Holding Hands in the Moonlight

Looking out (and in) through my window....

These two caught my eye as I was turning out the lights the other night.  One might suppose it's just a fluke that their "hands" are touching.  But whether from true love, or intense fright, they managed to remain motionless and "hang on" while I moved around in front of them -- just inches away -- taking a series of five photos with intense flashes.   And yes, I felt terrible invading their reverie.  But it was such an unusual, lovely sight, and quite thought provoking, so I felt compelled to capture it. 

I thought about the image off and on during the work week; mentally going through my "archives" of art images, thinking about which of them I might include with it in a post.  But in the end,  I decided it should just stand on it's own.    As I sat down to post it this morning, I took a moment to scroll through the recent posts in my blogger feed and came across the newest image in Golly Bard's Drawing Room.  Holly's photographs are always stunning; the result of an amazing eye and an excellent camera.  An avowed naturalist, she captures both flora and fauna in their height of glory, and long after that glory has faded.  But frequently, in that faded glory, there is amazing beauty, and her most recent photos illustrate this in stark, but soft detail.  Truly, I could spend hours studying the last image on her post today.  It is incredibly evocative. For those of you who follow Holly's blog, you'll be delighted to find her link to a new interview where she talks about what inspires her, and the romance of summertime.  

Which reminds me.......summer appears to have finally arrived in Portlandia.  It's time for me to move away from the computer and head outside for a breath of the rose-scented air.

                                                           Have a wonderful weekend!

Logs and Luck and Golly Bard

Alder log

I love the ends of logs; whole or split, wet or dry, with either growth rings or sawmarks showing.  Well, it so happens that Holly Ward Bimba, a.k.a. Golly Bard does, too.  At least I'm guessing she does, because she's been working on a series of log watercolors for some time now.  I featured Holly's work awhile back, and I've been a huge fan since I discovered her.  She's looks for, and finds, the most interesting bits of natural history.  And she translates what she sees into the most carefully and precisely rendered watercolors.  Her recently completed pheasants, both now in her shop, are masterful renderings of fowl and vegetation, and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how she has the patience and the steadiness of hand to create such beautiful work. 

Ring Necked Pheasant no. 1

by Holly Ward Bimba

18" x 24"

Ring Necked Pheasant no. 2

by Holly Ward Bimba

18" x 24"

But getting back to the logs, if you follow Golly Bard, you know that Holly periodically offers giveaways.  And it just so happens, that she was recently giving away one of her original log paintings, and... that being the case, I decided to throw my name in the hat.  And.....it just so happens that luck was with me in a big way and I am now the very happy beneficiary of Holly's generosity, having won her lovely watercolor painting that arrived in an equally lovely package!  

"Log no.32"

Original watercolor by Holly Ward Bimba

Thank you Holly!!

If you're not already following Holly's blog, get on board so that you can catch a glimpse of the world as she sees it.  You'll love what she discovers!  :)

Nests, Eggs and Golly Bard

"Stick Nest"

Last weekend during a lull in the weather, my husband called me over to where he was working and showed me what had just materialized. It was an upside down nest of sticks that had formed when he had taken off the lid of the garbage can and turned the can over on top of the contents in our yard debris cart. The sticks had previously molded into the nest shape in the smaller can, where he had placed them the week prior after having pruned the Gravenstein apple tree. "Andy Goldsworthy," we said simultaneously to each other, in reference to the nature artist. Well, we both agreed the sticks were too lovely to give over to the recycling company just yet, so he cut them into still shorter lengths and we dropped them helter-skelter into a 14" high cylindrical vase. They looked beautiful in the vase and we enjoyed them there for a few days, and will, no doubt, enjoy them there again. But in the meantime, I had something else in mind. A couple of days prior to the "stick nest" occurrence, I had been visiting Golly Bard's Drawing Room, where Holly had posted her second series of nest and egg watercolors. I love the graphic quality of Holly's work, and as you can see, her nests and eggs are beautifully spare.

Well, last Christmas, I had received some decorative eggs from my oldest daughter that I have enjoyed immensely thoughout the year. And this Christmas, I was delighted when I opened a gift from my youngest daughter and found a beautiful ostrich egg that she had collected while working on a farm in Ecuador, and had blown herself. So with Holly's nest paintings fresh in my mind, and the bevy of sticks at hand, one thing led to another and the result of all this is that the little eggs have landed on top of the now down-sized nest of sticks, and the large ostrich egg sits, grandly, nearby.

In the meantime, Holly has posted the third installment of her nest series so be sure to check out her wonderful paintings on Golly Bard's Drawing Room and in her Etsy Shop.