The Art Dept

   It's November, and every morning now there is frost on the ground. Even so, t his yucca plant is thriving in the middle of my herb garden. Although not an herb itself, it is surrounded by bee balm, lavender, spearmint, peppermint and catnip in the spring and summer months.  It's a robust perennial, so it stays put long after all the herbs around it have died with the frosty November air.         I love the view looking straight down from the top of the plant. I am also fascinated with the silvery white threads that swirl out playfully from the stalks. The tall stems that radiate from the center shoot out stately spikes of white flowers in the summer.        The yuccas are such a beautiful part of my herb garden that I decided to do some paintings of them. Here they are, along with some photos from my actual plants and a video of the painting process. See those cool white threads?! The paintings and more are ...

Yes, it’s an Indiana thing.  And in my salsa garden, the time is now. This is a recent entry in my illustrated garden journal.  And here’s tonight’s dinner:  Green Tomatoes paintings are available at my shop  here              

      As you probably have gathered, I am a lover of all things garden. Not only do I love to plant living things in the soil and watch them grow, but I love to then photograph, paint, draw and otherwise make art from my garden. My series “Of the Woods” is all about the exuberant plant life in which I am surrounded. It’s actually not only exuberant in the woods, but in the pastures, the yard, and the gardens.  So this life is literally overflowing on my canvases.       This week I planted an herb garden in what was formerly an overgrown and neglected planter that came with the place. I made these sweet little wooden markers with a Sharpie and some cast-offs from the wood pile, so as not to forget what’s what. I accidentally made an extra one for thyme, so for a minute  had extra thyme on my hands!                                   ...