Friday, July 30, 2021

The pleasure of walking away and nasturtiums

Nasturtiums rule
Acrylic ink and marker
on watercolour paper
5.5 x 8.5 inches
Barbara Muir © 2021

When I spoke to you last our street was under construction. Now two weeks
later it is still under construction, and there's a deep trench in front of our house
that's been partially filled with water as we had intermittent rain for a couple of days.
I’ve parked my car one street over, and been reluctant to walk on our street,
or to drive in case I lose my precious parking spot. It's worse this week, because there's
now a post and string barrier in front of our house.

But last week I needed some art supplies, and I went to my printer to pick up some
reference photos. So I braved my rocky street and walked to my car noticing
everything along the way. Away from the construction I was delighted by flowers
and the shapes of leaves on vines over people’s  fences. The visual world captivated me.

I'm very aware that we do not have that much summer left -- that's a powerful
feeling at the end of July. So I wanted to capture our beautiful nasturtiums which
have taken over the garden. The combo of strangely hot and often wet weather has
led to fabulous growth in our garden. And our nasturtiums turned out to be aggressive
climbers that are trying to fill the entire garden. They're amazing.

What I’ve always liked about these flowers is that you have to pick them every day.
And there are so many to pick. When you think about winter that's a bit of a miracle.
So the street is a mess, but the garden is a treat. 

Happy weekend. 

5 comments:

Steven said...

Nice flowers. What are they? Aspadistra?

Barbara Muir said...

Thank you so much Steven,

No these are nasturtiums. Thank you for this family joke. (If you are
reading this comment — frequently when my husband (Steven) mentions
flowers either in vases in our house, or in the garden, he calls them
Aspadistra.)

XOXOXOXOXO Barbara

Jennifer Rose said...

yep summer is almost over, but im more of a winter person anyway lol
we grew these a few years ago at our old flat, couldn't get rid of them all when we tried to, they just kept coming back

Barbara Muir said...

Hi Jennifer,

I don’t like high heat for sure, but the beauty of our very random garden is wonderful.
The flowers are doing their own thing. When I sit on our back porch, there is always a treat — a little yellow
bird flying by, monarch butterflies in the huge cosmos flowers. Winter is beautiful too. But the backyard
is white with snow, and sidewalks and streets are slippery with ice, so I’m happy now!
Love your work!

XOXOXOXOXO Barbara

Flora Doehler said...

These are gorgeous. I love Nasturtiums too. They are so cheerful and that round leaf is so unusual.
I miss you and hope you are visiting family and enjoying the light of summmertime. oxoxo I love your painting xoxo Flora

Portrait Artist

My photo
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I paint and draw on commission and for shows. To commission a portrait, or purchase one of my paintings please contact me at: barbara.muir@sympatico.ca
A major highlight in my career? Drawing Oprah Winfrey live via Skype for her show "Where in the Skype are you? Galleries: Studio Vogue Gallery, Toronto, Canada. The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, New York City. Gallery at the Porch Door, Kingston, Canada. Your positive comments on this blog mean the world to me. I'd love to hear from you!