Color Coming!

I realize the groundhog saw his shadow, but on my walk this afternoon around Capital Lake in Olympia, Washington, I saw color in branches and flowers BLOOMING!

Signs of spring in Olympia taken with my camera phone:


Rhododendrons starting to BLOOM in February!


Notice the colors of the branches of this bush

YES, spring is coming!

Crocus Watercolor Painting

In my opinion the first sign of spring is seeing the crocus pop up from the barren earth. This spring I was excited to see this lovely patch of crocus which my neighbor planted a second time after my dog dug them up. I was amazed they grew considering they were chewed on by my dog, and their beauty was exquisite! I took several photographs and found the shapes and stripes compelling to paint. I finally sat down to put this feeling into a watercolor painting.

Welcome Signs of Spring

I do not know about you, but I get thrilled to see the first flowers of spring!

There is a patch of crocus which survived not just the harsh winter, but my dog digging them up after my neighbor, Janet, lovingly planted them one day last fall. She did not realize that my dog, Ebony, is very curious and could not resist uncovering what was buried. Of course, Ebony waited until Janet had left the scene.

Here is bounty that did not suffer being treated as play toys by Ebony........









Aren't they beauties! I see a painting coming....

More Day Light to Create

That extra hour of daylight and the signs of spring sparked my creative juices today.  How about you? 

In between the desire to be outdoors in the sunshine, I began my second painting from the series of photographs which I took while in Mexico. I am mesmerized by the ice plant in bloom which grew profusely, cascading down the cliffs toward the ocean. There is something about the colors and movement?

Stay tuned as the next painting evolves..........

Signs of Spring?

About this time of year the stores tease us with colorful flowers to lift our spirits. I am definitely a "sucker" to buy. I could not pass by the primroses without loading a couple in my basket. Eagerly, I planted them in pots and set the primroses on the deck railing so that I could enjoy the vision of spring from every vantage point.

It looks like the ground hog was right! To my surprise this morning my beautiful primroses were wearing snowflakes. And the daffodils look rather charming with dapples of snow.

Still a lovely picture of spring, wouldn't you agree?