Choosing the Correct Float Frame for Artwork

Under the Same Sky Artwork and Frog Painting Update

Series Under the Same Sky

Join us online this Friday for the premiere of Series Under the Same Sky, a group virtual exhibition of 21 artists’ work. 

We come from all over the world: North America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe, unified in this shared pursuit. During a two-month virtual Slow Color Project Art Residency we each created our own meaningful art series in our individual practices, sharing and discussing along the way. 

On April 11, at 10 a.m. PDT (UK 6.00 p.m.) the video premiere will showcase each artists’ work and statement, during which we will be present with you for the online chat. The video will be available for viewing after the premiere. The group gallery page will also open on the morning of the 11th: https://www.annelivingston.com/art-series-challenge 

Series Under The Same Sky

Where: Online at Anne Livingston Art’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@annelivingstonart

When: Friday, April 11 at 10 a.m. PDT / U.K 6.00 p.m.

Who: 

Adanna Elle

Anne Livingston 

Christy Strickler 

Crystal Gallagher 

Daria Lemeshkin 

Diane Vance 

Donna Gardner 

Ingrid Brooks

Ione Perez 

Irene Cohen 

Jackie Wolven 

Kate Boyd 

Kathryn Goldman 

Kim Wihak 

Lenka Talska 

Lisa Swigart 

Megan Starbuck 

Simone Whipp 

Stacey Lewis 

Theresa Muth 

Yeliztli Zurapiti 

For IG:
Adanna Elle @adannaelle.art

Anne Livingston @annelivingstonart

Christy Strickler @thepaperscientist

Crystal Gallagher TikTok@crystaldawngallagher

Daria Lemeshkin @dashkash_art

Diane Vance @dianedakevance

Donna Gardner @donnagardnerstudio

Ingrid Brooks

Ione Perez 

Irene Cohen @ico_fineart

Jackie Wolven @jackiewolven

Kate Boyd @kateboydartist

Kathryn Goldman @kathryngoldman

Kim Wihak @kimwihakart

Lenka Talska @lenka_talska_art

Lisa Swigart 

Megan Starbuck @watercolorwithmegan

Simone Whipp @simonewhippartist

Stacey Lewis @staceylewisartist

Theresa Muth @theresamuthartwork

Yeliztli Zurapiti @ yeliztlizurapiti 

How do I Start Painting 8 x 8 Canvas?

Turning up the Brightness #abstractart #acrylicpainting #canvas

Checking in to Say Hi!

Dear Readers,

Well, it's been a while since my last post here.  I have turned the comments back on now.  I have been keeping busy doing lots of art in my sketchbook and painting or doing something arty almost daily.  I have visited an art exhibition up in London and attended the Van Gogh Experience for my BIG Birthday!

At the moment I am preparing myself to enter a local art exhibition - I just have to make and finish some art first!

I update on YouTube regularly and have made a few silly short videos to reach people who don't know about my channel.  If you want to see my videos you can do so here:  

https://www.youtube.com/@SimoneWhipp

It would be lovely to see some of you over there and even better if you liked or subscribed to my channel - it costs nothing but your time.

Have a great spring!

Simone x

Bloggers Bead Necklace of 2012

 

It was June 2012 when I requested a bead from each blog reader, so I could make a bloggers bead necklace.  Can you believe that it was almost 9 years ago?  I can't!!!

Nineteen readers participated from here in the UK and around the World.  Sadly very few of them continue to blog.  Did you send in a bead or two?  Can you see it here?  It was so much fun to receive the post and find out what treasures I had been sent.

The blogging community was generous in spirit and I felt very much part of it.  It is good to have happy memories to look back on.  Many of the beads came with an accompanying letter and I have them to this day.  I think I should put the letters together with the necklace as they complete the story.  

Thank you to everyone who took part.

More Seeds and Planting Out

These bean seeds are called Yin and Yang!  I bought them just because I liked the look of them!  I have no idea what kind of bean it produces.  It will be fun to see how they turn out.

I have planted some nasturtiums inside the narcissi pot that have now finished flowering.  Once the leaves die down the nasturtiums  can take over and I should have (almost) year round interest.

 Two lots of  different salad leaves on the go. 

Two varieties of capsicum peppers.  They will be potted on when they get bigger - I think it is meant to be when they are at the eight leaf stage.

These seedlings above are from the seed saved from a shop bought pepper that I had eaten.  They are just an experiment really to see how they compare to the more expensive ones bought from a seed company.

Strawberry plants are now in flower in the strawberry bed.  They are all grown from runners from the parent plant.  An early variety called 'Sweetheart'.

On Monday I put three courgette plants into my newly prepared earth.  Today I planted out dwarf french beans and dwarf runner beans and a couple of white borage plants.  Fingers crossed we don't have a frost any time soon! 

Sowing and Growing on

Since 23 March I have been sowing seeds and growing on.  It is wonderful to see life thriving right in front of me!  Courgettes, nasturtiums, runner beans and french beans and peas and white borage have been hardening off outside during the day.  At night they come in to the conservatory to keep sheltered from the weather, slugs and snails and other creepy crawlies.

They have grown so quickly!

This nasturtium is called Bloody Mary!  I can't wait to see it when in flower.  I've been sowing and growing many other things too.  I will show them another time.

Garden Update

I've been making steady progress on clearing the ground for a 'kitchen' garden.  You can see some of what I did previously here.

It has been back breaking work digging out deep roots and turning the soil but it has been so rewarding.  I am impatient to get some plants in the ground that I have started off from seed but will have to wait a little longer until the time is right.

I had forgotten about the old ceramic cat ornament that had been covered up in the undergrowth.  He can stay for now to scare off anything that may want to spoil my newly cultivated ground!

A Work in Progress

In my garden there is a neglected south facing border.  For years it has been dominated with unruly shrubs, weeds and an extremely invasive hardy geranium.

 On Monday I started to dig it over.

 And again on Tuesday.

 And again on Wednesday.

I still have lots to do but am forging ahead with the prospect of filling the area with a kitchen garden mixed with flowers.

The camellia tree hung right over the grass and also took out a lot of light. That has had a vigorous prune now.  I  was a bit scared having to climb the ladder but happy that it is done.

It is so satisfying to rake this newly prepared ground over to a fine tilth.   I can't wait to plant it up over the coming weeks!

.

Saturday Evening Garden

I took this photo early Saturday evening.  The sun was shining into the camera but I like the hazy effect it gave.  The white narcissi are really striking and appear to glow in the dark. 

Snakes Head Fritillaries

 I have three of these plants in my garden.  When the petals are closed they resemble a snakes head.

 It fascinates me that nature can produce such a perfect checkerboard design.

They are short lived but a welcome surprise when there is not much else in bloom in the garden.

Long Time No Blog

Just before my last blog post I got sick with a chesty cough and cold.  This took me aback as I have been healthy for ages.  Anyway, I'm back now although I now have a seasonal allergy to deal with!   After a hot Easter weekend the weather has taken a turn for the worst.  We had to put the heating on yesterday and today is not much better although at least it is brighter.

The wisteria is in full bloom.  We always have more leaf than flower and our wisteria is white rather than the more usual purple variety.  It smells delightful.

A while back I found this rooted Christmas tree just lying on the pavement on 'green waste' recycling day.   Although I had a full shopping bag over my shoulder I picked it up and took it home.  A couple of hours later I had it potted up.  It is a healthy looking little thing - about four feet tall and I am glad that I saved it from being shredded!

The blossom on my small potted apple tree is almost over.  I can see the beginnings of fruits starting to swell.  I must remember to feed and water my plant this year - last year I had no apples!

To Every Thing There is a Season

Ecclesiastes 3 King James Version 

3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

A time to bid adieu to the Linden Grove Blog:
A time to say thank you, a time to be grateful;
A time to be bound, and a time to be free;
A time to be seen, and a time to hide;
A time for hellos, and a time for goodbye.

Thank you for reading over the last ten years.  I hope that the blog contributed in a positive way to your life and perhaps provided some food for thought?

Cheerio!

Update 22 May 2018

If I am not out in the garden at Sybil's Plot, I will be at my hobby blog PolyHobbyRous and you can access it here!

Edited 6 May 2018: I have re-activated my gardening blog Sybil's Plot.  I am getting back out in the garden again after the protracted winter and looking forward to growing a whole new range of plants and sowing some tropical seeds too!  I would be delighted if you could join me over there.😉🌱🌴🌺🌿🍓

A Blue Sky Day

Many chores to be fulfilled today when all I really wanted to do was something arty and creative.  Never mind.  The cornflower blue sky made all those mundane tasks infinitely enjoyable and as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

A Garden View No. 6

As much as I have always admired the purple coloured, almost leafless wisteria - I inherited a white one.  I have lived in this house for 17 years and this is the most flowers that the wisteria has ever produced.  It is not a patch on the profusely flowering purple ones but it is striking never-the-less.

I have been so busy in the garden this week due to the lovely weather we have been having.  It feels good being outside and sowing, growing and tending to plants. 

A Garden View No.5

Not so much of a 'view' with this one.  This is a dilapidated area that became a dumping ground for the garden. Large tree limbs that fell in the high winds lay across the patio waiting to be sawn and recycled.  Neglected potted plants await their fate - yet to be decided.  This is an 'after' version but there is still much to be done.  The door leads into a brick built shed that was here when we moved in.  To the right is the back of the garden and to the left is the out-of-sight greenhouse.  It is a nice little private area and I envisage having my breakfast here on summer mornings and a chilled glass of wine by night.  This area has much potential and I am going to work on it steadily throughout the coming months.

A Garden View No.4

Not such a sunny garden view today although the weather forecasters assure us that the sun will come out later and burn the cloud away.  To the left of the photo are mounds of hardy geraniums.  I have spent so many years trying to dig them out but when you cut through the roots they tend to spread.  I keep them now but just make sure I trim them back after flowering.  I think the little mounds are quite pleasing to look at and give a little height and structure around the lawn.

Behind the wooden washing line pole is a whole line of washing!  There is almost no breeze at all today so thankfully all my 'smalls' are out of sight!

Have a lovely weekend. x

A Garden View No.3

This is one of my garden views this morning.  I still need to find an out of sight place for the blue eglu and I am considering using the redundant hen house to store pots and small gardening tools.  A lick of paint may be nice too!

I treated myself to a rhubarb plant yesterday.  It is in the black pot just to the left of the paving.  I think I will put it in a larger pot rather than plant it in the garden just yet.

Today looks like a day for being outside and sowing some seeds and that is what I intend to do!