The June Garden

I shot a few photos out in the garden for you.

Some things are coming on but it's still pretty quiet.

It's almost time to harvest blueberries.

The plants are finally big; taller than I am and loaded this year.

Broccoli is being eaten at nearly every meal.

It's ginger and garlic stir fry tonight with rice.

Knee high corn.

Dahlias. John's been planting big pots of flowers. 

I'll save those for another post.

Taters and little daisies along the path.

Favas. Mmm.

With onion and olive oil.

And kale.

The lettuces are going to seed; the weather finally turned summery.

Loosestrife. (oops, it's Veronica!) I love this flower.

And of course calendulas. You only need to plant them once.

An overview showing the supports and a sliver of sunset.

And the awesome gardener with his prizes.

Lemon 25x28 on canvas

I've been spending long hours in the studio.

Wine 19.5x25 on paper

Yellow Bicycle 24x24 on wood panel

Summer Rain 24x24 on wood panel

I can see great progress since starting to paint abstracts four years ago.

Mary Kay Cadillac 24x24 on wood panel

The best part is that I have more successes than failures now.

Black Eyed Peas 24x24x1.5 on stretched canvas

Strawberry Moon 24x24x 1.5 on stretched canvas

That's all the news for now, folks. Hope your summer (or winter for those down under) is going well.

Back to the studio now for me! 

Summer, Arizona, Amsterdam

June. My favorite month. 

We've just finished 2 days of record heat and the garden loves that.

Tonight I shell and peel more fava beans.

I'll show you the veggies in a later post.

But cabbage! Broccoli! Yeah!

My daughter Shellie and I took a trip down to Arizona to see this guy and his people there.

Yo Nathan!

That was in May. I've been away from the blog for too long.

We also had a big tree keel over on a calm day. ha ha. Big event.

Fast forward several weeks. A trip to Amsterdam with a group of artists. We visited Rembrandt's house, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum as well as going on a canal cruise and eating amazing food together. 

Teaching with Katie Kendrick.

Traveling with Bellisima Art Escapes and Kathie Vezzani and Michelle Fletcher.

To this fabulous studio in the heart of the city.

Michelle had scouted out our excellent lodging and art studio convenient to the museums and all the best attractions. It was like finding ourselves in a fairytale.

This was my first visit to Amsterdam and I was thrilled and educated to be in a place so different than the U.S. We are fairly progressive in Portland but could learn so much from this remarkable city. My eyes were opened.

This is Katie and I in front of a Marlene Dumas painting at the Stedelijk Museum. She lives in Amsterdam. I wrote about her work last year when I saw her show in London.

Relaxing in the studio, drinking tea and being together.

Michelle's painty hands. Can we all relate?

Katie taught for 2 days and I did as well. She taught intuitive painting and I taught life drawing.

We were lucky enough to have a live model.

Our model was Claire and she was completely comfortable in her body; said that she believed she was beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. Seventy-eight years old and fully at ease with herself. 

Diligent study. Sacred moments.

Our group went on a 4 hour bike ride through the city and into the country.

Everybody rides bicycles in Amsterdam, from the orchestra conductor in his top hat and tails to the stiletto heeled young women to the elderly people working at their various occupations. It's always rush hour and there are hoards of bicycles sometimes four abreast on every street. Really, astonishing. They somehow manage to cooperate for the well being of each person sharing the roadways.

A great shot of Katie; canal, bike, this shouts Amsterdam.

One more group shot. We are wet but very happy.

Thank you to every person who has ever come with us on our trips to paint and share community. It is the thing I dream about at night - that I'm with my tribe, sleeping, eating, painting and sharing the things we love together. It's the best ... the best.