Oil and Water Do Mix

The Dallas Arboretum
8 x10
oil on canvas
$200

Me painting in the garden.

Today I went to the Dallas Arboretum with a group of oil and water color painters, hence the title.Sheri Jones, Joyce Thomas, Cecy Turner, David Tripp and Chris Toplyn were some of the painters there today. The day started out very cloudy and in fact some of my friends did not come because it was actually raining where they lived.

The view I painted.

However, those of us who made it were rewarded by a beautiful day of painting. The clouds went away and we were rewarded with blue skies and sunshine. The flowers were incredible.

My painting in front of the view I painted.

The only bad thing about the day were the crowds. I don't mind talking to people while working, but it was almost crazy how many people came up and asked to see what I was painting. I finished my first painting and started a second but I didn't finish it because by that time the interruptions were just too much. I actually had people bumping into my easel and me  in their efforts to see my canvas.

Clumps of spring flowers.

In spite of that I had a great day. It is such a beautiful place and I can not wait to go back.

Red and yellow tulips massed in huge beds.

Flowers around the big lawn.



Pastel Flowers



The Restaurant in the Garden

Beautiful Spring Flowers

This was the subject of my second painting, the one I didn't finish.

Water Garden

Water Garden
5 x 7
oil on canvas panel
$75

    This is a small painting that I started last weekend at the Dallas Arboretum. It was actually the first water lily painting that I did. It isn't as painterly (loose) as I'm going to try to be doing but I went ahead and finished it in the style I began it.
    We didn't reach 100 today so I enjoyed working on it on my patio. We actually are expecting some days to only be in the 80s next week. That will be great. We have water restrictions now. It has been a real struggle to keep things green. Hopefully we will get some rain in the near future. Right now about the only color in my gardens is from my crape myrtles and roses. My favorite rose is an old rose I got from my grandmothers garden when she passed a few years ago. It seems like as long as they have some water they don't mind the heat. Based on singing, my birds, domestic and wild, seemed to be enjoying the break in the heat today as much as I was.

                This is the new dove I bought to keep my old dove company. At first they didn't care for each other
                         much but as I was out painting today I noticed that It seems now like they are getting along much           
        better. I really enjoy hearing their cooing in the morning . It is a cool and relaxing sound to me.

This is one of two antique roses that I brought from my grandmother's garden. It has small pale pink blooms. She often kept them in a vase on her kitchen table.   The other rose I got from her garden has small red blooms, however it isn't in bloom  right now,    One of the things I love about these old roses is that they are so hardy and disease resistant.

Lilies and More Lilies



Botanical Gardens Lilies
11 x 14
oil on Ampersand panel
$200

I painted out twice this weekend, yesterday at the Arboretum in Dallas and today at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. I went to the Dallas Arboretum with my friends to paint on Saturday. I met Olivette Hubler, Sheri Jones, Hai Chi Lee, Chris Toplyn, and some of the Dallas artists that we never met up with;  it is a big place. Our group painted near a series of pools with water lilies. when we got there only one lily was open by the time we left. There were pink, pale yellow, white, and purple lilies blooming.

Arboretum Lilies
5 x 7o
il on canvas panel
$75

 I was really inspired by the brushwork of Olivette and the palete knife work of Sheri.I am trying to get a more impressionistic style with looser brushwork. It was very hot yesterday, 107, but we hung in there and painted from about 9:00 to 12:00 or so. Then Olivette, Hai Chi and I had lunch at the restaurant in the gardens. We ate outside but in the shade so it wasn't too bad, plus we had plenty of iced tea.

Chris and Hai Chi at the lily pond at the Arboretum.

 After painting at the Arboretum I was inspired to try painting some more water lilies so this morning at 10:30 I went to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. It was 107 again today and I was in  full sun but I was able to paint for three hours. I did the painting at the top of this blog.

Lilies with green and purple pads.

The big lily pond at the Arboretum.

Olivette and Chris painting lilies.

Sheri painting lilies, I believe she finished three paintings.

My 101st post

Tip Toe Through The Garden
5 x 7
oil on canvas panel
$75

This weekend I went to paint in the Dallas Arboretum with my friend Olivette Hubler. I did this painting fairly quickly, then we had lunch and both started a second painting. It was a really hot day and an orange level pollution day but the gardens were beautiful and a treat to be in.

Lush flowerbeds surrounding a broad lawn.

The gardens in Dallas are on a former private estate on the shore of White Rock Lake. I was really impressed by all the blooms and the lushness of the gardens,

Part of the house from the original estate.

 This is the front of the home that sits in the middle of the gardens. I think it is sometimes opened for tours but wasn't today. There is a restaurant on the back side of this house.

Water lilies in the garden.

 The gardens are full of all sorts of water features in addition to being right near the lake. There are streams, fountains and pools. The sound of splashing water make you feel cooler even on a very hot day.

More flower beds.

A large pool on the edge of the lake.

A frog sculpture in the Arboretum.

 The gardens have many large sculptures in them that sometimes add a bit of whimsy and/or beauty. This is one of four large frogs shooting water at a ball. People are allowed to get in the water to cool off.

Beautiful crape myrtles.

Outdoor seating at the restaurant.

I had never been to the Arboretum but I will be sure to go back. There were so many things worth painting.