There's the door, Winter.

I'll be honest, I'd really rather be outside right now but before I give into temptation I just wanted to post a quick update on the ACEO I had on the go. Here it is:

"Daybreak" ACEO
Coloured pencil on Mi-Teintes
Copyright Rita Woodburne

It was fun to break out the yellows and oranges again, and this little work rekindled my love of flowers as subject matter. Not that I ever really despised doing them, but (and I'm sure you other artists out there would agree), after awhile of doing the same subject matter over and over again you get a little tired. Yes, it's true, even flowers can lose their novelty.

So, on that note, I have done what I set out to do and now I must get outside and indulge in the wonderful weather we're having.

Dare I say it? Is Spring actually upon us?

Winter? What Winter?

Well, so much for Winter.

Over the past few weeks we’ve had normal or above normal temps, sunny skies and only the occasional flurry or two. Normally I wouldn’t be complaining about this but we’re only in the middle to end of February and there’s still at least a month left of Winter.

"Dynamic Duo" ACEO
Coloured pencil on Mi-Teintes
Copyright Rita Woodburne

I know, you say :”Well thank goodness there’s only about a month left!” But wait, dear reader, this is a problem. Why? Because there’s hardly any snow cover (and the little snow we did get yesterday will have melted by the end of the day today) and I have Spring bulbs poking up in my front flower bed.

Spring bulbs!!!

That's right, even Mother Nature has had enough
of the piddly Winter we've been having.

I love flowers and I’m looking forward to seeing them again but they’re not going to last if they’re trying to come up now and we get a cold snap. I have yet to venture towards our larger pond where the pussy- willows live but I plan on walking that way this week-end to see if they’ve started blooming as well.


Oh, who am I kidding. Bring on Spring! Winter has gotten tired and boring (and really, what fun is Winter without snow to play in) and I’m ready to see some flowers and colour.

More art this week-end!

A close- up of the experimental daisy piece.
You didn't think I'd show you the whole thing, did you!? ;)

Just dropping in quick to say that I’ll be back on the week-end with a post!

Over the past few days we’ve had some serious melting of snow going on, about 3-4 months worth. Anyone that has horses or has had a horse (heck, even someone that has a dog) at home can appreciate what kind of... *ahem*... treasures one will find after the melting of that much snow and the sheer quantity of said "treasures". I’ve been scooping and shovelling and dumping... and then scooping some more.


Priorities folks, priorities.


So, with that in mind and to lure you back this week-end I’m tickled to announce that the VG experimental daisy piece is done and I’ve started some gardening. Isn’t it great what a few warm, sunny days can do for one’s energy level?

So be sure to check back here this week-end and until then keep on art-ing...or shovelling.

It's Starting to Smell Green...

"Regalia" ACEO can be purchased by contacting me at:
rita @ ritawoodburne.com
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Well, it's that time of year again. Time to start thinking about the upcoming garden season and, if the weather is permitting in your neck of the woods, it's also time to start some veggie seeds.

Much like last year the majority of my gardening posts are going to cover vegetable gardening with the occasional foray into flowers. My green thumb is mainly reserved for growing veggies of epic proportion and my flower thumb... well, it's not entirely green, let's just put it that way.

Today's post is the official kick-off and I'll keep it as "Reader's Digest" as possible 'cause there's going to be oodles to cover in the coming weeks. So, with that in mind here's a list of what I'll be growing this year:

• carrots
• cherry tomatoes
• parsnips
• cucmbers
• onions
• garlic
• peas
• zucchini
• corn
• eggplant
• lettuce
• buttercup squash
• potatoes
• pumpkins
  

In addition, I've also decided to throw in basil and oregano because I use them a lot in my cooking. On top of those things there's the standards I already have in the garden that come back year after year like chives, dill, parsley, rhubarb and the raspberries that have taken on a life of their own.

That's right. Those are some daffodils and tulips that are poking
their sleepy little heads out.

Just to put this into perspective, on Monday of this week there was still a little
over a foot of snow covering these guys.

So there's the list of goodies for this year. I may also throw some beets and beans in there as well but we'll see as we get closer to planting time.This has been a long, snowy winter so the sooner I can get back to playing in the dirt, the better. Wouldn't you agree?