Clematis Blooms And The Inspiration For A Painting

As I mentioned in my last post, inspirations for paintings come from just about anywhere and everywhere you can imagine. Each year I always take photos of my Clematis when they start to bloom in the spring. They are so colorful and elegant, I simply love this blooming vine.

I have 3 colors, pink, white (which remind me of fragile pieces of paper) and purple, which is of course my favorite color.

I've been wanting to paint some Clematis for a while now and seeing the blooms start to emerge a few weeks ago got me inspired to get going with my ideas.

This painting is entitles "Flourish" and showcases the blooms of my pink Clematis, set against a black background.

This piece is a triptych and it was lots of fun to position the canvases to imitate how the Clematis vines grow out in the garden. The vines flow up, down and all around the trellis I have set up for them.

I think the black background always sets a colorful design off and makes it really pop.

This triptych measures a total of 13" h x 19" w x 1/1/2" d. Each panel is a different size, which also represents the different sizes of the flowers and blooms when they are growing out in the garden. My purple and pink Clematis are the largest and the whites are the smallest, most delicate looking of the 3 varieties. The canvases are 8" h x 8" w - 8" h x 6" w & 6" h x 4" w.

I hope this spring everyone can find a focal point in their gardens that will inspire a new creation.

Spring & Summer Dreams....

What motivates and inspires you on a daily basis?? You know, the thing that gets your juices flowing and brings happiness to your days simply because it exists...... I know it is a different thing or concept for everyone but for me, it is my spring and summer garden. As spring seems to be inching closer each day now, I wanted to take a walk through my favorite garden photos, starting from spring and moving through summer. I look forward to each May because that is the month my beautiful Bearded Iris collection blooms....I have a lot of them and seeing them each day and cutting some for a vase in the house, always makes me happy.

Before my Bearded Irises bloom though, I have the pleasure of seeing my English Irises pop their cheerful heads up and surprise me with lovely blooms.

Each spring I look forward to the arrival of my Clematis. I have pink, deep purple and white!

Clematis buds bursting into life.....

A lovely example of some deep purple.....which just happens to be my favorite color in the world.

Around the front of my house, I'll start to plant my annuals as the fear of frost diminishes.

You might remember the wooden planters that my husband salvaged from a fence of ours that fell down a few years back. I had him keep the wood until I could think of what to do with it. I thought making planters from these wooden planks would be really cool, so that is what I had him do. The annuals have just been planted as well as the 3 flower carpet roses. The mosaic birdhouse is from the very talented artist Michelle Legler www.mosaicqueen.typepad.com .

In June I have my Lilies to look forward to. I enjoy them outside as well as cutting them to bring into house.

My backyard perennial garden.....you can see along the right hand side that my Hydrangeas are starting to form their buds, they will be thinking about blooming soon. The Flower Carpet Roses down in the front are full of color and the Lilies in the back row are just starting to bloom.

Some time has passed and now my Hydrangeas are in full bloom.

Pots hang from my back porch and go down each step of my back stairs leading to my garden and driveway area. If you think I might be laying on the ground to get this shot, you would be right. From this angle I can see the Coreopsis, Yarrow and Coneflowers in bloom.

From this photo I see my garden in the height of summer, in full bloom. The Carpet Roses up front are cascading over the curb...sometimes I have to trim them back as they can run pretty wild, but I love wild.....in the garden anyway. The Black Eyed Susans are in full bloom and the Lilies that looked so pretty a couple of months before have been ecliped by my tall perennial Hibiscus you can see all the way in the back. One of my favorites in the garden.....

A pink Hibiscus in full bloom.....

Last but not least, this sweet hummingbird that likes to visit my back porch. He and his friends love my Cascading Geraniums and no matter what I'm doing when they visit, I find myself dropping it and racing for the camera.

I hope you've enjoyed the walk through my spring and summer.....they will be here before we know it.

Flowers Bursting Into Bloom

My back perennial garden is really starting to burst into bloom now. The Lilies are springing to life and the Carpet Roses have gotten big and beautiful with lots of cascading blooms.

Hanging baskets on my back porch filled with Cascade Geraniums and Vinca Vines. The butterfly ornament was purchased at a crafts fair last year.

Some Coreopsis that have just opened up. I love this flower, it is an easy grower, needs little water to look good and keeps the bright blooms coming all through the summer.

Up close and personal with some Lilies.

Some new yellow beauties that have just popped open.

View from my back porch of some of the Lilies.

The deep purple Clematis are still in bloom.

Some Purple Cone Flowers just starting to bloom.

My Lamb's Ear that just came into bloom last week.

The Hydrangeas have just opened and are still a very pale blue, green and white. It is always a pleasure to watch them change colors.

Climbin' Clematis

I thought I would show some photos of my Clematis in bloom. I've got all 3 colors of this climber in my back perennial garden. This lavender Clematis is quickly becoming a favorite. I planted it last year after we moved and it certainly has gotten larger this year and rewarded me with many lovely blooms.

My white Clematis was also just newly planted last year and is the smallest of the 3 climbers but it has produced some beautiful white blooms for me this year.

My dark purple clematis moved with me last year. I have had it for many years and it is a real favorite of mine. It has really doubled in size this year and I have no idea why. I have noticed a very large difference in the soil here, as compared to where I lived before. Mind you, this is just up the street from where I lived but for some reason, the garden is exploding into something bigger and better blooming then it ever was before. It is almost like there are steroids in the soil.

Enjoy the blooms!!!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Imagine my surprise this year when I realized I had a Lilac bush in the yard. When we moved up the street to where we are now, it was June of last year and the Lilacs had long stopped blooming. I was really thrilled to discover this bush and needless to say, I've been out smelling the Lilacs quite a bit.

I was also able to get some really good, close up photos of them that I will store away for possible use on a future painting.

Other exciting things are of course happening in the garden as well. This is a photo of my deep purple Clematis getting ready to bloom. I have 3 in my back garden, dark purple, lavender and white. They all have lots of blooms so I'm looking forward to them opening up.

Another favorite....a serious favorite of mine, are my bearded Iris's. I have purple and the most beautiful pink. They should also be blooming any time now and I'll post more photos again when they open up.

Enjoy Spring and the beautiful weather.