Spring Things

"Mariposa"
View on Daily Paintworks 
It's spring, and this year that means a few more rain showers, plenty of birds, and rattlesnakes.

It also means time in the garden, along with a spring pastel workshop, which was the artistic  highlight of my month!

We painted spring butterflies, and my daughter managed to turn her face green by rubbing her pastel-laden hands all over her face as she worked.
Classwork from our Family Art Workshop-- Spring pastels at St. Stephen Lutheran in Fallbrook
Learn more here
I originally created this piece as a demo for the workshop, and finished it up a bit later at home:

"Spring Butterfly"
9 x 12 pastel on paper
View on Etsy
Spring is a time of renewal, and every year I find myself busy in the springtime.  The days last longer, there are plenty of art events on the calendar, and the weather is much more inviting.  The birds return to familiar nesting spots.  The nights here are still pleasantly cool, and the hills are exploding with colorful flowers.

We even did an extra bit of spring cleaning at home, and now there's more space to work.

In the past, spring wasn't my favorite season-- the heat appears rather quickly here, and the feast of flowers also bring unwanted visitors (bugs, gophers, and as I mentioned above, snakes).  As a teacher, spring was rough because the kids went bonkers-- just in time for high stress testing!  Now that I'm an amateur (VERY amateur!) gardener, I appreciate the ease with which plants grow in the spring-- kind of like the ease with which I paint at this time of year, with so much inspiration around.

"Secret Garden"
View on Daily Paintworks


"Gayle's Garden"
View on my website
Check out recent paintings on my website!

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