Flowers in shade

"Flowers in shade" by Hilary J. England

Oil on canvas, 8" x 10" 2016

It was a scorcher today.  I wasn't prepared for it, even being forewarned by the Weather Channel, but somehow, going from losing tomatoes last week due to frost -- to 95 degrees, just seemed ludicrous.  And it is!  So, I went lumbering and sweating around town, like a bulldog in the heat, until I came upon this scene.

I found a wonderful little spot of shade, and the diversity of flowers and greens, warm and cool, was very captivating to me.  I sat there drinking it in, thinking back to my childhood, and I could hear the laughter and wonder within, and still picture that when I left, the sprites would come out of hiding and be about their business again.  It was enchanting.  And I probably baked my brain earlier in the sun hahahahaha.

This painting took a little time, because I wanted to make sure the balance of cool and warm greens was not lost in the translation.  There was a quiet energy to this place, even though the breeze only stirred the new leaves here and there, I felt the vibrancy of it as I painted.  It was just a wonderful little scene to capture.

~Enjoy!

The Jailbirds

"The Jailbirds" by Hilary J. England
oil on canvas, 8" x 16", 2016

Continued my path around town today, and found this interesting little scene.  It was really very difficult to paint on the spot.  The light was tremendously bright today which made seeing extremely hard from the full and intense direct sunlight.  Hat didn't help, and sunglasses would have just made things incredibly funky.  I guess I should have embarked earlier, or later, rather than at noontime.

I really enjoyed the flowers bulging against the rusty old chain link fence.  I felt kind of like I was looking at beautiful creatures in a cage, like they had gone to prison, and were straining to be let go and released.

I always enjoy finding little scenes of quiet drama.  They seem to be nothing on the surface, but just below, there is always a mighty story!

~Enjoy!

New vines

"New vines" by Hilary J. England
8" x 16" oil on canvas

It's been a pretty productive week, although I have been feeling a bit tired since I've been working out extra hard, and once you hit middle age, well, recovery just isn't what it used to be.  But, extra sleep helps.

I have been working around town, and my particular focus is all the interesting little mundane things that people seem to miss in their mad rush of living life.  Spring is such a lovely time to notice these little things, like the blooming of new flowers, and the renewal of everything.  I notice these new vines shooting off an old tree, creeping up onto the lattice of an old basement, and it was very eye-catching to me.  Yes, the beauty of these things always catches my eye, and I think of the grand design and what an artist God is.  Truly incredible to me.

~Enjoy!

Spring flowers on the old wall

"Spring flowers on the old wall" by Hilary J. England
oil on canvas, 8" x 10" 2016

Walking around town, I always find little interesting things to paint when I go out of the way, into areas that are somewhat quiet and left to themselves.

This was such an interesting wall, with all it's little flowers and crisscrossed vines, I couldn't help but do a fast oil painting of it.  The whole scene with the colors and textures, was very satisfying and soothing.  It's nice to be outdoors again, and it feels good if not a little strange after so many days inside because of the rain and rain and rain....

I did drop my palette straight down into the dirt once.  That's just to remind me who my Daddy is lolololol.  Never mess with nature, even on the calmest of days!

~Enjoy

Clouds and water

"Clouds and water" by Hilary J. England, 8" x 16" oil on canvas, 2016

So, this constant rain and entrapment has gotten me depressed.  I usually like the rain, but after a very stressful month, and so much to do outside, being caged up for days on end finally got the better of me, and I have been feeling down and out.

I decided to just do a little, limited palette study based on some photos I had from India, of Lake Vembanad, and try to think of happier things.  It was monsoon, and there was constant rain initially, but then, it cleared away, and you could literally see it moving off into the distance.  I hope this current cloud cover that has become stuck over our area decides to move on out of here too.  I could use a few days of sunshine.  It's either always sunny, or days and days of rain...can't we have a nice happy medium??

So, that's my gripe about the weather.  I'll go stick that gripe into the garbage pail along with others ones that have zero ways of being changed hahaha.  And no, I'm not traveling away to avoid some rainy days...those adventures will come later.

:-) enjoy~

Brown eggs and lime

"Brown eggs and half a lime" by Hilary J. England, oil on canvas, 8" x 10" 2016

The rain...more and more comes, so, I decided to hang inside today and just do some still life studies.  The brown eggs and half a lime looked interesting, especially in the lower light, so I decided they would be most interesting to paint.

I have some really cool things coming on the horizon, so I'm kind of laying low while I mull things over and try and work everything into it's place in terms of scheduling and stuff.  Some exciting travels, and some exciting projects, so I'm pretty, well, excited!

I guess for now, I will leave you with this little study and if you like brown eggs and lime (separate, or, maybe together!). here is a little painting for you.

Enjoy~