Buttercups & daisies.

BRITISH SUMMER TIME has officially begun. No longer is Springwatch on the tv in the evenings and it has started to rain. So it must be summer!  I did always wonder why Springwatch was on in June and when , in my mind, summer had begun. Now I know.

Summer for me brings to mind many things.  One of my favourite  is the way that after some fresh rain everything starts to blossom and bloom quite vigorously.  Lush green shoots start to come up and all of the plants and flowers that we have been patiently waiting for start to come into full bloom. Colour and life everywhere!

And of course by the roadside and in country fields we have the gorgeous buttercups and daisies. Two of my favourite flowers. Along the roadsides and in the fields there is an abundance of grasses and wild flowers blooming at the moment. The reeds from the riverbed grow higher and higher as do the tall grasses. These are injected with small bursts of bright yellow in the form of buttercups and of pale white from the wild daisies. They for me are just crying out to be painted.

BUTTERCUPS & DAISIES BEING ADDED TO THIS PIECE

If you listen carefully when walking past you may be lucky enough to hear a little rusell coming from within the riverbed. This could be anything from a tiny little dormouse to a bird hiding in the grasses from predators - or maybe just being scared away by the wet and curios snouts of my two dogs!  They like nothing better than sniffing in amongst the foliage to see what they can smell.

Despite it being sunny and clear somehow the one tiny puddle that is on our journey my dogs are able to find them - and of course jump in as well.

Capturing these lovely natural sights are something that I really enjoy doing. The feeling of warmth on the back of your neck whilst I take photos to bring home and sketch from and being relaxed and not hurried by the elements make the walk much more enjoyable.

COUNTRYSIDE WALK WITH MY TWO

Once home I will compile the photos I have and start composing a big canvas painting of the day. This more recently has been daisies and buttercups in grasses. I love working with acrylics at the moment - and experimenting to see what different greens I can invent by carefully mixing together two shades. Sage green of course is one of my favourites but mixing say a cobalt green with a light yellow is fun to see what results. Building up the layers and creating depth of colour is essential for my paintings. the canvas is just crying out for it!

So if you will excuse me I'm off again to take the hounds into the countryside and see what delights of nature we can discover!

Thank you for reading my BLOG

Daisies are like sunshine on the ground

Vicky :-)