10 Replies to “At The Root Of It”

  1. inkpaintwords – A feminist writer and artist with a penchant for all things French, living in Washington DC. My love of language led me, indirectly, to my pleasure in gardening, drawing and watercolor. It began with a book, a collection of New Yorker garden columns by Katherine White, wife of its founding editor E.B.White. Her enthusiastic appraisal of the literary merit of various garden catalogs led me to collect and keep her favorites as well as to hoard with them some more recently-emerged seed, bulb and seed catalogs. The beautiful catalogs inspired me to little by little turn our entire front lawn (our home had a wooded ravine close behind) into a garden. That grew into a lovely site with two simple arches, a gliding bench on a little sitting patio and modest slate paths winding through beds of shade lovers and whatever plants supposedly in need of full sun that I could manage to coax into colorful healthy bloom. A curiosity about color and color theory emerged as I became keenly interested in impressionist painters; that interest merged in some way with my urge to garden. I acquired more than one book about Monet’s garden and gardens of other impressionist painters, both French and American. One day I picked up a magazine for painters, and found inside an article about a painter I’d known. Among examples of her splendid watercolor paintings was her watercolor of her garden at that time. Suddenly I could think of nothing more exciting than painting my garden. I enrolled in her watercolor class in The Art League in Alexandria, VA. The influence that the collection of Katherine White’s columns about the literary merits of certain garden catalogs has had on my life has come full now. Ink, Paint & Words combines what has become an obsession with drawing and watercolor with my passion for language. Yes, I still garden. A table full of blooming potted plants sits on my apartment patio, backed by an ivy covered fence with park trees behind. My patio, and my larger environment of Washington DC, together provides wonderful vistas for drawing and painting. For a number of years annual trips to France gave me and my companions extravagantly colorful panoramas and charming tableaux for brush and pen. And yes, now I’ve painted in Monet’s gardens several times. But that, as they say, is another story.
    inkpaintwords says:

    Yes And what a beautiful turnip!

    Reply
  2. artzent – I am a visual artist and teacher of Fine art working and teaching in all 2D media. You can see images of my work in many categories, view my biography,comment on artwork, see what's on the easel right now, and more when you go to https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/junepauline-zent I will be blogging here about personal true stories and sharing my life and work. I hope that you will comment and share yours with me!
    artzent says:

    Yes, the colors are just amazing. A beautiful photo!

    Reply
  4. beebeesworld – I have a degree in public history research. I love writing, photography, cooking, teaching, nature studies. I'm a mom and grandmom, an "old hippie".
    beebeesworld says:

    lovely!

    Reply
  8. Gretchen Del Rio – Crestline, California, USA – I first discovered the magic of water based colors when many years ago I began to paint with procion dyes on silk. I loved the unexpected quality of the process. It was so exciting to never be sure what the colors and water would combine to produce. It seemed as though the medium had its own passion. Painting with watercolors and paper is much the same. I love the color combinations and separations that occur spontaneously as the color floats on the water. You can never totally predict what effect will result. If you try to control the medium too much, your painting will be very tight losing its aliveness. The artist must be bold and decisive or the work will not be clear and fresh. It is really like a dance. It becomes a controlled folly in knowing when to let go and when to take charge of the direction that the painting is taking. The images that I paint reflect my emotions and are expression of my life experience. They are not extensively planned, but rather evolve as the painting progresses. I am always surprised by the end result since it comes into being because of what the medium and emotion has suggested. The paintings are from my heart and I always fall in love with the subject. I believe that we are all connected and, if an image touches you, it is because we all have the same heart even though our paths may be different. Most of all, painting what I paint makes me happy. The paintings are my own path unfolding. They are an opening door for me and contain my own passion for life.
    Gretchen Del Rio says:

    Great photo. Words ring deeply. Thank you.

    Reply
  9. simon7banks – Harwich, UK – I write poems and stories, often mystical or fantastical. I believe very strongly that poetry is an art of the spoken word, so the sound of the words is important: so please say my poems aloud, if only in your head. I live in the U.K., in Harwich, Essex, but have worked in Kenya and Finland, and travelled to many other places. This is my literary blog. I'm also a Liberal Democrat political activist, birder, long-distance trail walker, real ale drinker and Quaker.
    simon7banks says:

    And tastes good too

    Reply

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