Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.

Compared with my earlier trees, who I think looked rather stately, these are a bit rougher and more paint centric.

Kind of looks like they are dancing don't it.  I might have to step in briefly to make those two right trees more grounded.

 Pat didn't like that big butt under the trees so under her leadership I converted it to gently undulating grasses, or something.

Summer Dance 71225

 Pat and I agreed that my Starbucks photo of the Friday patrons that I took would make an interesting composition for my July 12 watercolor! However, as soon as she left me, I reviewed my recent memories of Philippine Independence celebration in downtown Daley Center on June 12. Two performers, wearing colorful highland natives costumes and who danced spiritedly with the sound of a gong only seemed more interesting than a group of coffee drinkers. I painted the 2 dancers who  wore flesh colored underwear beneath the layers of tribal clothing. After I sketched and colored the 2 dancers, I felt that they deserved a rainbow of background colors rather than the bare stage of the Daley Center outdoor stage. I used watercolor paints from my pans of new watercolor. The addition of colors directly from 2 or 3 tubes of watercolors

added vitality to the imagined scenario of a couple in the middle of a domestic dispute. Happy Painting to All!

Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain.

Too smooth?

 Too rough?

Two paintings …

 Both of these turned out pretty well. I might try a more careful version of the top one, but being careful might ruin it….

A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair;

May just have to go back and make it less frenetic, but I dunno sometimes making corrections kills the spirit of the original.

So I made the tree on the right that just was not fitting in I made it a ghost tree and gave it some ghost buddies.  The best I can do because I have to move on.

And I am going to try to give these fellows the treatment that I wanted to give to that outlier on the previous painting.
 

June 28, 2025 — Elaine O.

Somehow, I feel summer fruit still life paintings should be simple, light and direct. Unlike winter or autumn, where you want a cornucopia of stuff with lots of elements against a deep rich background, summer fruit shines all by itself. Hence these cherries. I only added a classic kitchen towel to give them a feel of summer in a farm kitchen and a crystal coupe to add the touch of elegance they deserve.

Still Life with Cherries        approx. 13" x 9"

Oh, and they were delicious!

My Beautiful Philippines

  I painted the Golden Anniversary of The Celebration of Philippiine Independence from Spain inspired by a downtown flag raising  event  last June 12, 2025 from a Noontime Cultural Show at Daley Center to a Parade with stopover at Millennium park to the final destination at Buckingham fountain. I wore a red dress, one of 3 colors of Philippine flag: red, blue, yellow. I started the scenario with my figure wearing a bright red dress. And then I met a problem of emphasizing the other major figures of the parade instead of me; a past organizer. When I felt that I should relate what I saw and enjoyed at the fervor and majesty of the moment plus the native bamboo and tropical colors, then I knew I got a painting. I included a poem circa 1992 which I wrote when I was a young immigrant professional!

Forgotten painting…

 Totally forgot I did this one in class on Saturday…Needs a little work on rocks and shadows….

A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

 Thought I would do a little touching up with this after class.  But it turned out that it needed a lot more work.  One of those times when I was in tune with the painting and it told me exactly what to do.

Matting math….

So here they are, all matted and framed and hanging on the wall. They look great, just ignore the reflections…cutting mats is not any easier than it used to be. I still do the math three times and get three different answers, even with a calculator. And using a mat cutter after all these years is like trying to remember your high school French. But thanks to Pat, I know how to do it! (Remember those awful mat cutting classes?) Now I’m going to have the girls develop fairy tales to go along with their paintings!