Flowerballs

Or balls of flowers or balled flowers...?

Last night, out for a stroll, I saw these:




I used to garden a lot and got quite obsessed with it all but I have never come across these weird little doodads.




Whatever they are, they make a nifty silhouette planted amongst some birds of paradise:




Part of me likes the idea that they're actually 'real' daisy-like flowers and someone has come along and plucked and pocketed every single petal. :D




But, if you look real close (enlarge) you can see many tiny blooms on the right side of the ball.




Or I think they're blooms?

Does anyone know what these flowers are?

Just Poppies...

Yesterday, I spent much of the late afternoon and early evening up the road in the gardens at Government House. It's flippin' hot here lately, and it's a nice place to be in the shade and in the cool breezes off the ocean.




I'm getting obsessed with these California Poppies; I just love them. My efforts in trying to photograph them have made me realise that I have so much to learn as I'm not quite getting the images that I see in my head.




I suspect I'll be up there again later today as the temps are already climbing. I might even take my 'how to' photography book.




Watch this space... maybe! ;-)

Seeing red, or rather, primary magenta!

I have spent some time painting. I'm quite happy with it so far. This is a very preliminary stage where the point is to just get colour onto the canvas. It's very blotchy and flat, devoid of detail, etc... but I'm liking it. I'm painting from this photo.

One nugget of advice that I really appreciate receiving was when my painting instructor encouraged me not to think about starting a painting as if it was some big deal, something you had to get right, right from the start. She said, and I'm paraphasing here, "just shut up, grab a brush and slap some pigment onto the canvas" ... "cos you can always paint over it" (as I now know!).

I use to feel nervous before starting a painting (oooo, what if I fuck it up?). Now, judging from the number of painting I have still 'on the go' it seems to be my favourite part... sigh...

;-)

New fresh scent!

I have found a new flower to paint!

After going through all my own photos and strolling around the neighbourhood with my camera in hand, I turned to a few photography blogs that I follow in search of something to catch my eye.

One of the first photos I saw was on Sara Chapman's blog. I enjoy her blog as she's just across the water from me in Seattle. I can recognize the similar climate and plant life in her photography and she really does take great photos.

I was instantly wowed by a close up of a rose on her site but I kept searching and searching various blogs, flickr galleries, smug mug galleries, etc... Suddenly I realised that I was always comparing anything I found to that rose that I saw on Sara's blog.

So I pondered...

Ideally I wanted to take my own photo and paint from that but... well... it's a while until roses start blooming and I am itching to inhale paint fumes, so I email Sara, "Can I have permission to paint your rose?"

"Of course you may paint it."

Yes!

And here it is. I just love it; the shapes, the colours and Sara has assured me that its scent is wonderful!



It's already sketched out on the canvas. No photo of that though as I sketch lightly and my crap photography skills can't pick it up! And! The final product will likely look much different - realism ain't my style. I'm not sure what my style is yet but I'm not too fond of reality!
;-)