Whimsical "Yarn Bombing" at Sherman Gardens

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  Today I am taking you with me to the Sherman Library and Gardens where we will have a glass of ice tea in their beautiful Tea Garden shown in the photo above.  I am participating in their first Artisan Fair and Art Show in November and my space will be located in the Tea Garden.  I went to take photos of my space so I can start working on my booth and it turned out they are having a fun and whimsical "yarn bombing" exhibit throughout the garden and I knew that you would enjoy going with me.


The library and gardens are located on 2.2 acres in Newport Beach on the Pacific Coast Highway a short distance from the Pacific Ocean.

The yarn bombed wheelbarrow greets visitors and was created by volunteers in the community and the exhibit represents hundreds of hours of labor and miles of yarn.

There are gardens filled with native, exotic, and desert plants with patios, conservatories and shade structures.They serve delicious food at the lovely Cafe Jardin and Tea Garden Creperie, and afternoon tea  in the gardens by reservations only.

             The entrance to one of the shade structures was the beginning of the yarn bombing.

          One of the whimsical Pelicans made from drift wood and shells greets you.

                                Tropical Palm trees grow through the shade structures.

The volunteers call themselves "Yarn Bombing Bandits" and their agenda is to bridge the generational divide, support community art and remind the world that without plants, we cannot knit, breathe, eat, or live!  Their  charming "bandit" photos are posted throughout the garden.

Humor is a major component of yarn bombing, which by its nature embodies contradictory idiosyncrasies within itself.

Thank you for stopping by.   I hope you enjoyed your little whimsical yarn bomb tour. I sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those following my blog.

I am busy painting lots of new small paintings to show at the Artisan Fair in November and will be poping in from time to time to share some of my new small works.

Have a lovely week.   Blessings, Erin

"When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you."  Proverbs 6:22

It's Beginning to Look Like Fall

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax in the cool early morning with a cup of tea while I share with you what is going on in The Painted Garden.  I am thrilled that Country Living shared my re-purposed ladder in a round up of ways to decorate your porch for fall on their site this week.  For examples of fun ways to decorate your porch for fall you can visit their website at www.countryliving.com and click on design - fall porch decorating.

Let's join Bentley, my Studio Assistant, to see what we have been up to getting ready for Fall.

I love using ladders as they are a great way to add height in a small space garden.  I now have 3  ladders to play with!

Garden boots are always fun to use for a few Fall decorations - I bought the yellow ones on sale for $10.00.

One of my favorite cozy places to sit with morning tea - Blossom our vintage dress form has a new  apron and is all ready for the first day of Fall!   Note - the little red ladder beside the chair is my 3rd ladder!

I found the little wood Crows at Michael's on sale and thought they would be cute in the garden with some of my whimsical Fall paintings.

Thank you for stopping by.  I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your e-mails, visits, comments and those following my blog.

Have a lovely week.   Blessings,  Erin


"I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go."  Psalm  32:8

Painting Roses and Orchids

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax in the cool morning with a cup of tea  before the hot sun comes up while I share with you the inspirations for a new painting.  I will be showing some new work at the Showcase Gallery and the show opening reception will be in conjunction with the International Orchid  Show being held in the charming court yard outside the gallery entrance.

Let's join Bentley, my Studio Assistant, to look for inspiration.  I want to paint a "garden day" scene with Roses and Orchids.  

Our Lady of Guadalupe and Pink Iceberg Roses are still blooming sporadically in spite of our severe drought in Southern California - the blooms are much smaller - never the less the Roses are giving it their best.  The color of the blooms of  Our Lady of Guadalupe seem to have a peach tint now instead of all pink and I love the new colors.  The pink Icebergs also seem to have a darker tint.

I want to add a few of my "signature" Sunflowers to the painting to balance the yellow Orchids.

I purchased pink and yellow Phalaenopsis Orchids as I felt they would look nice with the Roses I picked from our garden.

                                     I want to add a cloche to the painting to give it a garden feel.

Before I start the painting I gather all of the flowers together to get a feel for the colors and harmony.

                                                   The completed "Garden Day"  painting.

Thank you for stopping by.  I sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those following my blog.  I am working on 4 more small paintings for the show and will pop in from time to time to share them with you. I apologize for not staying with my regular posting schedule - between painting and on going physical therapy for knee replacements the time gets away from me.

Have a lovely week,  Blessings, Erin 

                   "The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps".   Proverbs 16:9

Flea Market Garden Finds

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  My garden gate is always open for you to come in an sit and relax with an ice tea while I share with you some of the treasurers my friend Marilyn and I found at the flea market.  You know it is a good day when you come home with 3 step ladders and 2 large bird houses in the back seat along with a tail gate filled with treasurers.

Let's take a quick tour of one of our favorite Flea Markets in Costa Mesa, Ca -Behind the Picket Fence - and then we will come back to my garden to see a few of my new finds.

How cute is this "Itty Bitty Vintage Shop"?

                                 Love all of the rust on the vintage metal items.

 New vendor, Pristine Gardens, had a beautiful display of succulents and containers and will come to your home for landscape and  maintenance of your garden and can be reached at 949 -702-6955.  

Her containers are beautiful and so well made.

                                                         Lots of unusual enamel ware.

Linda Bucci is a very talented jewelry designer and metal smith and her work is stunning and so collectible.  She teaches jeweler making classes at her Red Vine Studio and her work can be seen on her ETSY shop at www.lindabucci.etsy.com

I love birdhouses made from recycled wood and my heart skipped a beat or 2 when we stopped at The Birdman of Orange's space.  I ended up buying 2 large birdhouses and 2 signs and will share them with you at the end of this post.  The Birdman  of Orange can be reached at 657-600-2089 and is also on Facebook and Instagram ,. They also makes custom pieces hand painted to order.  Their prices are very reasonable and I was able to buy all 4 pieces for what some shops charge for one piece. 

Now for the fun part - sharing some of my new flea market finds. The Birdman  of Orange birdhouse  displayed with all water-wise succulents and plants.

Red ladder - love the galvanized trim on it - with new galvanized containers.

                                                 Love the red ladder with my red cushions.

Large red birdhouse made by The Birdman of Orange - I have been looking for one this size for  a while and love how this one fits with my old vintage flag.

One of my favorites is the galvanized cow feed bucket as it has a big handle that can be hung on a fence or in this case old shutters.

Thank you for stopping by.  I sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those following my blog.  I apologize for not getting around to visit you as often as I would like - I am now showing my art in two galleries and there is not enough time in the day.  I hope to be able to visit you again soon.

Have a lovely week.  Blessings,  Erin


                               "They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness."  Psalm  145:7