Margaret's Gift

The wind is back and the sky is overcast and it doesn't look like rain. The weather is cooler by 10 degrees than normal for this time of year. I could easily forget how hot it is going to get and get used to weather like this all the time.

There are buds on the zinnas. This is a crook neck one. Initially I thought it was severe lack of water, so I dashed off to get a resuscitative amount of water and throw it at it's base and then discover that the stem isn't flimsy, it's deliberately crooked this way, so I ponderously carry on. In the photo you can see the California Poppy seed pods. I picked some and put them in a sack to dry, then had to move the sack indoors because the seeds heads popping inside a sack about drove me bonkers. The overcast sky lends a coolness to the colors of the Chase Tree and is a relief from our sun drenched colors. I remember Margaret. That sounds like her. I purchased a book "Painting Better Landscapes" by Margaret Kessler, and spent the whole evening a few nights back, reading every word and studying every painting, spellbound by the works of this amazing oil painter. Michael and I decided we would start painting again, it's been a year since we put the materials away. I brought down the canvas about a week ago and thought we would set up shop again in the kitchen, and then I stumbled upon the book. At the same time that I've felt the desire to paint, her work is so awesome and her subject matter exactly what I've craved, the landscapes, the barns, the rivers, and farmland, the memories to reconnect with and be re-immersed in, I think I am still just revelling. What a wonderful affect is has had on me.