfort of my studio.

Show Time

12,5 x 12,5 cm The mind of an artist. At least this one. I kept the M&M carton from the movie so that I could paint it with M&M's at home. Then I didn't want to. Later, I started to toss the carton, and memories flooded forward. The three of us sitting there, wearing 3-D glasses (Avatar), eating M&M's, and enjoying each other's company. I decided to keep the carton, bought more M&M's, and painted it.

Where's the light?

3 x 3 1/2 inches I have edited this a few times since posting, and it didn't sound right. I will now simply say that this is one of my antique candle holders from the Hannover Flea Market, which I love to visit.

Bee Tee

12,5 x 12,5 cm This is one of those paradoxes. One of the most prolific "weeds" is great for bees. They are actually pretty flowers, and fun. Almost every child has blown the seeds to the wind. Moreover, they are healthy and tasty. John, my dog, was in on this one, and helped collect the dandelions for painting. And now I'm going to make dandelion tea for John and I. There's always a bag of tea leaves on hand. We both like it, and we both think it does a body good.

Inside Job

10 x 23 cm When we bought the geranium, the plan was to plant it in one of the outside flower pots. Slugs and snails are public enemy number one in our garden, but they don't usually bother the geraniums. I put it in my studio for an aceo (Pinky), before planting it outside, and liked it so much I decided to keep it there. So this isn't en plein air. It's an inside job.

Ye Olde Bread Basket

17,5 x 17,5 cm

We keep a standard loaf of bread in the freezer. The first and last pieces are always soggy, even when we toast them. The alternatives are to toss them or let them dry out to be used in creative ways. My husband makes a delicious bread pudding that calls for dry bread, and meat loaf with bread crumbs. I decided to make noodles and cheese (aka macaroni and cheese) for lunch one day, using the dry bread.

I smashed a few pieces with the rolling pin, and toasted them in butter. We have Paniermehl that we use a lot like this, but we also have dry bread. I sprinkled the crumbs on top of the macaroni, cream cheese, white sauce mixture, and added a couple of rosemary sprigs from my very small herb garden (two or three pots). I like the crispy rosemary on top of casseroles, being careful with tough stems that can be pokey. Since this turned out to be more noble than mac and cheese from a box, thereby bringing the bread crumbs to a more noble position, I think it appropriate to have a more noble title with "ye", don't you?

Italienisch

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Orange Plant

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A Tulip

23 x 13 cm

Pinky

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Important Little Guys

23 x 10 cm

Creamy

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Copper On The Green

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Heather Bouquet

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Mushrooms

12.5 x 12.5 cm

Grape Hyacinth

8 1/2 x 12 1/2 cm

Monster Study

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Kohlmeise

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Pears on Plaid

17.5 x 17.5 cm

Flyby

From the Housetops

15 x 15 cm

Heads Up

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Pitcher-perfect Pansies

20.5 x 21 cm