July was full of painting at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs. This is
my seventeenth year painting at the Broadmoor. Although I am only there a few
times a year, as I approach the porte cochere at The Broadmoor I am still awestruck by the wonder and beauty of this resort.

The month started off with a quick little project in the New “Pet Boutique”. I actually have my eye on a sweater for Bella’s Christmas present. This was a simple little project that took less that a day. A quote: “Our Purrrfect companions never have fewer than four feet.” Then there were paw prints all over the background with a cute little dog and a cat at either end. The idea for the style of animals came from the Boutique’s logo. Since I keep forgetting to take pics of that I will have to show you later. Meanwhile here is the cheerful logo designed by Julie Jameson Terrafranca of the Broadmoor.

Next there were two covered walkways leading to buildings referred to as
Northeastmoore and Southeastmoore. It was decided that the eight areas to be
painted should coordinate to the designs I had created over ten years ago for
the nearby arches on the exterior of Broadmoor Main. Instead of being painted in the same neutral colors as the original design the new design would be painted with the white of the window and door trim. The color of the area to be painted was a lovely, soft sky blue. Using the same components I designed a seven foot wide stencil, three foot tall at the center. The original design for the arches was two feet by two and a half feet tall.

Then came the areas above two seven foot wide windows at the entrance to  The Boutique, a fabulous, colorful women’s boutique. The exterior wall was
painted an dramatic pumpkin color. My job was to paint floral sprays above each window. When I asked if there was a preference of flowers the response was, “I just want ‘Mickey” flowers’.” That was music to my ears, I love to paint “Mickey Flowers”! It is so much more difficult to paint by the book than it is to paint from the heart.

Mickey Flowers are pretty much like they sound . . . flowers I feel will be appropriate for the area. Lots of white and blue was suggested. Here is what flowed from my bushes. Please excuse the scaffold in the finished shot.

When I returned home after the first day of painting I had an email saying how much they loved my flowers but that now their sign no longer matched. Today I emailed an idea for a new sign, waiting for approval.

Another fun thing I do for the Broadmoor is give tours of my art and demonstrations to their guests. In July I had the pleasure of spending time with
fifteen guests from across the US. They were such a delight and they asked the
best questions. I enjoyed every minute of the time I spent with them. We had a
few that had made a detour when this shot was taken.

Bella’s Insights

Greetings my friends! Mom and I had another adventure before the end of July. We
packed up and drove to Broomfield, Colorado. We took the “scenic route” as mom called it, ending up in Boulder, Colorado. Somehow I doubt that was part of her plan seeing as how we turned around and went back several miles to catch the exit we needed. What was she thinking?!?

We stayed at a really nice lady’s home, her name was Dr. Sabo and she liked me. Her assistant, Jenna, was really nice, too. I met lots of people because I got to go to work with mom every day. I was pretty darn good too. I made sure to let mom know when I had to go do my duty. The only time I barked was if someone came to the door – not sure why mom didn’t like that so much. Humph.

The first day mom painted aspen trees nine feet tall with tall flowing grasses at the base of the trees. The next day mom got to paint more of her favorite things, flowers. The next two days she painted a wall pocket with flowers on the opposite wall. Boy, my vocabulary grows when I go to work with mom.

Then Dr. Sabo had an open-house with good food, a massage therapist and an acupuncturist, jewelry, a silent auction with the proceeds going to charity, and lots of people stopped by, even the Mayor of Broomfield came. I kept an eye on everything and made sure everyone was having a good time. I didn’t bark one time, mom was so proud of me. Mom says painting a mural is a workout for body, mind and soul.

That was my new adventure. Hope you have an adventure
planned.

Hey, you could even tell me about it on mom’s blog.

~ Bella, the adventurer

You are a Priority

Somewhere on your list of priorities should be you and things that make
you smile. For me filling my surroundings with things I love is part of taking
care of me. Some of the things I like to surround myself with are photos of
family, remembrances of special times and art that I enjoy. Things that make me think, things that make me feel and things that bring a smile to my face.

Today it is still quite cool outside. The sun is shining on the snow covered
ground and it looks as though someone has sprinkled glitter on top of the
pristine white snow. Everything is still and peaceful, Bella is napping at my
feet. I’m sipping on a cup of hot water with lemon. I don’t remember how long ago I started drinking hot water but it has been many years.
At first it was a way of assuring my water intake was enough in the dry climate of Colorado. Now I just enjoy it. It’s clean, healthy and feels nurturing to me.  While on a plane flight one time I ordered a cup of hot water with lemon when the stewardess came by. The rather robust lady seated next to me said, “In Michigan, where I come from, we call that Silver Tea.” That sparked a pleasant conversation and it does seem much more sophisticated to be drinking “Silver Tea”, don’t ya think?

Commissioned Paintings are a Privilege

It is such a privilege to have a friend commission a painting. My friend, Linda, is a joy to be around, she is intelligent, spiritual, an avid hiker, a dancer, a movie goer and she has two wonderful canine friends so she also loves spending time in nature. When she asked if I would paint something for her living room I was honored. She had changed a few things since I had been in her home so I stopped by to measure and to see some of the color changes she had made to her decor. Like so many of us Linda loves flowers. In fact, when you visit her in the summer you are greeted by beautiful flower gardens that surround her home. After taking all of these things into consideration and getting measurements I went home to do some sketching.
Columbines kept popping into my head. She accented with a deep red so poppies seemed a good fit although I would have to take some liberties and coordinate them to her accent colors. She wanted an airy feeling to the painting so a pairing of wild flowers on fields of tall grasses were the seeds of my inspiration.

Deep red poppies would add a sense of daring and the columbines created a
quietness at the same time. The first sketch was approved but when actually
drawing it out on watercolor paper to the proper scale a few changes were needed. Since it was to be a vertical painting having the flowers in closer proximity actually made it feel more intimate.

Meaning of Columbine

The columbine was said to have sprung up where the Virgin Mary’s feet touched the earth when she was on her way to visit Elizabeth. The spurred flowers resembled the tiny doves and came to represent the Holy Spirit. The flower also symbolized the innocence of Mary. The petals of the Columbine symbolize the seven gifts of the Spirit. The wild columbine has only five petals.

Meaning of Red Poppy

In Persian literature, red poppies, especially red corn poppy flowers, are considered the flower of love. They are often called the eternal lover flower.

Limited Edition Prints

One of the exciting things about the technology available to artists today is
print-on-demand. As an artist I can have a limited edition series and not have inventory and storage to contend with, not to mention the possibility of damage that can occur in a storage area. The actual size of a good quality giclee can be customized to my client’s decor as well. My giclees are printed on archival canvas or archival watercolor paper. The quality is amazing. What I like about limited edition prints is that they make art affordable to just about anyone. What wonderful choices we have available to us. If you have questions about art or reproductions just drop me an e-mail.

Bella’s Insights

Hey!

I’m beginning to like this writing stuff. Last month mom and I went with friends to the “Paint Mines” outside of Calhan, Colorado, not far from Colorado Springs. Boy, was I happy when I was invited too! I noticed that mom put her hiking boots on – that’s always a sign of a pending adventure. Wahoo!

Lots of mom’s friends were there and I even got to meet Arlo and Muki who turned out to be really nice “for dogs”, they really taught me a lot more about exploring. Oh man, did I get to play in the mud, look at these paws!

Arlo was a real go-getter, he checked everything out and if he got out of site his mom called and he always hurried back, he was really smart and that dog could jump like a kangaroo- What a hoot!

Muki is my other new friend. Muki and I pretty much didn’t stray far from the trail. Of course a leash around our necks helped with that. We were taking in the sites.  I still managed to get wrapped around some bushes and rocks.

The Paint Mines were different than any place I have seen and right here near Colorado Springs. You can’t see them from the highway, the road or even the parking lot. All you can see are the great Plains of Eastern Colorado.  You absolutely must go exploring to find them. I can’t wait to go again. It was an overcast day when we went. Now mom wants to go back when the sun is out and see how different her pics look. Who knows, maybe she will share that place in one of her paintings. That’s it for now, this is Bella signing off. ~Bella, the Explorer

Wildflowers in Watercolor

I’ve seen it a thousand times but today it’s different. It is as though I see each delicate snow flake falling gracefully onto the already snow-dusted ground. A foggy haze covers the city views. It looks so pristine, even the deer haven’t sauntered by to leave their tracks in the snow.

Today is different because late last night I finished a commissioned painting. After turning off the fireplace and the lights I retired for the evening with a cup of tea, a glass of water and paper and pen in hand to do some Mind Mapping before drifting off to sleep. If you are interested in knowing more about Mind Mapping check out business writer Daphne Grey-Grant’s website.

What made this morning so special are the feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction we all strive for as well as the anticipation of beginning my next painting. Part of preparing for 2010 was deciding on a painting schedule and actually planning what I would be painting each month. These plans are not written in stone and that’s a good thing because a couple of weeks ago I had a vivid dream of a painting I feel compelled to paint. Upon awakening that morning I did a quick sketch of what had come to me in my dream – even the title was clear. Today I will set that into motion by ordering a custom stretched canvas.  More to come on that. All I will say now is, believe it or not, the subject is not flowers.

However, the watercolor I finished last night is of wildflowers.  Columbines and poppies in a grassy outdoor setting with a bug and my infamous bumble bee partially hidden from site on one of the columbines.

Portion of "Among the Wild Flowers", Columbines & Poppies in watercolor, finished size before framing is 24.5" x 18.5"

This painting was commissioned by a client who has purchased other paintings from me but this was different in that she requested a painting to coordinate to her living room in color and size. My client is a dear friend who loves the out-of-doors and she has beautiful gardens surrounding her home. So considering her surroundings and the colors in her living room Columbines and Poppies seemed appropriate.

Do you have a favorite wildflower? I’m open to ideas for more wildflower paintings.

Poppies have been one of my favorite flowers to paint. This is another of the paintings I finished in time for my Autumn Art & Jewelry Show.

The flower symbolism associated with poppies is beauty, magic, consolation, fertility and eternal life. Poppies in Chinese art represent the loyalty and faith between lovers.

I find poppies to be beautiful, glorious in color and oh so graceful. My husband on the other hand did not. He considered them a pest. He didn’t like digging them up  to thin them. Oooooo, the dreaded poppy.

When looking through my pics if I can’t find what I am looking for I go online for photos of poppies and if what I find isn’t appropriate or detailed enough I search stock photos and download something that will work. This isn’t something I do often but it is a wonderful resource.

While painting these poppies I decided to paint all those tiny hairs on the stems. One of my house guests was watching and asked if the tiny hairs had a name. Well, I was sure they had a botanical name but I didn’t know it. After searching the internet it seems they may be called sericeous which are “silky” little hairs. This may be more information than you ever wanted. If so, sorry about that, I just get a little curious at times. Do you know if this is correct?

Tiny hairs on poppy stems, "sericeous"

My initial sketch for this painting had more leaves at the bottom but as I was finishing the painting I liked the simplicity of the painting without all the detail of leaves. It felt as though without the leaves more attention would on the blossoms.  Do you agree?

"Crimson Grace", Poppies in acrylic, 24" x 48"