"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home" (Twyla Tharp)

Spring is in the air ...

Today was one of those days when you wake up and just know something’s different.   There’s a sense that the time has arrived for new growth and ideas.  All around your world is reinforcing this sense of forward movement by the emerging of new shoots, butterflies, flowers – there’s a gentle fragrance to remind you that even if you haven’t noticed, it’s here...


© Vicki Lee Johnston
 Flowers that always remind me it’s spring are freesias, as soon as I get the scent of freesia  it brings a flood of memories and it’s like going home.  My Dad had them growing everywhere and when the first blooms arrived he'd pick some and bring them inside with a grin on his face.  When I was in hospital having my second child he picked bunches and brought them in proudly.   I didn’t have the heart to tell him  I had terrible sinusitis and I couldn’t keep them in the hospital room!!   I painted this freesia in my first year studying botanical art.


Today I left my office and studio and took a walk on my favourite track here in the hills.  It’s a track I walked many times with my dear friend – and on our way we discussed life, work, children, our hopes and dreams for each of our lives.  My friend is working away from home now so we don’t get to walk so much and solve the world’s problems  ... however today I was reminded why I should do it more.

Time goes so quickly, the old stop and smell the roses theory is more important than ever.  On my walk today there were so many beautiful new flowers budding – leaves shooting – and even better - wildlife putting on a show, including a new family of ducklings ....  Nature has a way of putting everything into perspective and reminding you of the natural rebirth and growth patterns.  Every day I have a chance to look at the world through new eyes.




Soon we will have abundant wildflowers. Top of my wish list in the next couple of weeks is to go back to the farming area where I grew up and see them in all their glory again.   I’ll be taking lots of photos and video to bring back .... can’t wait for this road trip!


SBA Distance Course - Page of Flowers

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Completing this page was a marathon .. of choice.  Even though it's winter in Australia - there were still reasonable options for this assignment - a page of seven flowers, showing little stem and no leaves.  We were asked to show a broad range of flower types and colours.  You'd think this would be easier, with all that colour and variety, however it was exhausting doing all the colour testing to match and I painted quite a few flowers before I ran out of time and had to get on with commencing the final page.

 This is my colour chart so far - big difference from the six colours I used for two years!  Spoilt for choice perhaps, but it's difficult to get the right colour for a flower so I'm glad I was limited to six when I first started painting - I learnt colour mixing to achieve better results.  Even so, in many cases it dries very differently! 


I started by painting a Flowering Quince which grows beside our house.  It's been there for years and only recently started flowering.  The second flower is a Dipladenia from the garden and I really enjoyed painting both of them.




The next flower I had some trouble with.  The Tree Dahlia  was down at the local garden centre - so I made sketches, tonal studies, paint swatches and took photos as reference.  I had an accident with the watercolour on the flower and spent a lot of time trying to fix it but ended up with a very washed out dahlia.  I  added back washes of colour and while I was disappointed I wasn't prepared to start the page all over again!


I continued from there to try and make the deadline - the next flower was a lovely daisy type - Arctotis - and I had trial runs with it but struggled with foreshortening and light and shade.  For once I stepped away before I overworked it and was happy with the result.

 Painting the Vinca minor and trying to match the periwinkle blue was difficult as the real flower kept deepening in colour as I painted. 
Following this, a Camellia and as I was losing time, the final flower was a little pink Oxalis.  While it seems an insignificant flower I remember liking them on the farm - although considered a weed, I thought it was pretty, particularly when it may be the only thing flowering!







When I stepped back and saw the painting with new eyes, I was quite surprised by how bold it was!  I would usually stretch the painting on completion as I work with wet on wet washes and the paper is quite buckled.  At this point there was no time left - so I took a few quick photos and off it went to the UK......

So many books, so little time ....




The persimmon I painted in my first year held an interest for a wonderful Australian poet - Fiona Wright, who has just released a book of poetry.  The artwork was chosen for the front cover as one of the most important poems in the collection is about persimmons, as a symbol of hope and recovery. 
 In Fiona's words: "I really wanted an original artwork on the cover, because so much of poetry is about craftedness and making something by hand.   I've always been very interested in botanical drawing and its blend of science and art."

http://www.giramondopublishing.com/knuckled


Another book very dear to my heart has been launched by an amazing Australian photographer,  Steve Fraser - it is the most magnificent book of inspired photographic images and text.  I edited the book with Steve and felt very privileged to see it as it unfolded.  Steve's ability to capture these sacred moments is  breathtaking.    "Moments in the Light" is the result of years of ideas, hard work and the utmost patience and dedication to the ultimate photographic capture.
http://stevefraser.co/Default.aspx

Elaine Fraser is an accomplished author and publisher of Beautiful Books,  currently working on her third release and I'm looking forward to being involved in the editing process.  While there is also the option of online books, there is nothing like holding a beautiful book in your hands and soaking up the text and images.



I'm lucky to have many friends who are creatively inspired and on a journey being led by heart and soul to the place they feel at home.  Whether it be art, literature, photography, cooking, music, sport, philosophy, design, blogging  - there are countless opportunities to allow the mind to wander into that creative space and allow ideas to flow.  No matter whether it be entry level or complete professional - the world truly is our oyster ... it just begins with a thought, a feeling, an idea ....

© Vicki Lee Johnston