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Author: Kathy

Even More Daffodils

Posted in Reference Photos

I never get tired of seeing blooming daffodils in the spring. Aren't these white ones beautiful?! 

Daffodils in bloom   sibstudio dot com

  All the daffodils in the yard are in full bloom.  

Daffodils on the hillside  SibStudio dot com

Each year the clusters get bigger and fuller.

Two tone yellow daffodils at sibstudio dot com

These two tone yellow daffodils are nestled under a bush that is just starting to bloom. You can really see how the six petals are arranged as two sets of three – three below and three above like pinwheels.  I am painting daffodils on wine glasses this week.  I'll have photos of them posted later in the week.  Enjoy your day !

Lucky Four Leaf Clover

Posted in Reference Photos

Everyday is like St. Patrick's Day around here if you are thinking of four leaf clovers. Even a week later.  My grandmother had a knack for finding four leaf clovers where ever she went.  It seems to have skipped two generations to my daughter.  No matter where she goes, she can look down and pluck a four leaf clover. The first one I remember her finding was along the edge of a parking lot when she was a preschooler.   Here's the one she found yesterday afternoon in the yard:

four leaf clover

 I've read that there is a one in 10,000 chance of finding a four leaf clover. I need a calculator for the odds of finding 40 – 50 as my daughter has….. so far. 

The four leaves of the clover  symbolize faith, hope, love, and the fourth, luck.  They have been considered a sign of luck from way back in the days of Druids. Some of the four leaf clovers are plain green like the one my daughter found, and others have a white marking like this:

four leaf clover image Wikimedia photo credit: Wikimedia

She has found both variations. Four leaf clovers are sometimes called a mutation of the white clover plant. I just call it a lucky white clover plant.  : )

Oh Good Morning!

Posted in Reference Photos

Look who was hanging out on the deck yesterday morning when I opened the blinds:

Mourning Doves

They are so pretty in all their grey softness.   The peeling deck railings, ah……. not so much. They don't seem to care too much.

Mourning Dove Bathing

Wouldn't it be cool to back able to turn your head like that!  I like seeing all the feathers separated out so you can see the shape and the coloring. The dotted feathers are interesting.  And the red feet are surprising considering how soft the colors are on the rest of the bird.

Mourning Dove at SibStudio dot com

My favorite part of the dove is the metallic pink and blue feathers around the head. I wasn't able to get close enough to catch the metallic sheen.  When I think of the colors of nature, metallic is not one that I think of, but that's what you find on the head of a mourning dove.  This little guy has finished his bath and has fluffed out his feathers to soak in the morning sunlight.  I haven't painted  mourning doves, but these guys had me ready to grab my paint brushes. They were a wonderful morning surprise.
 

A Patch of Cone Flowers

Posted in Art Work

There is a house nearby that has the most beautiful patch of cone flowers.  They grow  on a raised mound, surrounding her mailbox. Her mailbox is next to a stop sign, so you get a just few seconds to admired all those lovely flowers.

What is fun about this patch of flowers, if you are in the passenger seat of the car, you look right into the patch of flowers instead looking down at them.  So for a few seconds at the stop sign, you get  a child like view point into the sea of flowers.  You could touch them as well if the windows are down. That is the image I had in mind for this painting – a few seconds glimpse into the cone flower patch.

SibStudio dot com cone flowers

You can find this small painting, matted and ready to go at my Etsy shop.
 

I Spy Daffodils

Posted in Reference Photos

The first daffodils in my yard have bloomed. It's officially Spring at this house.  🙂 

  Daffodils   SibStudio

 These guys are a lemony yellow. The deeper yellow as well as the pink and orange varieties bloom later in the spring. I enjoy painting and drawing daffodils, so I try to get photos showing the flowers from all sides like this photo.  Hope you are having the warm, sunny weather that is already there in Pennsylvania this morning!