Flowers, a book, a seahorse

And a reading rabbit

Our Fairy Goddaughter came to dinner one evening this weekend and she brought flowers. Naturally I drew them with my watercolor pencils and painted them with my gouache paints the next morning during breakfast.

Below are the real life flowers sitting on the bookshelves in our kitchen. Please notice that as I wrote, drew and painted in my sketchbook I thought about and emphasized my thoughts and feelings regarding the flowers and some aspects of our dinner conversation rather than strict realism. (More details of my approach is in my last newsletter.)

Over the last weeks I've been working on and finishing a large painting I've titled “In My Book". It will join the rest of my series for upcoming one-person exhibits via the Caplan Art Designs Gallery later this year. More details about what inspired this artwork and some stages of it in progress are here.

I'm certain you notice that all of the flowers in my painting depart not only from scientific realism but also from the realistic-ish, expressionist-ish, whatcha-call-it style of flowers that I did in my sketchbook at the top of this post. The flowers in my finished painting become symbolic of the veritable garden of thoughts, feelings and opinions individuals can have. The painting is my visual interpretation of the idiom “in my book”.

Another topic: some weeks ago I had shared this breakfast sketchbook page…

… and several of you asked me to make a coffee mug with the “seahorse part”. So I did! And it's available here in several sizes and styles. Thanks again for asking for my art!! (Link here)

Another breakfast sketchbook session contained this rabbit.

Thanks for being here! I hope your day today contains some playing and resting. 💚💚💚