What are you working on?

[Iain]

And people who plant trees are doing so for future generations. Unless, of course, once established, it is cut down.

I guess representations of the real just won't do.

 

[Artyczar]

Now you've got me thinking.

I love this Iain. Do you have more pictures of it?

 

[Artyczar]

Well now I feel guilty about taking down the roses, but Southern California is drought country and we live in the high desert. The people who planted them were elderly people from Germany (they had the house before us) and I don't think they realized how much water they required, or cared. They need a LOT of water. They really don't belong in this climate, so I don't know which part of me feels more guilty about the whole thing. The landlords are willing to switch them out for cacti. We are also the ones that pay for the water, not that it's a big deal to pay for the water. It's more about waste/consumption of resources.

 

[Iain]

They no doubt planted the Roses for sentimental reasons. Euphorbias are from your climate, or some are, and some spread taking up more area, if that is what is needed. It is quite common in gardening to have a layered planting of different heights, to add interest, reduce weed competition and, to an extent, protect from the sun and reduce water loss. So you have the tree canopy, mid-level shrubs and the ground cover planting. I don't know if that is what is needed, but I thought I should mention it. You probably know this anyhow.

 

[Iain]

I am thinking of cutting it from the hard board and setting it, raised, on another board. The image may be dark, but addition light reflects off the metallic paint.

 

[Artyczar]

I love this Iain! It seems like a huge labor of love and a wonderful work of art. I'd love to see it in person.

I will pass on what you said about the roses to Hannah to see what she thinks.

Today is my first attempt at painting again after not doing it for a long, long time. I'd bought a plastic mat for my drawing table to do acrylics, but it came rolled up, so I laid heavy books on it to flatten it out for a few days. In the meantime, I've set up a little watercolor space in my dining room to make a few small pieces today. We'll see how it goes.

 

[snoball]

I love the floral tree Iain and Arty, your neatness always just floors me.

 

[Iain]

Thank you both. It is nice to see your place Arty. It satisfies a certain nosiness.

I have another idea to use material from the above work. So I guess it wlll be like a companion piece, the format similar to the framed work behind it. The figures are in dialogue. I haven't decided whether to utilize my handwritten script or invest in printer ink.

I need wood to make the frame.

Totemic system.

 

[Iain]

Here are quick shots from the late Will Giles' book, The New Exotic Garden, which incorporates some beautiful photos.

 

[Maybenartist]

Been walking a little and feeding the birds, I made a grape tree for them, they seem to like it.

 

[E.J.H.]

By the way, that particular barrel cactus, the one with the yellow spines (echinocactus grusonii) , is called "schoonmoeder´s stoel" in dutch, or "mother in law´s chair". No idea why....

 

[Maybenartist]

I began a watercolour, not much to look at, but it's a beginning

 

[snoball]

Looking forward to seeing it progress Ian.

 

[Artyczar]

I love the totem Iain! And that cacti garden is Aaaamazing! I wish I had that out front. But at least I have the entire wild desert (sans the rose bushes).

Maybenartist, great start on your watercolor!

I made a few tiny watercolors over the last couple of days, but as I got a little bigger, I realized I didn't have the reach I thought I had without pulling muscles, and possible inner stitches! So I can't do that again, and that was just a 7 x 10 inch piece of paper. So I have to stick to much smaller for now. I'll post them in the forums below.

 

[Iain]

I hope you realise you will have the forum to answer to if you pull as much as a stitch! Although, Hannah should be enough of a deterrent

But at least I have the entire wild desert

The openness was what struck me about your landscape.

 

[Artyczar]

I see you mean the picture out my front door. Duh! I thought (hoped) you meant something else (at first).

 

[Iain]

My apologies. I should have said, the above image, rather than, landscape.

Speaking of openness. Your ability to identify with the different approaches to art, and your genuine enthusiasm for the work of others, is quite rare, or appears to be. And deserves to be acknowledged. I like what sno has said in response to your work. "It is so Arty." Which i have come to realise is a subtle way of saying something profound.

 

[Iain]

I posted a detail of this above. It is not finished, but I was struck here by how the table lamp highlighted the surface. The cold light of day shows it in another "truer" light. A bit like people. Now I am off to get some beauty sleep

 

[Iain]

By the way, that particular barrel cactus, the one with the yellow spines (echinocactus grusonii) , is called "schoonmoeder´s stoel" in dutch, or "mother in law´s chair". No idea why....

Me neither. There is a succulent with long thin leaves that culminate in a need-sharp point that is commonly known as the Mother-in-law's Tongue. Again, no idea why. None whatsoever.

 

[snoball]

I think the name Mother-in-law's tongue for Sansevieria comes from a MIL's tongue having a reputation for being sharp.