Thursday, July 28, 2011

Perennial, Illustration Friday

A good scientist is a person in whom the childhood quality of perennial curiosity lingers on. Once he gets an answer, he has other questions.” ~ Frederick Seitz

It figures that Illustration Friday and Mike would come up with a really challenging word this week, "Perennial," while I'm experiencing a case of the summer doldrums. Actually, it's been a period of "what should I do next?" but those activities have been unrelated to painting.
While walking the pups one quiet morning, it occurred to me that these native old oaks that live along the creek fit the bill. I often marvel at how these sturdy trees plant themselves near a source of water, maintain their stances for decades among competing plant life and only give in when disease, intermittent drought, flooding or landscaping crews come along to clear the way for "improvements."
After this quick sketch for IF, I'm heading over to see how Mike interpreted his own suggestion. I might even have a question for him, like "How did you come up with this one?"
Wishing everybody a curiously creative week!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Gesture, Illustration Friday

Just a simple gesture of aloha in the form of a quick watercolor for this week's IF challenge.
The scent of sweet plumeria blossoms sent my thoughts traveling back in time, to early mornings sitting around Auntie's table, where she would teach us kids how to string leis with the freshly picked flowers.
Just daydreaming...

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Stay, Illustration Friday

This is one that stayed under wraps until this week, when I decided it might be a good time to complete it for IF.
Stay cool this week, as summer temps soar!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Remedy, Illustration Friday


"To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy" ~ Hippocrates

A quick watercolor for IF this week, the fragrant lavender has been used as a remedy for a variety of ailments. Its soothing, calming effects suggest that Hippocrates might have been sniffing fields of it when he offered this advice.

If you'd like to try your hand at creating a unique gift from your garden, please visit My Creative Day. It's a brand new blog whose writer's first post offers step by step instructions to create a lavender wand. It's possible that the aromatic properties of one of these wands might magically take you to other faraway places, but I have a feeling that many more interesting and creative adventures could materialize if you decide to visit!