Painting Red Geraniums

Welcome. I am so happy that you stopped by. My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax while I share with you the inspirations for my art. Goodness gracious - the weather all over our country has been so unusual this year - I hope all of you living in the areas hit by tornados are all right. The unusually cool and rainy weather in Southern California produced beautiful Spring flowers that seem to be larger than usual.

My Geraniums are glorious and the blooms are bigger than usual. Let's go into the garden and Bentley, my helpful Studio Assistant, will show you the Geraniums.

The blooms on the white Geraniums are as big as Hydrangeas.

The garden hat and red Geraniums are the inspiration for a new garden painting for my office.

The vintage blue windmill was from an old house that was torn down in Laguna Beach, California - it was 0n a fence overlooking the ocean and I have had it for years. It blew over in a recent windstorm and broke off some of the spokes - I still have them and am hoping that my Handyman can fix it. I decided to paint the ocean in the background of the Geranium painting as a tribute to the old windmill that spent years overlooking the ocean.

I have pots of red geraniums in my office and garden hats hanging on the wall and thought the painting would be the perfect addition.

"Happy is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates." Proverbs 8:34

Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, comments, e-mails and those who are following my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special.

I am "re-purposing" a large painting for my office with a seasside cottage garden theme and will share it with you next week.

Have a lovely week. Blessings, Erin

Garden Rabbits - Here - There - Everywhere

Welcome. I am so happy that you stopped by. My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax with a cup of mint tea while I share with you the inspirations for my art. Since Easter is next week I thought it would be fun to share with you my collection of Garden Rabbits that actually look like Easter Rabbits. My collection of Rabbits started about fifteen years . I was newly divorced and just started creating my little garden. I purchased three concrete Rabbits for my garden - a friend stopped by and saw the Rabbits - she assumed that I collected Rabbits and gave me two more Rabbits as a house warming gift- you know what they say about Rabbits -well another friend stopped by and assumed that I collected Rabbits and gave me two more Rabbits as a garden warming gift. By this time I had a reputation of collecting Rabbits and the rest is history.

Let's join Bentley, My Studio Assistant, in the garden and we will share some of the "Easter" - Garden Rabbits with you.

How about you? Do you have any Garden Rabbits in your garden?

"I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you". John 15:11

Easter Blessings

Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate and cherish your visits, comments, e-mails, and those who are following my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special.

Wishing you and your family many Easter Blessings. Erin

Spring Yellow

Welcome. I am so happy that you stopped by. My Garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax with a cup of tea while I share with you the inspirations for my art. Nothing says Spring more to me in the garden than the color yellow - the happy - sunny yellow faces of Daffodils always make me smile. We had a wild Spring storm over the weekend here in Southern California with high winds and hail. I decided not to leave the Daffodils outside so they would not be damaged by the wind and hail.

Bentley, my helpful Studio Assistant, was in the garden when the hail storm hit. He was not sure what to think of it and ran into the house to hide in his favorite spot on the stair landing. Needless to say he will not be escorting you into the garden to look for inspiration.

Daffodils before the rain storm.

I love the colors of yellow and purple side by side.

Now that the Daffodils are inside I have lots in arrangements around my house.

Here . . . .

There . . . .

Everywhere . . . . .

" You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly." Psalm 65:9

I did not have time to paint something new this week, however, I do have a painting with Daffodils that I painted last year to share with you.

Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, comments, e-mails, and those who follow my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me pain something special.

Have a lovely week. Blessings, Erin

Romantic Prairie Style

Welcome. I am so happy that you stopped by. My garden gate is always open for you to come in and have a cup tea and relax while I share with you the inspirations for my art. I just received my copy of Romantic Prairie Style by Fifi O'Neil. . . . . oh my goodness - I immediately curled up in my garden with a cup of tea reading every word and enjoying the fabulous photography by Mark Lohman. The book is lovely and embraces simple pleasures, family, love, gardening , simplicity and harmony with the earth. . . .and all things old and worn, rusted, repurposed, recycled and reused. I loved Fifi's beautiful book and realized that Prairie Style is not about living on the "prairie" but is a style that says home wherever you live. Let's join Bentley, my Studio Assistant, and go into my garden looking for "prairie style" roses to paint.

First, here is a little peek into Fifi's fabulous new book:

Fifi is having a wonderful giveaway along with several other bloggers to celebrate publication of Romantic Prairie Style. Her bog is a real treat and you can visit her at:

www.fabulousfifi.typepad.com and her book can be purchased at" www.amazon.com

My Ice Berg roses are blooming and I want to paint prairie style roses with a soft and old and time worn feeling - somewhat different from the brighter primary colors that I usually paint.

Finding inspiration . . . .

Here . . . .

There . . . . "I will be glad and rejoice in you". Psalm 9:2

Everywhere . . . . .

The finished painting with a softer time worn look.

Art in the Garden"

Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate and cherish your visits, comments, e-mails and those who are following my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special. I am going back on a little blog break to finish painting something new for my blog banner.

Have a lovely day. Blessings, Erin